Ending the Vietnam War: The Vietnamese

Existing studies of the Vietnam War have been written mostly from an American perspective, using western sources, and viewing the conflict through western eyes. This book, based on extensive original research, including Vietnamese, Chinese and former Soviet sources, tells the story of the war from the Tet offensive in 1968 up to the reunification of Vietnam in April 1975. Overall, it provides an important corrective to the predominantly US-centric narratives of the war by placing the Vietnamese communists center-stage in the story. It is a sequel to the author's RoutledgeCurzon bookThe Vietnam War From the Other Side, which covers the period 1962-68.

Ang Cheng Guan is Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Acknowledgements

ix

Map

x

Introduction

1

(4)

Overview of the book

5

(4)

1 The start of negotiations

9

(28)

Decision to negotiate

9

(1)

The Tet Offensive - Phase II

10

(1)

The start of the talks in Paris

11

(1)

The Tet Offensive - Phase III

12

(1)

Le Duc Tho-Harriman private meetings: the first five sessions

13

(1)

Hiccups and resumption of talks

14

(2)

The military situation in 1968 reviewed

16

(1)

The Four-Party Conference

17

(1)

The military situation in early 1969

18

(2)

Policy differences within the Hanoi leadership

20

(2)

The NLF's ten-point plan and Nixon's eight-point plan

22

(2)

Establishment of the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRGSVN)

24

(1)

Stalemate in Paris

25

(1)

Hanoi and Sino-Soviet relations, 1969

26

(2)

Ho Chi Minh's death and its aftermath

28

(4)

Military developments in the South, 1969

32

(2)

Military developments in Laos

34

(1)

The negotiations in 1969 reviewed

35

(2)

2 The widening war

37

(23)

The 18th Plenary Session of the Lao Dong Party

37

(1)

Reorganising the VPA

38

(4)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger first secret meeting (21 February 1970)

42

(1)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger second secret meeting (16 March 1970)

43

(1)

Communist activities in Cambodia

43

(2)

The deposition of Sihanouk and its aftermath

45

(3)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger third secret meeting (4 April 1970)

48

(1)

Indochinese Summit Conference (24-25 April 1970)

49

(1)

Tensions between the Vietnamese and Cambodian communists

49

(1)

Military developments in Cambodia

50

(3)

Le Duan - 'first among equals'

53

(1)

Xuan Thuy-Kissinger secret meeting (7 September 1970)

54

(2)

Communist military preparations

56

(2)

Xuna Thuy-Kissinger secret meeting (27 September 1970)

58

(2)

3 Fighting and negotiating

60

(27)

Kissinger's approach rebuffed

60

(1)

The 19th Plenary Session of the Lao Dong Party

60

(1)

COSVN Directive No. O1/CT71

61

(1)

Communist spring-summer 1971 counter-offensives: Route 9-southern Laos and Cambodia

62

(5)

Sino-Vietnamese communists' relations

67

(3)

Communist counter-offensive: Tay Nguyen

70

(1)

Vietnamese-Cambodian communists' relations

71

(1)

Xuan Thuy-Kissinger meeting (31 May 1971)

71

(2)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger meeting (26 June 1971)

73

(1)

Hanoi's analysis of the situation in mid-1971

74

(1)

Kissinger's secret visit to Beijing

75

(2)

Vietnamese communists' relations with Beijing and Moscow, 1971

77

(2)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger meeting (12 July 1971)

79

(1)

Kissinger's new eight-point plan

80

(1)

Vietnamese communists' relations with Moscow, 1971

81

(1)

Kissinger's second visit to Beijing

82

(1)

Kissinger's new offer

83

(2)

Hanoi's analysis of the situation at the end of 1971

85

(2)

4 Negotiations at a standstill

87

(16)

Secret meetings made public

87

(1)

Nixon's visit to China

87

(2)

Communist military preparations

89

(2)

The 20th Plenary Session of the Lao Dong Party

91

(1)

The 1972 Easter Offensive

92

(3)

US bombing campaign

95

(2)

Vietnam-Soviet relations, 1972

97

(1)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger meeting (2 May 1972)

98

(1)

The US-Soviet Summit meeting

99

(1)

A change of strategy

100

(3)

5 The peace agreement

103

(24)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger fourteenth meeting (19 July 1972)

103

(1)

Hanoi's new negotiation strategy

104

(1)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger meetings (1 and 14 August 1972)

105

(2)

Vietnamese communists' relations with Beijing and Moscow

107

(1)

Le Duc Tho-Kissinger meeting (15 September 1972)

108

(1)

The 26-27 September 1972 intensive negotiations

109

(2)

The communist plan for a 'general uprising' (4 October 1972)

111

(1)

The 8-12 October 1972 negotiations

111

(2)

Xuan Thuy-Kissinger meeting (17 October 1972)

113

(2)

The peace agreement aborted

115

(1)

Another cycle of negotiations

115

(2)

Linebacker II and counter-offensives

117

(3)

Another attempt at negotiation

120

(2)

The final agreement

122

(1)

Laying the groundwork for the agreement

123

(4)

6 An incomplete victory

127

(23)

Communist strategy for the South

127

(1)

COSVN meeting (16-17 March 1973)

128

(1)

COSVN Directive 3/CT/73

129

(2)

The journey to Hanoi

131

(1)

Meeting with Le Duan

132

(2)

Discussions with the Central Military Committee

134

(1)

Developments in South Vietnam reviewed

134

(2)

The Politburo meeting (May June 1973)

136

(3)

Developments in North Vietnam

139

(1)

Developments in Laos

140

(1)

Developments in Cambodia

141

(1)

Vietnamese communists' relations with China and the USSR, 1973

142

(1)

Hanoi, Beijing and the on-going conflict in Cambodia

143

(2)

COSVN Conference (September 1973)

145

(1)

Military preparations

146

(1)

Resolution 21 (15 October 1973) and COSVN Resolution 12

147

(1)

Developments in the US

148

(2)

7 Ending the war

150

(16)

The situation in the South

150

(1)

Military preparations

151

(3)

Meeting with Le Duan at Do Son

154

(2)

COSVN conference (July 1974)

156

(1)

Politburo meeting (September-October 1974)

156

(2)

Politburo meeting (December 1974 January 1975)

158

(1)

The fighting in the South

159

(2)

The 1974-1975 dry season offensive

161

(3)

Vietnamese communists' relations with Beijing and Moscow

164

(1)

The Ho Chi Minh campaign

165

(1)

Notes

166

(19)

Select bibliography

185

(11)

Index

196

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Ending the Vietnam War: The Vietnamese Communists' Perspective

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials