6 June – 9 June 2022 NMÇALTraining III

Joint Crisis Committee

The Vietnam War

NMÇALTraining III – NMCMUN©

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Table of Contents

Welcome Letters ............................................................................................................. 2 - 4

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 5 - 6
Agenda ..................................................................................................................... 5
Summary .................................................................................................................. 5 - 6

Historical Background ................................................................................................. 6 - 10

Overview .................................................................................................................. 7 - 8
Geneva Conference (1954) / Domino Effect ........................................................... 8 - 9
American Interference ........................................................................................... 9 - 10
Operation Rolling Thunder ......................................................................................... 10

Timeline ........................................................................................................................ 11 - 14
Starting Date ................................................................................................................ 11
Chronology .......................................................................................................... 11 - 14

Countries and Characters .......................................................................................... 15 - 23

Countries .............................................................................................................. 15 - 17
Characters ............................................................................................................ 17 - 24
United States Cabinet .................................................................................. 17 - 21
N. Vietnam Cabinet .................................................................................... 21 - 23

Key Vocabulary .................................................................................................................. 24

References ............................................................................................................................ 25
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WELCOME LETTERS

LETTERS FROM OUR PRESIDENTS

Letter from the Under-Secretary-General (Secretary-General)

Most distinguished participants,

My name is Görkem Can Coşkun and I am honoured to welcome you all to our third
session of NMÇALTraining, a series of simulations where we enhance our experience and
leave our mistakes behind, while discovering our potential towards MUN conferences. I am
going to be your Under-Secretary-General and work with you to guarantee a wonderful
simulation.

During NMÇALTraining III, our main task will be to spot what we’re lacking during
conferences. Delegates (such as yourself) will have the opportunity to improve themselves as
we provide a comfortable and friendly environment without the pressure of a real committee,
while managing the realism aspect of Model United Nations. Every participant is expected to
work upon their tasks in a serious manner, while also making sure that they will have fun at
the same time.

Our history is no doubt a very complex one, and to make sure we don’t repeat what we
regret, we have to check our past, learn from our wrong-doings and study them. Throughout
our timeline, many achievements were gained, many steps were taken for a better future, and
it is our mission to continue what our ancestors have done, continuing human advancement.
With our efforts, this simulation will provide a better sight to our delegates, for it contains a
very important part of history, the turning point of a nation and its people. As a student and
history enthusiast myself, I cannot imagine a better opportunity for someone to improve their
speaking and critical thinking capabilities other than Model United Nations. It is only my
wish that every single participant has fun within this simulation, as well as gaining more
information about our past. Of course, that is only if you put your honest efforts into it.

Lastly, although we will end our academic year with this simulation, it will not be our
last. NMÇALTraining and our group will be carried by you, and those who follow you.
Despite having to see some of our unreplaceable members leave, it is once again your duty to
continue our tradition among our new members and keep the spirit alive.

Best regards,

Görkem Can Coşkun

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Letter from the President-Chair (of N. Vietnam) (Deputy-Secretary-General)

Highly esteemed delegates,

I am Oğuz Kağan Şen, who is highly honoured to see you all attending our third
session of NMÇALTraining, a series of simulations where we develop ourselves with pure
joy and memories. I will be serving you as the Chairboard of North Vietnam throughout the
whole conference.

During NMÇALTraining III, our aim will be giving you the best simulation
experience you could ever see. You will try to stay calm and efficient while you are facing
with the biggest crises of all time. Our expectations from you are just high enough for you to
overcome anything, we highly support you in the every aspect of MUN as we should.

As a person who sees draws as losses, I can easily say that I have been working on the
things I did wrong in the past and you can be sure with the fact that I’m not going to repeat
them again. As NMÇALMUN club we have been trying our best to achieve more, see more
and do more. So we can be sure about our actions in the future, as this committee contains a
very important part of history, a war between the soul of freedom and capitalist powers. As a
student and history enthusiast myself, - just like our highly honoured and the prettiest USG
you could ever see, Görkem Can Coşkun - I cannot think of a better glow up chance for
someone who loves MUN and history. We wish every delegates great conference and
memories as we are having right now.

Finally, as you can guess this will be our last simulation for the year but you can trust
us; it is not an end, it is just a new beginning for bigger things. NMÇALTraining and our
group will be better with the every step you take further, as they say “Taking the first step is
always the hardest part.” Despite me; acting as your chair for the last time, it is once again
your duty to continue our tradition among new members and teach them everything you
learned this year, we know you are going to do the things we are going to be proud of.

Sincerely,

Oğuz Kağan Şen

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Letter from the President-Chair (of the United States) (Director General)

Highly honoured delegates,

I am Efe Çetinkaya, if there is any need to say. I am glad to see you all giving your
attention to third part of the NMÇALTraining, a tradition which comes with responsibility. I
will act as South Vietnam’s chair, so if you have any questions you can just ask me anytime.

While participating in NMÇALTraining III, your purpose should be giving your best
throughout the whole conference. Do not forget, you will struggle in this committee but that is
the main idea of it, you will give your best and if you really want to be the best; no one will
give it to you, you should just take it. As JFK said in one of his speeches: “Do not pray for
easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.”

We achieve with my committee as Syrian Cabinet back in second edition of

NMÇALTraining. We developed ourselves so much just in few months and the place that we
are standing on right now was looking impossible for all of us but we believed, we believed in
ourselves and each other. In this committee we will be in brutal clash between “two” sides of
the war. As someone who thinks that the American side could do much much more in
Vietnam if they really wanted to do, I believe with the real power of ours, no one would be
able to stop us. May God be with the Northern part, because they will need it.

While finishing it, as you can guess this will be our last simulation for this year; we
will lose a lot of our irreplaceable members but NMÇALMUN is much more than a just a
club. We are a big family and we will not forget each other, ever. We have countless plans for
next year and they would be real if only you work for it with your tears and blood. While we
were starting our journey at the start of this year, we had one big aim; creating a tradition
which will go with the name of our school for generations and believe me or not but we have
done it. We will carry on the tradition and add more to our legacy every day. We are going to
make everybody proud of us as we have been doing and transfer our knowledge to new ones
in every possible way.

Respectively,

Efe Çetinkaya.
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INTRODUCTION

Agenda: Second Indochina War (1955 – 1975) / Joint Crisis Committee

Joint Crisis Committees may seem difficult at first glance however they encourage
delegates to make bolder decisions and act upon crises in an efficient and quick manner.
NMÇALTraining III© will be based upon the Second Indochina War, also known in the west
as “the Vietnam War”, where two cabinets will clash with each other, one of them being the
United States Cabinet and the other being the Vietnamese Cabinet.

Delegates are expected to have a sufficient amount of knowledge regarding the agenda
item and the characters given to them, for the committee to run smoothly. While the purpose
of the study guide is to prepare participants for the committee, they are expected to conduct
their own research on a wider scale to be more prepared.

SUMMARY

Vietnam War, a protracted conflit that pitted the communist government of North
Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of
South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. Called the “American War” in
Vietnam, the war was also part of a larger regional conflict and a manifestation of the Cold
War between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies.

At the heart of the conflict was the desire of North Vietnam, which had defeated
the French colonial administration of Vietnam in 1954, to unify the entire country under a
single communist regime modeled after those of the Soviet Union and China. The South
Vietnamese government, on the other hand, fought to preserve a Vietnam more closely
aligned with the West.

U.S. military advisers, present in small numbers throughout the 1950s, were
introduced on a large scale beginning in 1961 (Kennedy Cabinet), and active combat units
were introduced in 1965 (Johnson Administration). By 1969 more than 500,000 U.S. military
personnel were stationed in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and China poured
weapons, supplies, and advisers into the North, which in turn provided support, political
direction, and regular combat troops for the campaign in the South. The costs
and casualties of the growing war proved too much for the United States to bear, and U.S.
combat units were withdrawn by 1973. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by
the North.
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The human costs of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. Not until 1995
did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both
sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has
estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. In
1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., inscribed with the
names of 57,939 members of U.S. armed forces who had died or were missing as a result of
the war.

Over the following years, additions to the list have brought the total past 58,200. (At
least 100 names on the memorial are those of servicemen who were actually Canadian
citizens.) Among other countries that fought for South Vietnam on a smaller scale, South
Korea suffered more than 4,000 dead, Thailand about 350, Australia more than 500, and New
Zealand some three dozen.

Vietnam emerged from the war as a potent military power within Southeast Asia, but
its agriculture, business, and industry were disrupted, large parts of its countryside were
scarred by bombs and defoliation and laced with land mines, and its cities and towns were
heavily damaged. A mass exodus in 1975 of people loyal to the South Vietnamese cause was
followed by another wave in 1978 of “boat people,” refugees fleeing the economic
restructuring imposed by the communist regime. Meanwhile, the United States, its military
demoralized and its civilian
electorate deeply divided,
began a process of coming to
terms with defeat in what had
been its longest and most
controversial war. The two
countries finally resumed
formal diplomatic relations in
1995.
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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

OVERVIEW

The Vietnam War had its origins in the broader Indochina wars of the 1940s and ’50s,
when nationalist groups such as Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh, inspired by Chinese and
Soviet communism, fought the colonial rule first of Japan and then of France. The French
Indochina War broke out in 1946 and went on for eight years, with France’s war effort largely
funded and supplied by the United States. Finally, with their shattering defeat by the Viet
Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954, the French came to the end of their rule in
Indochina.

The battle prodded negotiators at the Geneva Conference to produce the final Geneva
Accords in July 1954. The accords established the 17th parallel (latitude 17° N) as a
temporary demarcation line separating the military forces of the French and the Viet Minh.
North of the line was the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, or North Vietnam, which had
waged a successful eight-year struggle against the French. The North was under the full
control of the Worker’s Party, or Vietnamese Communist Party, led by Ho Chi Minh; its
capital was Hanoi. In the South the French transferred most of their authority to the State of
Vietnam, which had its capital at Saigon and was nominally under the authority of the former
Vietnamese emperor, Bao Dai.

Within 300 days of the signing of the accords, a demilitarized zone, or DMZ, was to
be created by mutual withdrawal of forces north and south of the 17th parallel, and the
transfer of any civilians who wished to leave either side was to be completed. Nationwide
elections to decide the future of Vietnam, North and South, were to be held in 1956.

Accepting the de facto partition of Vietnam as unavoidable but still pledging to halt
the spread of communism in Asia, U.S. Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower began a crash program
of assistance to the State of Vietnam—or South Vietnam, as it was invariably called.
The Saigon Military Mission, a covert operation to conduct psychological warfare and
paramilitary activities in South Vietnam, was launched on June 1, 1954, under the command
of U.S. Air Force Col. Edward Lansdale. At the same time, Viet Minh leaders, confidently
expecting political disarray and unrest in the South, retained many of their political operatives
and propagandists below the 17th parallel even as they withdrew their military forces to the
North.
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Ngo Dinh Diem, the newly installed premier of South Vietnam, thus faced opposition
not only from the communist regime in the North but also from the Viet Minh’s stay-behind
political agents, armed religious sects in the South, and even subversive elements in his own
army. Yet Diem had the full support of U.S. military advisers, who trained and reequipped his
army along American lines and foiled coup plots by dissident officers. Operatives of the
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) bought off or intimidated Diem’s domestic
opposition, and U.S. aid agencies helped him to keep his economy afloat and to resettle some
900,000 refugees who had fled the communist North.

Representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, France, the People’s
Republic of China, and Great Britain came together in April 1954 to discuss and try to solve
several problems related to Asia. Discussions on the issue in Vietnam started at the
conference right after France suffered its military defeat in Dien Bien Phu. The Accords set
out several terms, but was not supported by every nation present. South Vietnam, the
noncommunist government set up by the French, refused to sign the Agreement, but without
support of the French this was of little concern at the time. The U.S. also refused to sign, but
did commit itself to abide by the agreement. They felt that the Agreement, if to be put into
action, was a disaster and that the national elections in Vietnam would result in an
overwhelming victory for Ho.

GENEVA CONFERENCE (1954) / THE DOMINO EFFECT

During the two-year period division of Vietnam stated in the Geneva Accords, Ho Chi
Minh decided that he did not want to wait for the elections (which would thus take place in
1956), since he felt that his country was so damaged, it should quickly be reconstructed. He
took measures, which for example let to redistribution of all agricultural land amongst the
poor farmers. Former owners of the land couldn’t find a place in society anymore, since they
were accused of ‘crimes against the people’. Minh used the five year plan for the development
of the national economy in the Soviet-Union as an example to bring the Vietnamese industry
at a higher level. None of the various Vietnamese opposition movements against the French
rule were ultimately as successful as Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh. However, before such
measures could have been taken successfully, the United States of America began to bomb
Northern Vietnam.

The American government was scared that Vietnam would nevertheless result into a
communist nation and that this would lead to the Domino Effect, a theory launched by U.S.
president Eisenhower. He claimed the fall of Indochina would cause a chain reaction in which
all of Southeast Asia would fall for communism. They were scared that Burma, Thailand,
Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as countries on the American defence line such as Japan,
Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand would fall.
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During the peace agreements in Geneva, the US saw Ngo Dinh Diem, a Vietnamese in
exile, as the future political leader of Southern Vietnam. Diem was a fierce anti-communist
and the Americans hoped that a united Vietnam with Diem as premier would lead to Vietnam
becoming a strong, capitalistic nation. Shortly after the appointment of Diem, it turned out
that Diem himself was not such an advocate of democracy. He certainly was not planning to
hold elections in 1956, stated in the Geneva Accords. President Eisenhower supported him in
his plan. This, however, was to be kept secret from civilians, since this would lead to a
damaged trust and thus the government told the people that Vietnam was not yet ready for
democratic elections. A couple years later, Eisenhower acknowledged that, had elections been
held, “Ho Chi Minh would have won 80% of the vote”.

Despite Ho’s protests and demonstrations, the elections were never held. Diem rapidly
became a dictatorial leader. Corruption was not tackled under his rule – in fact, it increased -,
he appointed family members in influential posts, the opposition was heavily suppressed, and
the Catholic minority was very privileged to the detriment of the Buddhist majority. South
Vietnam turned into a police state. Tens of thousands of civilians were accused of
communism and thereafter pained, tortured and locked up in concentration camps. Many
citizens and Viet Minh warriors reached out for refuge in the North. Though it was commonly
known that this leader brought the country cruelties, the U.S. kept aiding his government
through financial and military support. The American government simply saw him as an ally
in the battle against communism.

On the 8th of May 1963, the situation in South Vietnam escalated. The government
implemented a prohibition on the celebration of Buddha’s birthday. This led to riots in the big
cities all over the country. The army attacked Buddhist protesters and arrested thousands.
There were Buddhist monks who put themselves on fire. Pictures of the blood mass became
public and were used as front page of the newspapers worldwide. On the 2nd of November
1963, a day after the overthrow of Diem’s government by South Vietnamese military forces,
Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother were captured and killed by a group of soldiers. His death
caused celebration among most citizens, but lead to political chaos as well.

AMERICAN INTERFERENCE

The U.S. refused to leave South Vietnam seeing the situation as it was at that moment.
The government felt that the instability of the country would ultimately result into a regime
that would trade with the North. On August 2, 1964, almost a year after the assassination of
Diem, a U.S. destroyer ship exchanged shots with North Vietnamese Navy torpedo boats in
the Gulf of Tonkin. Two days later, the same U.S. ship reported that it had been ambushed,
with enemy ships firing 22 torpedoes at it. The Tonkin incidents lead to a broad coalition
within the U.S. government to attack the North.
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On August 7, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passes in the House, leading to the use of
conventional military force in Southeast Asia. The joint resolution’s aim was “To promote the
maintenance of international peace and security in Southeast Asia.” In February 1965, as part
of a strategic bombing campaign, the U.S. launched a plan known as Operation Rolling
Thunder. This plan is still on-going and leads to massive destruction all over Vietnam.
Military aircraft attacks targets throughout North Vietnam to put pressure on the Communist
leaders. It marks a big American assault on Northern territory and a major expansion of U.S.
involvement in this war.

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER

Operation Rolling Thunder was a frequently interrupted bombing campaign that began
on 24 February 1965 and lasted until the end of October 1968. During this period U.S. Air
Force and Navy aircraft engaged in a bombing campaign designed to force Ho Chi Minh to
abandon his ambition to take over South Vietnam. The operation began primarily as a
diplomatic signal to impress Hanoi with America's determination, essentially a warning that
the violence would escalate until Ho Chi Minh "blinked," and secondly it was intended to
bolster the sagging morale of the South Vietnamese.

The Johnson administration also imposed strict limits on the targets that could be
attacked, for China and the Soviet Union were seen as defenders of communism who might
intervene if the North Vietnamese faced defeat. Consequently, the administration tried to
punish the North without provoking the two nations believed to be its protectors. In the view
of the Air Force leadership, the campaign had no clear-cut objective nor did its authors have
any real estimate of the cost of lives and aircraft.
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TIMELIME

STARTING DATE

The timeline is set to start on October 30, 1963, one day before the South
Vietnamese Coup of 1963. On November 1, 1963, at 1:15 pm in Saigon, three marine
battalions of South Vietnam began their seizure of communications throughout the capital
city, taking control of the city's radio stations, national and municipal police stations, and the
public and Defense Ministry telecommunications centers. The acts were the first in a coup
d'état against President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu. The planners had set a
deadline of 1:15 to either begin the coup or to call it off, and were waiting until visiting U.S.
Admiral Harry Felt had departed. Admiral Felt's airplane took off at 1:00 pm. Diem and Nhu
quietly escaped Gia Long Palace by 8:00 p.m. and fled to refuge at the Roman Catholic
church in the nearby Cholon section of the city.

CHRONOLOGY

May 7, 1954

Viet Minh troops under Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap overrun the French base at Dien Bien
Phu. The stunning victory by Vietnamese forces brings an end to nearly a century of French
colonial rule in Indochina.

June 1, 1954

The Saigon Military Mission, a covert operation to conduct psychological warfare and
paramilitary activities in South Vietnam, is launched under the command of U.S. Air Force
Col. Edward Lansdale. This marks the beginning of the Vietnam War. Many of the mission’s
ongoing efforts are directed at supporting the regime of South Vietnamese President Ngo
Dinh Diem.

July 21, 1954

The Geneva Accords effectively divide Vietnam in two at the 17th parallel. Although
the Accords explicitly state that the 17th parallel “should not in any way be interpreted as
constituting a political or territorial boundary,” it is quickly afforded exactly that status.
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November 2, 1963

Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated by his own generals as part of a coup d’état that is
carried out with the tacit support of U.S. officials. Ngo’s autocratic and violent excesses when
dealing with South Vietnam’s majority Buddhist population led the U.S. to withdraw its
patronage of him. At this point approximately 16,000 U.S. military personnel are in Vietnam,
and 200 have been killed.

August 5, 1964

After commanders reported a North Vietnamese torpedo boat attack on the U.S.
destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy in the Gulf of Tonkin, U.S. Pres. Lyndon B.
Johnson submits the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to Congress. The resolution authorizes the
president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the
United States.”

Although the captain of the Maddox urged caution, suggesting that the August 4 attack
had been conjured from the imaginations of overeager or inexperienced sonar operators (an
assessment that will ultimately prove correct), Congress overwhelmingly passes the
resolution. Approximately 23,000 U.S. troops are in Vietnam, and roughly 400 have been
killed.

March 1, 1966

A Program for the Pacification and Long-Term Development of Vietnam (PROVN), a

study commissioned by the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Harold K. Johnson, is published.
Its findings suggest that the strategy of attrition being pursued by U.S. commander
Gen. William Westmoreland is counterproductive, and it recommends that more U.S. effort
should be directed at ensuring the security and stability of South Vietnam’s rural population.
At the time of its publication, PROVN is largely dismissed by U.S. commanders. There are
approximately 185,000 U.S. service members in Vietnam, and more than 2,700 have been
killed.

January 30, 1968

During the Vietnamese New Year holiday of Tet, North Vietnamese and Viet
Cong forces begin an offensive that will eventually hurl some 85,000 troops against five
major cities, dozens of military installations, and scores of towns and villages throughout
South Vietnam. The attacks, which eschew the guerrilla tactics traditionally employed by
North Vietnamese forces, play directly to American and South Vietnamese strengths. The
North Vietnamese suffer casualty rates approaching 60 percent, and Westmoreland sees the
Tet Offensive as a sign of desperation on the part of the North. This view is increasingly at
odds with that of the American public. There are approximately 485,000 U.S. troops in
Vietnam, and over 20,000 have been killed.
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February 27, 1968

CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite, who has just returned from Vietnam, tells
viewers, “It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end
in a stalemate. To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the
evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past.” U.S. Pres. Lyndon Johnson is said
to respond, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.”

March 16, 1968

As many as 500 unarmed villagers are killed by U.S. Army troops in the hamlet of My
Lai. Groups of women, children, and elderly men are shot at close range by elements of
Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade.
Attempts to cover up the massacre begin almost before the shooting stops, and only one
American, Charlie Company’s 1st Platoon commander, Lieut. William Calley, will be found
guilty of any crime in connection with My Lai. In November 1974 Calley will be released on
parole after serving just three and a half years under house arrest.

November 15, 1969

Millions of people across the United States take to the streets to protest the continued
U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The antiwar demonstrations represent the largest public
protests in U.S. history to date.

May 4, 1970

Members of the Ohio National Guard open fire on unarmed college students at Kent
State University, killing four and wounding nine. The incident catalyzes the growing antiwar
movement. Roughly 335,000 U.S. troops are in Vietnam, and approximately 50,000 have
been killed.

January 27, 1973

Representatives of South Vietnamese communist forces, North Vietnam, South

Vietnam, and the United States conclude the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring
Peace in Viet-Nam in Paris. U.S. troops are to be withdrawn within 60 days and the 17th
parallel will remain the dividing line until the country can be reunited by “peaceful means.”

March 29, 1973

The last U.S. military unit leaves Vietnam. In over a decade of fighting, some 58,000
U.S. troops have been killed. Vietnamese casualties include more than 200,000 South
Vietnamese troops and more than 1,000,000 North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong
irregulars. Civilian deaths total as many as 2,000,000.
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April 29, 1975

Shortly before 11:00 AM, the American Radio Service network begins to broadcast
the prerecorded message that the temperature in Saigon is “105 degrees and rising” followed
by a 30-second excerpt from the song “White Christmas.” This signals the start of Operation
Frequent Wind, the emergency evacuation of Saigon. American personnel begin converging
on more than a dozen assembly points throughout the city.

Over the next 24 hours, some 7,000 Americans and South Vietnamese are flown to
safety. The following morning, North Vietnamese troops enter downtown Saigon and the
South Vietnamese government surrenders unconditionally.
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COUNTRIES AND CHARACTERS

COUNTRIES

Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam, DRV)

The National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (Viet Cong, NLF)

Vietnam has in recent years undergone a huge political reconstruction: The country is
split up in a communist North and a capitalist South. North Vietnam, or the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam, was formed in 1945 after Ho Chi Minh called for the independence of
the state. Backed by the communist allies including China, Soviet Union, Laos, Cambodia and
North Korea, they fight against the RVN and the USA.

Resistance from the South rapidly grew since 1960, and Diem needed to deal with
more and more guerrilla attacks. On the 20th of December 1960, representatives from the
opposition groups gathered to discuss about the future. All together they decided to establish a
new organisation: National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam, also known as the Viet Cong.
The Viet Cong was mainly placed in South Vietnam but was supported and driven from the
North. The Ho Chi Minh Trail, a logistic system that ran from North Vietnam to South
Vietnam through Cambodia and Laos, was used to supply the Viet Cong. Because of the
Trail, these South Vietnamese resistance warriors were able to control a huge part of the
countryside.

Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam, RVN)

South Vietnam, or the Republic of Vietnam, was formed the same as the DRV.
Alongside the United States of America, the government fights against the DRV in an attempt
to overthrow the communist leaders. The RVN is backed by anti-communist countries and
members of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEASTO), including France, the United
Kingdom, the USA, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, New Zealand and Thailand.
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The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

After World War II, the Soviet government gave only marginal supports for
communist movements in Vietnam, as dictator Joseph Stalin sought to maintain his alliance
with the West. Stalin also had a great distrust of Asian communist groups, finding them weak,
only self-interested, tainted by nationalism and undisciplined. In 1950, Ho Chi Minh travelled
to Moscow and sought for military backing from the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin’s death and
the stabilisation of the situation in Europe drew the government’s attention to Southeast Asia.

Now, in 1963 and afterwards, the Soviet Union’s primary role in this conflict is
supporting North Vietnam with both economic aid and the continuous supply of munitions.
Though the actual involvement of Soviet-troops is limited to several thousand troops, mostly
non-combatants, their economic aid is significant to this war. It is useful to maintain their
leadership of the worldwide Communist movement and to add credibility to their influence
within developing country blocs.

The United States of America

The United States of America’s role began after the Second World War and continued
and escalated into full participation in the War from 1955, under leadership of several
presidents with the same ideologies. The soon-to-be president is Lyndon B. Johnson, keen to
support South Vietnam against the North and a fervent supporter of president Eisenhower’s
domino theory. Even before he was president, his advisors encouraged him to take a position
to take up a more forceful approach to the War. He won the presidential elections in 1964
with ease and it did not take long before the US troops were sent to South Vietnam. In early
1965, he authorised ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’, the wholesome bombing of North Vietnam
and NLF-ground in South Vietnam.

John F. Kennedy is the current president of the United States, who was elected in the
1960 Elections and despite his young age and lack of experience, he went through multiple
crises during his presidency. Unfortunately, his presidency ended with one before being able
to finalize his term and goals as commander-in-chief.

People’s Republic of China

Chinese communists already have a history of working with the Viet Minh. They have
provided each other with both material support and cover during times of struggles to gain
control over their countries. For example, Chinese communist forces often retreated into
North Vietnam territory and in return the Chinese provided training, weapons and munitions.
Chinese communism had some influence on Vietnamese communist organization, policy and
ideology, too. During the 1950s, Chinese advice and technical expertise influenced their
programs of industrialization and land reform. The Soviet Union, as well as China, increased
its aid to Hanoi after the US military escalation of 1965.
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CHARACTERS

United States Cabinet

President (Commander-in-Chief) – John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to by his initials as JFK, is an American
politician who currently serves as the 35th president of the United States, starting from 1961.
Kennedy is the youngest person to assume the presidency by election. Kennedy serves at the
height of the Cold War, and the majority of his work as president concerns relations with
the Soviet Union and Cuba.

Kennedy's administration includes high tensions with communist states in the Cold
War. As a result, he increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam.
The Strategic Hamlet Program began in Vietnam during his presidency.

Vice President – Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to by his initials LBJ, is an American
politician. He is currently serving as the 37th vice president, starting from 1961 under
President John F. Kennedy.

After the election, Johnson was quite concerned about the traditionally ineffective
nature of his new office and set about to assume authority not allotted to the position. He
initially sought a transfer of the authority of Senate majority leader to the vice presidency,
since that office made him president of the Senate, but faced vehement opposition from the
Democratic Caucus, including members whom he had counted as his supporters.

Secretary of State – Dean Rusk

David Dean Rusk is the United States Secretary of State, as he assumed his position in
1961. He had been a high government official in the 1940s and early 1950s, as well as the
head of a leading foundation. He is cited as one of the two officers responsible for dividing
the two Koreas at the 38th parallel.

After Kennedy won the 1960 presidential election, he asked Rusk to serve as secretary
of state. Rusk was a quiet advisor to Kennedy, rarely making his own views known to other
officials. He supported diplomatic efforts during the Cuban Missile Crisis and, though he
initially expressed doubts about the escalation of the U.S. role in the Vietnam War, he became
known as one of its strongest supporters.
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Secretary of Treasury – C. Douglas Dillon

Clarence Douglas Dillon is an American diplomat and politician, who served as U.S.
Ambassador to France (1953–1957) and is serving as the 57th Secretary of the
Treasury (1961– ). He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the National
Security Council (ExComm) during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Secretary of Defense – Robert McNamara

Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and is the
eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving under President John F. Kennedy.

McNamara became a close adviser to Kennedy and advocated the use of a blockade
during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy and McNamara instituted a Cold War defense
strategy of flexible response, which anticipated the need for military responses short
of massive retaliation. McNamara consolidated intelligence and logistics functions of the
Pentagon into two centralized agencies: the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Defense
Supply Agency. During the Kennedy administration, McNamara presided over a build-up of
US soldiers in South Vietnam. After the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, the number of US
soldiers in Vietnam escalated dramatically. McNamara and other US policymakers feared that
the fall of South Vietnam to a Communist regime would lead to the fall of other governments
in the region.

Attorney General – Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Francis Kennedy, also referred to by his initials RFK or by the
nickname Bobby, is an American lawyer and politician who is serving as the 64th United
States Attorney General. He is, like his brothers John and Edward, a prominent member of
the Democratic Party and is being seen by some historians as an icon of modern American
liberalism.

After winning the 1960 presidential election, President-elect John F. Kennedy

appointed his younger brother attorney general. The choice was controversial, with
publications including The New York Times and The New Republic calling him inexperienced
and unqualified. He had no experience in any state or federal court, causing the president to
joke, "I can't see that it's wrong to give him a little legal experience before he goes out to
practice law." But Kennedy was hardly a novice as a lawyer, having gained significant
experience conducting investigations and questioning witnesses as a Justice Department
attorney and Senate committee counsel and staff director.
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Secretary of the Interior – Stewart Udall

Stewart Lee Udall, is an American politician and later, a federal government official.
After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he is now serving as Secretary of
the Interior under President John F. Kennedy.

Secretary of Agriculture – Orville Freeman

Orville Lothrop Freeman is an American Democratic politician who served as the 29th
Governor of Minnesota from January 5, 1955, to January 2, 1961, and is serving as the U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture, beginning in 1961. He was one of the founding members of
the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and strongly influential in the merger of the
pre-DFL Minnesota Democratic and Farmer-Labor Parties. Freeman nominated Kennedy for
president at the 1960 Democratic Party national convention.

Secretary of Commerce – Luther H. Hodges

Luther Hartwell Hodges is a businessman and American politician. After a career in
textile manufacturing, he entered public service, gaining some state appointments. Elected as
lieutenant governor of North Carolina in 1952, he succeeded to the Governor's office in 1954
after the death of the incumbent. He was elected in 1956 to a full four-year term, serving in
total as the 64th Governor of the state of North Carolina from 1954 to 1961. In 1961 he was
appointed as United States Secretary of Commerce by JFK.

Secretary of Labor – W. Willard Wirtz

William Willard Wirtz Jr. is a U.S. administrator, cabinet officer, attorney, and law
professor. He is currently serving as the Secretary of Labor under the cabinet of JFK. He
assumed his position in 1962.

Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare – Anthony J. Celebrezze

Anthony Joseph Celebrezze Sr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party,
who served as the 49th Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, and now as a cabinet member in
the Kennedy administration. In 1962, President Kennedy returned to Celebrezze with an offer
of a cabinet appointment as United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Celebrezze resigned as mayor in 1962 before his appointment on July 31, 1962.
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Ambassador to the United Nations – Adlai Stevenson II

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who was
twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He was the grandson
of Adlai Stevenson I, the 23rd Vice President of the United States.

In the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections, he was chosen as the Democratic nominee
for president, but was defeated in a landslide by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower both
times. In 1960, he again unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination for a
third time at the Democratic National Convention. After President John F. Kennedy was
elected, he appointed Stevenson as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Two
major events Stevenson dealt with during his time as UN ambassador were the Bay of Pigs
Invasion of Cuba in April 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.

Chief of Staff of the United States Army – Harold Keith Johnson

Harold Keith "Johnny" Johnson is a United States Army general who is serving
as Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Regarded as a premier tactician, Johnson became
skeptical that the level of resources given to the Vietnam War, much of which went into 'find,
fix, and destroy the big main force units' operations, could deliver victory. Johnson came to
believe that the Communist forces held a trump card, because they controlled whether there
were engagements with U.S. forces, giving an option to simply avoid battle with U.S. forces if
the situation warranted it.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – Earle Wheeler

Earle Gilmore Wheeler, nicknamed Bus, was a United States Army general who
served as the chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1962 to 1964 and then as the
sixth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1964–1970), holding the latter position during
the Vietnam War. (For the sake of the committee, he will start his duty as chairman from the
starting date of the committee.)

General – William Westmoreland

William Childs Westmoreland is a United States Army general, most notably
commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served
as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1968 to 1972. Westmoreland adopted a
strategy of attrition against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, attempting to
drain them of manpower and supplies. He also made use of the United States' edge in artillery
and air power, both in tactical confrontations and in relentless strategic bombing of North
Vietnam.
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North Vietnam Cabinet

President – Hồ Chí Minh

Hồ Chí Minh, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime
Minister of the North Vietnam from 1945 to 1955 and is serving as President since 1955.
Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, he served as Chairman and First Secretary of the Workers'
Party of Vietnam.

As early as June 1956 the idea of overthrowing the South Vietnamese government was
presented at a politburo meeting. In 1959, Hồ Chí Minh began urging the Politburo to send
aid to the Việt Cộng in South Vietnam; a "people's war" on the South was approved at a
session in January 1959, and this decision was confirmed by the Politburo in March. North
Vietnam invaded Laos in July 1959 aided by the Pathet Lao and used 30,000 men to build a
network of supply and reinforcement routes running through Laos and Cambodia that became
known as the Hồ Chí Minh trail It allowed the North to send manpower and material to the
Việt Cộng with much less exposure to South Vietnamese forces, achieving a considerable
advantage.

To counter the accusation that North Vietnam was violating the Geneva Accord, the
independence of the Việt Cộng was stressed in communist propaganda. North Vietnam
created the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam in December 1960 as a "united front",
or political branch of the Viet Cong intended to encourage the participation of non-
Communists.

Prime Minister - Phạm Văn Đồng

Phạm Văn Đồng is a Vietnamese politician who is currently serving as the Prime
Minister of Vietnam since 1955.

In 1925 at the age of 18, he joined fellow students to stage a school sit-in to mourn the
death of the famous patriotic scholar Phan Chu Trinh. About this time he developed an
interest in the Communist party and in the unification of Vietnam. In 1926, he traveled
to Guangzhou in southern China to attend a training course run by Nguyen Ai Quoc (later to
be known as Ho Chi Minh), before being admitted as a member of the Vietnam Revolutionary
Youth Association, the predecessor of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).

Phạm Văn Đồng joined the Indochinese Communist Party in 1940 and then continued
to take part in activities led by Ho Chi Minh.

During 1954 he served as Vice-Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs. At the 5th
session of the DRV First National Assembly convocation (1955), Dong was appointed as
Prime Minister.
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General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam - Lê Duẩn

Lê Duẩn is a Vietnamese communist politician. He rose in the party hierarchy in the
late 1950s and became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of Vietnam (VCP) at the 3rd National Congress in 1960. He continued Hồ Chí Minh's policy
of ruling through collective leadership. Starting from the mid-1960s (when Hồ's health was
failing), he was the top decision-maker in Vietnam.

Minister of Finance - Đặng Việt Châu

Dang Huu Mai was a self-disciplined Confucian who refused to cooperate with the
French colonial government. At the end of 1929, Dang Huu Rang joined the Vietnamese
Nationalist Student Union , but after the Yen Bai uprising , most of the student unions in Nam
Dinh stopped working. Dang Huu Rang continued to participate in the Red Student Union,
participated in the celebration of the October Revolution and campaigned against the school,
against the French adjutant who despised local students.

Minister of Foreign Affairs - Nguyễn Hữu Thọ

In 1925, he joined the student movement demanding freedom of political activities
in Vinh city. The following year, he joined the Tan Viet Revolutionary Party and was sent
to Saigon to work. There he was arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison. After his
prison term expired, he was deported to the Central region by the government. In his
hometown, he joined the Indochinese Communist Party.

During 1930 - 1931, he was again arrested and exiled to Con Dao , then moved to Kon
Tum. Here, in 1941, he and some inmates escaped from prison but were recaptured.

At the Second Party Congress (1951), he was elected to the Central Committee of the
Party, and in August 1955 held the position of Secretary of the Party Central Committee. He
has been a member of the Politburo of the Party Central Committee since 1956.

Minister of Defence – Võ Nguyên Giáp

Võ Nguyên Giáp, nicknamed "Red Napoleon", is a Vietnamese general
and communist politician who is regarded as one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th
century. He served as interior minister in President Hồ Chí Minh's Việt Minh government,
currently serving as the military commander of the Việt Minh, the commander of the People's
Army of Vietnam (PAVN), minister of defence, and deputy prime minister. He is also serving
as a member of the Politburo of the Vietnam Workers' Party.
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Giáp first rose to prominence during World War II, when he served as the military
leader of the Viet Minh resistance against the Japanese occupation of Vietnam. He had no
direct military training and was a history teacher at a French-speaking academy, influenced by
historical military leaders and personally citing T. E. Lawrence and Napoleon as his two
greatest influences. He later earned the moniker "Red Napoleon" from some Western sources.

Chief of General Staff - Văn Tiến Dũng

Văn Tiến Dũng joined the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1936, he escaped from a
French prison in 1944, and fought against the Japanese occupation force during the Second
World War. August 1945, he directed the armed forces to seize power in the province of Hòa
Bình, Ninh Bình and Thanh Hóa. By October 1953 during the First Indochina War, Dũng rose
to become Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People's Army under General Võ Nguyên Giáp prior
to the siege of Điện Biên Phủ in 1954.

Commander of the PLAF - Trần Văn Trà

Nguyễn Chấn, known as Trần Văn Trà is a Vietnamese general. He is a commander in
the Vietcong; a member of the Central Committee of the Lao Dong Party (Workers' Party of
Vietnam) since 1962; a lieutenant general in the army of the North Vietnam; chairman of
Military Affairs Committee of the Central Office of South Vietnam (COSVN) since 1964.

He joined the Indochinese Communist Party in 1938 and spent the years of the Second
World War in a French prison. Between 1946 and 1954, Trà fought against the French in
the Vietnam People's Army and became a general in 1961, commanding communist forces in
the southern half of South Vietnam. During the days of Indochina war with the French, the
Viet Minh recruited more than 600 defeated Japanese soldiers to fight with them.

Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union - Andrei Antonovich Grechko

Andrei Antonovich Grechko was a Soviet general, Marshal of the Soviet Union and
Minister of Defense. (For the sake of the committee, he will start his duty as Minister of
Defence from the starting date of the committee.)
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KEY VOCABULARY

Communism
Communism is a theory or system of social organization, in which all property is
collectively owned by a classless community. Each person receives and contributes according
to their needs and ability. The biggest communist party in this context is the Soviet Union.

Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic and political system in which profit-based private owners
control a country’s industry and trade. It’s also a system based on the recognition of
individual rights. The biggest capitalistic party in this context are the United States of
America.

Policy of Containment
With the Truman Doctrine, U.S. president Harry S. Truman promised that the United
States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations that
felt threatened by internal or external authoritarian forces. The Doctrine effectively changed
U.S. foreign policy from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflict to directly
involving America to possible intervention in faraway conflicts. Truman’s Doctrine led to the
U.S. policy of Containment, which was set up to “dam” communism.

The Geneva Accords

Issued on the 21st of July 1954, the Geneva Accords set out several terms in relation
to Vietnam. A provisional military demarcation line would run along the 17th Parallel to
temporarily divide Vietnam into two parts, both North and South Vietnam were not allowed
to join a military alliance or to receive military troops from other nations, within two years,
the French would have completely left the country, and in 1956, divided North and South
would peacefully reunite.
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REFERENCES

 https://www.afhistory.af.mil/
 http://www.munish.nl/pages/downloader?code=hsc02&comcode=hsc&year=2017
 https://thriftytraveller.wordpress.com/tag/operation-rolling-thunder/
 https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-
offensive#:~:text=The%20Tet%20Offensive%20was%20a,involvement%20in%20the
%20Vietnam%20War.
 https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War
 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1960s-america/a/the-
vietnam-war
 https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/genevacc.htm
 https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/KH-LA-
VN_540720_GenevaAgreements.pdf
 https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/event/vietnam
 https://www.historynet.com/vietnam-war/
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z342mp3/revision/4
 https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/11/why-did-america-lose-the-vietnam-war.html
 https://www.archives.gov/research/vietnam-war
 United States Objectives and Courses of Action with respect to Communist
Aggression in Southeast Asia.pdf
 Indochina - United States Emergency Aid.pdf
 Possible US intervention in Indochina.pdf
 The Vietnam War: An Intimate History