The Paris Peace Accords, 1973
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 5.3.22
The Paris Peace Accords, 1973
The Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973 and included the following agreements.
Signatories
- The Paris Peace Accords were signed by:
- The USA.
- North Vietnam.
- South Vietnam.
- The National Liberation Front (now called the Provisional Revolutionary Government).
- They all agreed to:
Reunification and ceasefire
- Accept the reunification of Vietnam and a new government to be elected with international supervision.
- Begin a ceasefire between all four of them.
Military futures
- Keep the armies of both South Vietnamese ‘governments’ but the USA would not send aid to the ARVN.
- Dismantle all US military bases and withdraw all troops, equipment and advisors within 60 days.
POWs and aid
- Exchange prisoners of war and captured equipment within 60 days.
- The USA to give aid for reconstruction to both sides.
Future role of the USA
- The USA government could not interfere in any way in Vietnam; politically, militarily or otherwise.
The Paris Peace Accords, 1973
The Paris Peace Accords did not bring instant peace. Unification only began after the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese on 30th April 1975.
Military personnel
- By March 1973 only 150 US marines remained in South Vietnam to guard the US embassy.
- 10,000 military personnel also remained as civilian advisors.
American support
- Congress cut funding, and most of the aid Nixon had promised to the South did not arrive, leaving the ARVN badly supplied.
- This led to the collapse of the South Vietnamese economy.
Thieu
- Thieu failed to make the government more democratic or replace corrupt officials, so the popularity of the VC in the villages began to rise again.
- Thieu refused to negotiate or work with communists; either the North Vietnamese or the Provisional Revolutionary Government.
1974 attack
- The North grew frustrated with Thieu and launched a new attack in December 1974 using the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
- The ARVN were unable to fight back, and the USA didn’t send the help they had promised in the case of an attack.
- Congress only allowed funding to evacuate US citizens.
The fall of Saigon
- The fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese on 30th April 1975 came much sooner than expected.
- Vietnam would become a united, communist country.
Test yourself on The Paris Peace Accords, 1973
When were the Paris Peace Accords signed?
Who were the Paris Peace Accords signed by?
How many days was the US given to dismantle all military bases and withdraw all troops, equipment and advisors in the Paris Peace Accords?
When did Saigon fall to the North Vietnamese?
Why did North Vietnam become frustrated with President Thieu?