Vietnam: A Television History

Video-based course
11 one-hour videos
13 lessons

Produced by WGBH and distributed by Dallas TeleLearning

Vietnam: A Television History is a comprehensive course which lays out the full chronology of the conflict (1945-1975), assesses the experience, and puts it in historical perspective for the American public. The series covers the years of conflict during which the French and the Americans were involved with the Vietnamese and their Indochinese neighbors, emphasizing the period of heavy U.S. participation (1965-1973), and set against the background of the French colonial period in Indochina. Vietnam: A Television History deals not only with the conflict and its political context (within Vietnam and internationally), but also with basic themes in Vietnamese, French, and U.S. history and culture that helped determine the military and political outcomes.

Lesson Titles/Descriptions

Roots of a War - France's century of colonial dominance. The background and development of Vietnamese nationalism. The career of Ho Chi Minh. The last days of World War II: chaos, great-power rivalries, and a power vacuum. Ho, flanked by U.S. officers, declares independence in Hanoi. The British help the French regain control in Saigon: the stage is set for further conflict.
The First Vietnam War: 1946-1954 (Video no longer available) – The outbreak of the French colonial war with the Viet Minh and its transformation into a Cold War conflict. The Bao Dai solution and its failure. The "loss of China" and the Korean War. Increase of U.S. aid to, and impatience with, the French. Dienbienphu and the American dilemma over whether to intervene. The 1954 Geneva Conference and the ceasefire agreement, temporarily dividing Vietnam.
America's Mandarin: 1954-1963 - After the Geneva Accords, turmoil as Catholics and pro-French northerners flee the Communist north and Ngo Dinh Diem comes to power in the South. America supports Diem, supplanting the French in South Vietnam. Diem consolidates his rule; American aid increases. Formation of the National Liberation Front in 1960. Kennedy takes over: more advisors, and strategic hamlets. The Buddhist crisis. Diem's overthrow in 1963.
LBJ Goes to War: 1964-1965 - From Kennedy's assassination to autumn 1965. Johnson inherits "revolving door" coups in Saigon, increasing guerilla dominance of the countryside, disintegration of South Vietnam's fighting unit, The Tonkin Gulf affair, reprisal raids on the North. Marine landings at Danang. Johnson's secret, open-ended approval of U.S. troop deployment. Ia Drang, the first big battle with the North Vietnamese.
America Takes Charge: 1965-1967 - The big American build-up and the Vietnamese responses, south and north. The grunts'-eye view of guerilla warfare: search and destroy, body count, pacification. Operation Cedar Falls as an example of a major military operation of the period. Consequences of such operations for troops, villages, and the countryside.
America's Enemy: 1954-1967 - The Vietnam war to 1968 as experienced by Ho Chi Minh's adherents, north and south. U.S. soldiers' and POWs' testimony about the fighting qualities and behavior of their enemy. Hanoi perspectives on building socialism in the north.
Tet: 1968 - A close examination of one of the big turning points of the war. The military deadlock of 1967, the shock of multiple attacks at Tet, the destructive battle for Hue. The backlash of Tet: optimism in Saigon, second thoughts in Washington. Johnson's decision to call a partial bombing halt and not run for re-election. Peace talks open, while war goes on.
Vietnamizing the War: 1968-1973 - What happened in South Vietnam as "Vietnamization" began to take hold and American forces started to withdraw. Economic hardship as the flow of goods and dollars diminished. Lowered morale of U.S. troops, including drugs abuse and race tensions. The Phoenix program. The 1971 elections. The 1972 spring offensive and the battle for Quang Tri, in which nearly all the casualties are Vietnamese.
Cambodia and Laos - Vietnam is the decisive battleground where the fate of its two weaker neighbors is determined. The Laos invasion. Review of Cambodia's attempts to keep out of the war. Sihanouk's regime and its overthrow. The U.S. incursion and its results for Cambodia. The repercussions in the U.S. and abroad. Sihanouk joins forces with the Khmer Rouge. The final collapse in Phnom Penh.
Peace Is at Hand: 1968-1973 - Fall 1968 to January 1973. Nixon-Kissinger diplomacy: the Vietnam War in the context of detente and declining public support. The Christmas bombings of 1972. Signing the Paris accords. Withdrawal of U.S. ground troops, excepting advisors to ARVN. The return of the POWs.
Homefront USA - The years of heavy U.S. involvement in Vietnam, 1965-1973, as experienced by the public at home. The rise of social conflict and controversy, and the decline of consensus. The interplay among the reporting of events, public opinion, and policy-making. The decline of American interest in Vietnam as U.S. troops withdraw.
The End of the Tunnel: 1973-1975 - The impact of the Paris accords: in America, a turning away from Vietnam: in South Vietnam, continuing warfare. The effect of Watergate on the U.S. commitment. Reductions in U.S. aid. In 1974, the balance of forces shifts to favor the communists. The NVA Spring Offensive of 1975. Collapse of ARVN, frantic exodus towards Saigon. The last-minute helicopter evacuation.
Legacies (Video no longer available) – Some respects in which Vietnam continues to be "a war that will not go away:" veteran's issues including delayed stress syndrome and the Agent Orange controversy. The impact of Vietnam on the military and the U.S. economy. The boat people, refugees in the U.S. The 30-year battle ground, Vietnam itself. And the battle in our minds: What is the Vietnam legacy?