Vietnam: A Television History

Episode 01

Roots of a War: 1945-53

Oct 4, 1983 · 60 min

The end of World War II opened the way for the return of French rule to Indochina. Despite the ties he had forged within the American intelligence community, and his professed respect for democratic ideals, Ho Chi Minh was unable to convince Washington to recognize the legitimacy of his independence movement against the French. French generals and their American advisors expected Ho's rag-tag Viet Minh guerrillas to be defeated easily. But after eight years of fighting and $2.5 billion in U.S. aid, the French lost a crucial battle at Dienbienphu -- and with it, their Asian empire.

Episode 02

The First Vietnam War

Oct 5, 1983 · 60 min

The eight-year battle between the French and Vietminh is examined.

Episode 03

America's Mandarin: 1954-63

Oct 11, 1983 · 60 min

With a goal of stopping the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, America replaced France in South Vietnam -- supporting autocratic President Ngo Dinh Diem until his own generals turned against him in a coup that brought political chaos to Saigon.

Episode 04

LBJ Goes to War: 1964-65

Oct 18, 1983 · 60 min

With Ho Chi Minh determined to reunite Vietnam, President Lyndon Baines Johnson determined to prevent it, and South Vietnam on the verge of collapse, the stage was set for massive escalation of the undeclared Vietnam War.

Episode 05

America Takes Charge: 1965-67

Oct 25, 1983 · 60 min

In two years, the Johnson administration's troop build-up dispatched 1.5 million Americans to Vietnam to fight a war they found baffling, tedious, exciting, deadly and unforgettable.

Episode 06

America's Enemy: 1954-67

Nov 1, 1983 · 60 min

The Vietnam War as seen from different perspectives by Vietcong guerrillas and sympathizers, by North Vietnamese leaders and rank and file, and by Americans held prisoner in Hanoi.

Episode 07

Tet: 1968

Nov 8, 1983 · 60 min

The massive enemy offensive at the lunar New Year decimated the Vietcong and failed to topple the Saigon government -- but led to the beginning of America's military withdrawal from Vietnam.

Episode 08

Vietnamizing the War: 1969-73

Nov 15, 1983 · 60 min

President Richard Nixon's program of troop pull-outs, stepped-up bombing and huge arms shipments to Saigon changed the war and left GIs wondering which of them would be the last to die in Vietnam.

Episode 09

Cambodia and Laos

Nov 22, 1983 · 60 min

Despite technical neutrality, both of Vietnam's smaller neighbors were drawn into the war, suffered massive bombings, and, in the case of Cambodia, endured a post-war holocaust of nightmarish proportions.

Episode 10

Peace is at Hand: 1968-73

Nov 29, 1983 · 60 min

While American and Vietnamese soldiers continued to clash in battle, diplomats in Paris argued about making peace. After more than four years, they reached an accord that proved to be a preface to further bloodshed.

Episode 11

Homefront USA

Dec 6, 1983 · 60 min

Through troubled years of controversy and violence, U.S .casualties mounted, victory remained elusive, and American opinion moved from general approval to general dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War.

Episode 12

The End of the Tunnel: 1973-75

Dec 13, 1983 · 60 min

South Vietnamese leaders believed that America would never let them go down to defeat -- a belief that died as North Vietnamese tanks smashed into Saigon on April 30, 1975, and the long war ended with South Vietnam's surrender.

Episode 13

Legacies

Dec 20, 1983 · 60 min

The legacy of the Vietnam War is examined.