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(song in foreign language)
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NARRATOR: October 16th, 1964.
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Communist China prepares
to detonate its first atomic bomb.
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(countdown in Mandarin)
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(opening theme song playing)
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China modifies the Balance of Terror.
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It becomes the fifth country
to have nuclear capacity,
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after the United States, the USSR,
the United Kingdom and France.
00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:14.720 line:10%,start
China's Leader, Mao Zedong, will carry
even more weight in the war in Vietnam.
00:01:22.320 --> 00:01:26.280 line:90%,end
Recalling his 1950 intervention
in Korea, he threatens:
00:01:27.440 --> 00:01:30.040 line:90%,end
"If the United States
attacks North Vietnam,
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they will have to remember
that the Chinese have legs,
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and that those legs are made for walking."
00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:46.160 line:90%,end
A few months earlier,
00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:49.160 line:10%,start
in January 1963...
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John F. Kennedy is often filmed with his
family, to seduce public opinion.
00:01:55.880 --> 00:01:59.440 line:90%,end
He is increasingly concerned
about the situation in Vietnam.
00:02:01.240 --> 00:02:03.360 line:90%,end
After a long war against the French,
00:02:03.440 --> 00:02:06.480 line:90%,end
Indochina has split
into two separate countries.
00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.640 line:90%,end
The Communist North is dominated by China.
00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:12.760 line:90%,end
The South is part of the Western World.
00:02:13.320 --> 00:02:17.520 line:90%,end
Its army, trained by
15,000 American "military advisors",
00:02:17.600 --> 00:02:21.120 line:90%,end
fights against the Communist resistance
fighters of the Viet Cong,
00:02:21.200 --> 00:02:22.920 line:90%,end
who pose a growing threat.
00:02:23.760 --> 00:02:24.800 line:90%,end
(gunshot)
00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:33.600 line:10%,start
They even defeat the South Vietnamese and
the Americans, in the Battle of Ap Bac.
00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:34.960 line:10%,start
(soldiers shouting)
00:02:35.040 --> 00:02:38.240 line:10%,start
(gunfire)
00:02:41.720 --> 00:02:42.880 line:90%,end
(explosion)
00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:46.720 line:90%,end
(helicopter whirring)
00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.680 line:10%,start
In Saigon, in the spring of 1963,
00:02:50.760 --> 00:02:52.720 line:90%,end
Buddhist monks stage protests.
00:02:54.160 --> 00:02:56.360 line:90%,end
They accuse the South
Vietnamese government,
00:02:56.440 --> 00:02:59.840 line:90%,end
backed by the Americans,
of favoring the Catholics.
00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:01.840 line:90%,end
And the South Vietnamese accuse
00:03:01.920 --> 00:03:05.040 line:90%,end
the Buddhists of being
manipulated by the Communists.
00:03:07.480 --> 00:03:10.400 line:10%,start
The South Vietnamese
President, Ngo Dinh Diem,
00:03:10.480 --> 00:03:13.320 line:10%,start
is accused by American
Ambassador Cabot Lodge,
00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:15.880 line:10%,start
of not having control over the situation.
00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:21.320 line:10%,start
Kennedy is reminded
of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
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American aide hadn't
succeeded in stopping Mao.
00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.000 line:90%,end
We don't want to
have a repetition of China
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because that was the most damaging event
certainly, that's occurred to us,
00:03:34.440 --> 00:03:35.920 line:90%,end
perhaps in this century
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when that passed under
the control of the communists.
00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.560 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: Kennedy
gives the South Vietnamese generals
00:03:44.640 --> 00:03:48.400 line:90%,end
the green light to get rid of Diem,
who is considered powerless.
00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:54.000 line:10%,start
(gunshots)
00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:56.480 line:10%,start
November 2nd, 1963,
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the South Vietnamese army
storms the Presidential Palace
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and establishes a strict
military regime in Saigon.
00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:10.960 line:90%,end
(heavy gunfire)
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South Vietnamese President Diem, and his
brother, are summarily executed.
00:04:22.440 --> 00:04:23.760 line:90%,end
(gunshot)
00:04:28.400 --> 00:04:31.560 line:10%,start
A few days later, on November 10th, 1963,
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Jackie and John Kennedy
take a family break together
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before their electoral trip
to Dallas, Texas.
00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:48.520 line:90%,end
Jackie is trying
to overcome her depression
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after the loss of
her third child, Patrick.
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John-John and Caroline
are of great comfort to her.
00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:04.920 line:90%,end
Jackie teaches her son
the military salute.
00:05:06.840 --> 00:05:11.560 line:90%,end
She has no desire to go to Dallas, a town
known to be hostile towards her husband.
00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:15.840 line:90%,end
Kennedy is also concerned.
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But he jokes around:
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"It would be easy to assassinate me.
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Just go to the top of a building
with a sniper rifle."
00:05:25.080 --> 00:05:29.480 line:90%,end
(dramatic music playing)
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(airplane landing)
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November 22nd, 1963, at 11: 30 am,
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the Presidential couple arrives in Dallas.
00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.160 line:90%,end
(crowd cheering)
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The never-ending cortège takes
an hour to reach downtown.
00:05:51.400 --> 00:05:54.240 line:90%,end
(gunshots)
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12: 30.
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(gunshot)
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(woman screaming)
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(chaotic chatter)
00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:15.400 line:90%,end
(reporters speaking indistinctly)
00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.960 line:90%,end
(woman screaming)
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Vice-President, Lyndon Johnson
will replace Kennedy
00:06:21.760 --> 00:06:24.520 line:10%,start
and become the 36th President
of the United States,
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as directed by the American Constitution.
00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:31.160 line:90%,end
He is sworn in on the plane that
transports the body back to Washington.
00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.760 line:90%,end
Jackie Kennedy,
still in shock, is with him.
00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:48.200 line:90%,end
(ceremonious funeral bugle playing)
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At her husband's funeral,
00:06:51.440 --> 00:06:55.400 line:90%,end
Jackie leans over to her 3-year-old son,
John-John and says:
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“Now, you can salute Daddy
and say goodbye to him.”
00:07:04.320 --> 00:07:07.480 line:90%,end
The police find the prints
of a certain Lee Harvey Oswald
00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:09.320 line:90%,end
on the gun which killed the President.
00:07:10.840 --> 00:07:14.200 line:10%,start
He bought the gun by mail order for $21.
00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:21.400 line:90%,end
Oswald is a 24-year-old who has recently
returned from the Soviet Union.
00:07:22.960 --> 00:07:27.200 line:90%,end
He is quickly arrested,
and almost immediately assassinated
00:07:27.280 --> 00:07:30.040 line:90%,end
live on television, by Jack Ruby.
00:07:32.200 --> 00:07:36.320 line:90%,end
The investigative committee will conclude
that Oswald was the President's assassin
00:07:36.400 --> 00:07:38.480 line:90%,end
and that it was an isolated act.
00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:42.400 line:10%,start
In Moscow, Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev
00:07:42.960 --> 00:07:46.400 line:10%,start
comes to sign the book
of condolences at the American Embassy.
00:07:52.440 --> 00:07:54.040 line:10%,start
He is genuinely devastated,
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and equally worried about
the consequences of Kennedy's death.
00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:03.280 line:90%,end
Lyndon Johnson, is sworn in
as President of the United States,
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as a result of these sad circumstances.
00:08:06.880 --> 00:08:08.480 line:90%,end
He is 55 years old.
00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:11.720 line:90%,end
The Kennedy brothers
chose him as Vice-President
00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:15.880 line:90%,end
because he is an elected Democrat from
the South with anti-racist views.
00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:20.400 line:90%,end
Although he's determined to continue
00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:23.720 line:90%,end
Kennedy's work for equal
civil and social rights,
00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:27.960 line:90%,end
he is less involved in the fight against
Communism, which he knows little about.
00:08:30.280 --> 00:08:32.360 line:90%,end
(speaking indistinctly)
00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:40.680 line:90%,end
(heavy gunfire)
00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:51.080 line:90%,end
The Communist insurgents of the Viet Cong
are uncatchable in the jungle.
00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:58.520 line:90%,end
Kennedy had approved
getting rid of the jungle.
00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:01.280 line:90%,end
(airplane engines humming)
00:09:02.880 --> 00:09:05.920 line:90%,end
Ten years earlier,
the French had considered this option.
00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:10.720 line:90%,end
But it is Kennedy who authorizes the use
of the herbicide, Agent Orange,
00:09:10.800 --> 00:09:12.160 line:90%,end
made by Monsanto.
00:09:16.640 --> 00:09:18.360 line:90%,end
Its effects are devastating,
00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:22.600 line:90%,end
especially in the rice bowl of the south,
the Mekong Delta.
00:09:25.040 --> 00:09:28.160 line:10%,start
The Operation is code named Ranch Hand,
00:09:29.280 --> 00:09:33.640 line:10%,start
begun in 1962, it will continue
for eight more years.
00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:42.360 line:90%,end
This doesn't impress Ho Chi Minh,
00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:45.120 line:90%,end
who still rules North Vietnam
00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:47.720 line:90%,end
and is very active
in front of the world's cameras.
00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:49.480 line:90%,end
INTERVIEWER (speaking foreign language):
Are you afraid that
00:09:49.560 --> 00:09:51.200 line:90%,end
the Americans might bring
the war to North Vietnam?
00:09:51.280 --> 00:09:52.720 line:90%,end
We are never afraid.
00:09:54.280 --> 00:09:58.000 line:90%,end
As the French said: "Fear does not exist."
00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:04.000 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: Johnson
doesn't have the same determination.
00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:07.280 line:90%,end
He calls his advisor,
McGeorge Bundy, and tells him:
00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:10.000 line:90%,end
JOHNSON (on phone): I don't see what
we can ever hope to get out of there with
00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:11.240 line:90%,end
once we're committed.
00:10:11.800 --> 00:10:14.720 line:90%,end
I don't think it's worth fighting for and
I don't think we can get out.
00:10:14.800 --> 00:10:17.680 line:90%,end
I just thought about ordering
all those kids in there.
00:10:17.760 --> 00:10:20.000 line:90%,end
And what in the hell
am I ordering them out there for?
00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:24.520 line:90%,end
What in the hell is Vietnam worth to me?
What is it worth to this country?
00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:30.440 line:10%,start
NARRATOR: Johnson
and his Secretary of Defense, McNamara
00:10:30.520 --> 00:10:33.360 line:10%,start
decide to send the head
of the American Army to Vietnam.
00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:39.560 line:10%,start
General William Westmoreland, a brilliant
50-year old paratrooper officer,
00:10:39.640 --> 00:10:42.440 line:90%,end
is a World War II and Korean War hero.
00:10:44.800 --> 00:10:48.080 line:90%,end
His mission: save South Vietnam
from collapsing.
00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.080 line:10%,start
When he arrives in June 1964,
00:10:57.160 --> 00:11:00.800 line:90%,end
Westmoreland discovers
a very complex situation.
00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:05.360 line:90%,end
The Americans are convinced
they are no longer confronting
00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:08.560 line:90%,end
South Vietnamese
Viet Cong resistance fighters,
00:11:08.640 --> 00:11:11.080 line:90%,end
but the regular North Vietnamese army,
00:11:11.160 --> 00:11:13.600 line:90%,end
who has infiltrated
the southern part of the country.
00:11:14.400 --> 00:11:18.080 line:90%,end
For the Americans to fight them legally,
they'll need a pretext.
00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:22.320 line:90%,end
The Gulf of Tonkin incident
will provide them with one.
00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:27.880 line:10%,start
On August 2nd, 1964,
00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:31.320 line:90%,end
two US Navy ships sail
"too close" to North Vietnam.
00:11:32.640 --> 00:11:35.240 line:90%,end
They claim they were attacked
by the North Vietnamese.
00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:41.200 line:90%,end
This is the pretext needed to order
the American aircraft carriers to engage
00:11:41.280 --> 00:11:42.760 line:90%,end
in a show of force
00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:46.880 line:90%,end
and to ask the United States
Congress on August 7th, 1964,
00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:52.600 line:10%,start
to authorize Johnson to officially
declare war on North Vietnam.
00:11:57.760 --> 00:12:01.200 line:90%,end
(speaking in Mandarin) Get out of Vietnam,
imperialistic Americans!
00:12:01.280 --> 00:12:05.080 line:90%,end
NARRATOR (in English): China immediately
mobilizes to denounce Uncle Sam,
00:12:05.160 --> 00:12:08.120 line:90%,end
the symbol of America
and its murderous planes.
00:12:12.520 --> 00:12:14.880 line:90%,end
(speaking in foreign language)
00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:18.720 line:10%,start
In Moscow on October 14th, 1964,
00:12:18.800 --> 00:12:21.520 line:10%,start
Soviet leaders, led by Leonid Brezhnev,
00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:23.120 line:10%,start
remove Khrushchev from power
00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:26.640 line:10%,start
in the hopes of rekindling relations
with China once again.
00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:32.840 line:10%,start
Khrushchev's alienation also paves
the way for a rapprochement
00:12:32.920 --> 00:12:35.040 line:10%,start
between the USSR and Vietnam.
00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:40.360 line:90%,end
Kosygin, the new Soviet Prime Minister,
can travel to Hanoi
00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:43.760 line:90%,end
and organize large-scale
aide for North Vietnam.
00:12:49.680 --> 00:12:52.240 line:90%,end
Much of these supplies
transit through China,
00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:56.920 line:90%,end
who helps itself to whatever
it likes, and copies the technology.
00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.560 line:90%,end
Mao continues to calculate ruthlessly.
00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:04.760 line:90%,end
He wants to weaken Russia.
00:13:05.680 --> 00:13:08.800 line:90%,end
These large quantities of arms
delivered to North Vietnam
00:13:08.880 --> 00:13:11.400 line:90%,end
will put a strain on the Soviet economy.
00:13:12.880 --> 00:13:14.040 line:90%,end
Johnson, on the other hand,
00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:18.800 line:10%,start
dismisses the idea of peaceful
coexistence in March 1965
00:13:18.880 --> 00:13:22.760 line:10%,start
when he launches a massive aerial
offensive against North Vietnam.
00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:26.320 line:10%,start
(heavy gunfire)
00:13:26.400 --> 00:13:30.800 line:10%,start
Operation Rolling Thunder is intended
to impact public opinion,
00:13:30.880 --> 00:13:33.520 line:90%,end
without risking
the loss of American lives.
00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:43.360 line:90%,end
But the US Air Force
is not authorized to strike Hanoi,
00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:46.480 line:90%,end
the Northern capital,
so as not to provoke China.
00:13:52.920 --> 00:13:56.240 line:90%,end
So, once the supply routes towards
the South have been destroyed,
00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:00.040 line:90%,end
along with the bridges,
barracks, and ammunition depots,
00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:02.280 line:90%,end
the Americans run out of targets.
00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.720 line:90%,end
Enormous Boeing B-52 bombers,
00:14:09.800 --> 00:14:13.560 line:90%,end
based initially in the Pacific,
then in Thailand, make their entrance.
00:14:18.160 --> 00:14:21.680 line:90%,end
Each one drops thirty tons
of bombs on the countryside.
00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:35.880 line:10%,start
On March 30th, 1965,
00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:40.840 line:10%,start
a Viet Cong car bomb terrorist attack
in front of the American embassy
00:14:40.920 --> 00:14:43.360 line:90%,end
kills 20 and injures 200.
00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:49.360 line:90%,end
There is no turning back
for President Johnson.
00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:53.640 line:10%,start
On July 28th, 1965,
00:14:54.800 --> 00:14:57.920 line:10%,start
he solemnly addresses
the American people on TV.
00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:00.600 line:90%,end
My fellow Americans,
00:15:02.520 --> 00:15:04.400 line:90%,end
I do not find it easy
00:15:05.920 --> 00:15:11.680 line:90%,end
to send the flower of our youth,
our finest young men into battle.
00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:16.640 line:90%,end
But we must not
let this mask the central fact
00:15:17.640 --> 00:15:20.520 line:10%,start
that this is really War.
00:15:21.760 --> 00:15:26.480 line:10%,start
It is guided by North Vietnam and
it is spurred by communist China.
00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:31.840 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: American
ground forces in Vietnam
00:15:31.920 --> 00:15:36.400 line:90%,end
increase from 23,000 to 184,000 men.
00:15:41.520 --> 00:15:43.800 line:90%,end
With the first wave of reinforcements,
00:15:43.880 --> 00:15:46.920 line:90%,end
the American general staff can
implement major offensives
00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:48.840 line:90%,end
to find and destroy Charlie.
00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.320 line:90%,end
These operations mobilize
hundreds of helicopters,
00:15:56.400 --> 00:15:59.840 line:90%,end
which have become the modern stallions
of the First Cavalry Division.
00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.000 line:90%,end
(energetic music playing)
00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:26.160 line:90%,end
The American army launches roughly
ten major operations in 1965,
00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:29.520 line:90%,end
twenty in '66 and thirty in '67.
00:16:30.160 --> 00:16:34.320 line:90%,end
The criteria of success for these
operations is the Body Count,
00:16:34.400 --> 00:16:39.600 line:90%,end
the total number of enemy casualties.
Like 600 in Operation Starlite.
00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:46.800 line:90%,end
A new element, television,
makes its appearance,
00:16:46.880 --> 00:16:49.800 line:90%,end
broadcasting uncensored
images and testimonies,
00:16:49.880 --> 00:16:51.640 line:10%,start
punctuated by the powerful delivery
00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:54.680 line:10%,start
of the star anchorman
of the day, Walter Cronkite.
00:16:54.760 --> 00:16:58.680 line:90%,end
If the American public had not known
until then, they know now.
00:16:58.760 --> 00:17:00.840 line:90%,end
The United States is indeed at war.
00:17:01.400 --> 00:17:04.280 line:10%,start
NARRATOR: This soldier can finally be
heard by the American public.
00:17:04.760 --> 00:17:09.120 line:90%,end
Yes it does... Yeah it was...
it was pretty bad to
00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:13.160 line:90%,end
listen to your friends crying out for help
and not being able to do a thing.
00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:17.440 line:90%,end
We just couldn't do anything.
We were all pinned down.
00:17:18.280 --> 00:17:19.160 line:90%,end
And...
00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:21.360 line:90%,end
INTERVIEWER: I suppose,
there are two questions...
00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.560 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: Even General Westmoreland
appears exhausted.
00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:29.360 line:90%,end
INTERVIEWER: ...One is how long is this
war going to go on? And two,
00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.440 line:90%,end
how many more American boys
will have to be sent here?
00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:35.240 line:90%,end
Are they any answers to these questions?
00:17:36.320 --> 00:17:38.000 line:90%,end
There is certainly no simple answers.
00:17:39.640 --> 00:17:45.560 line:90%,end
This war is not going to end by any one
single battle or combination of battles.
00:17:47.360 --> 00:17:50.680 line:90%,end
It could be a situation that
it could drag out for some time
00:17:50.760 --> 00:17:53.920 line:90%,end
and I think we must prepare
for this eventuality.
00:17:58.320 --> 00:18:03.080 line:90%,end
Certainly as the war gets more intense,
and I feel it will in coming months,
00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:06.920 line:90%,end
we will suffer more American casualties.
00:18:11.080 --> 00:18:15.080 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: Westmoreland
obtains 250,000 additional troops.
00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:17.600 line:90%,end
-Yes, sir.
-WESTMORELAND: Well, you'll get...
00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:19.240 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: A few comforting words...
00:18:19.320 --> 00:18:20.800 line:90%,end
-WESTMORELAND: ...in few days.
-Thank you, sir.
00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:24.760 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: ...but does high command already
know that their sacrifice will be useless?
00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:29.960 line:90%,end
To bring the North to its knees,
other means are required.
00:18:30.760 --> 00:18:33.040 line:90%,end
Famous Air Force general Curtis LeMay,
00:18:33.120 --> 00:18:35.640 line:90%,end
an advocate
of strategic bombing, declares:
00:18:36.280 --> 00:18:39.240 line:90%,end
"My solution is to tell
the North Vietnam Communists
00:18:39.320 --> 00:18:41.880 line:90%,end
that we are going to send them
back to the Stone Age!"
00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.280 line:10%,start
June 29th, 1966,
00:18:57.360 --> 00:19:01.840 line:90%,end
for the first time, Johnson authorizes the
bombing of Hanoi and the Haiphong harbor.
00:19:05.320 --> 00:19:06.880 line:90%,end
Johnson tells his daughter:
00:19:07.760 --> 00:19:11.200 line:90%,end
"Your daddy may go down in history
for having started World War III."
00:19:15.520 --> 00:19:18.360 line:10%,start
Bombing Haiphong harbor
is a dangerous undertaking.
00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.400 line:90%,end
American planes risk
hitting Russian freighters,
00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:23.880 line:90%,end
continually unloading war supplies,
00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:26.920 line:90%,end
and a Soviet intervention
is always a possibility.
00:19:30.760 --> 00:19:34.440 line:90%,end
The targets are very limited
and are on the outskirts of the city,
00:19:34.520 --> 00:19:37.280 line:90%,end
but always result in
tragic human casualties.
00:19:37.360 --> 00:19:41.480 line:90%,end
These are immediately exploited
by the North's propaganda machine.
00:19:41.560 --> 00:19:43.600 line:90%,end
(aircraft engines and alarm noise)
00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:56.520 line:90%,end
The destruction of Hanoi,
the capital of North Vietnam,
00:19:56.600 --> 00:19:59.080 line:90%,end
would provoke
a violent reaction from China.
00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:02.560 line:90%,end
So once again, the bombs fall
outside the city limits.
00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:13.240 line:90%,end
Ho Chi Minh is confident.
00:20:13.320 --> 00:20:17.000 line:90%,end
He parades along Haiphong harbor
with his friends from the Russian navy.
00:20:17.520 --> 00:20:21.120 line:90%,end
He has nothing to fear, and makes
the most of the situation.
00:20:23.520 --> 00:20:25.680 line:10%,start
His voice echoes daily in Hanoi:
00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:28.800 line:10%,start
(Ho Chi Minh voice on radio)
00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:32.400 line:90%,end
The war could last another five, ten,
twenty years or even more.
00:20:33.800 --> 00:20:36.400 line:90%,end
Hanoi, Haiphong, and
other towns, businesses,
00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:38.800 line:90%,end
factories may be totally destroyed.
00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:42.400 line:90%,end
But the Vietnamese will not let
themselves be intimidated,
00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:46.680 line:90%,end
because nothing is more precious to them
than independence and freedom!
00:20:52.360 --> 00:20:54.720 line:90%,end
(alarm blaring)
00:20:54.800 --> 00:20:56.240 line:90%,end
(jet noise)
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:04.200 line:90%,end
The American pilots know that their planes
full of electronic equipment,
00:21:04.280 --> 00:21:07.160 line:90%,end
are vulnerable to ground fire,
even of small caliber.
00:21:12.600 --> 00:21:15.520 line:90%,end
The pilots fear North Vietnamese
anti-aircraft attacks,
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.520 line:90%,end
(heavy gunfire)
00:21:21.800 --> 00:21:25.360 line:90%,end
backed by the numerous Soviet canons
that are controlled by radar,
00:21:26.120 --> 00:21:28.800 line:90%,end
and the highly sophisticated SAM missiles.
00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:35.000 line:90%,end
Future Senator John McCain,
a pilot at the time,
00:21:35.080 --> 00:21:37.720 line:90%,end
is hit by a missile
and parachutes to safety.
00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.520 line:90%,end
Like many pilots, he is virtually
lynched by the crowds,
00:21:48.600 --> 00:21:50.240 line:90%,end
especially for the cameras.
00:21:57.600 --> 00:22:00.000 line:10%,start
His arms and legs are broken.
00:22:00.080 --> 00:22:04.600 line:10%,start
He is spared at the last minute and
taken care of at the Hanoi hospital.
00:22:05.520 --> 00:22:08.840 line:90%,end
Since he is the son of the admiral
in charge of the Pacific zone,
00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:11.480 line:90%,end
the North Vietnamese
call in the TV cameras.
00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:14.840 line:90%,end
I would just like to tell...
00:22:19.040 --> 00:22:20.200 line:90%,end
my wife...
00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:24.760 line:90%,end
I will get well...
00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:27.920 line:90%,end
I love her...
00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:32.720 line:90%,end
and I hope to see her soon.
00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:36.960 line:90%,end
I would appreciate if you tell her that,
00:22:40.040 --> 00:22:41.240 line:90%,end
that's all.
00:22:41.320 --> 00:22:44.560 line:90%,end
(somber music playing)
00:22:55.800 --> 00:22:59.200 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: The captured American pilots
are locked up in the old French jail
00:22:59.280 --> 00:23:03.360 line:90%,end
they facetiously refer
to as the Hanoi Hilton.
00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:16.600 line:90%,end
They are kept alive to be used
as human shields in the town's center.
00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:19.680 line:90%,end
(crowd shouting)
00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:23.640 line:10%,start
English student, Trinh Thi Ngo,
00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:26.920 line:10%,start
speaks to them every day
over Hanoi's radio waves.
00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:30.720 line:90%,end
TRINH (on radio): GI,
your government has abandoned you.
00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:34.000 line:90%,end
They lied to you GI.
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.440 line:90%,end
You have lost this war, GI.
00:23:38.600 --> 00:23:41.600 line:90%,end
They cannot see you
from your airplanes, GI.
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:43.200 line:90%,end
They come to bomb you!
00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:51.240 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: From now on, the Americans
limit their targets to the South.
00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:55.960 line:90%,end
Their planes drop thousands of tons
of bombs on the Viet Cong,
00:23:56.520 --> 00:23:59.520 line:90%,end
destroying a territory that
they are supposed to defend.
00:24:03.760 --> 00:24:07.360 line:90%,end
The most common way of wiping out
fighters hidden in the jungle
00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:09.800 line:90%,end
is phosphorus mixed with napalm,
00:24:11.760 --> 00:24:16.040 line:90%,end
gelled gasoline that burns everything
upon impact when it explodes.
00:24:29.520 --> 00:24:34.120 line:90%,end
The Viet Cong go underground.
They dig hundreds of miles of tunnels.
00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:38.040 line:10%,start
Like the famous underground complex
in Cu Chi, near Saigon.
00:24:40.840 --> 00:24:45.240 line:90%,end
Survival shelters, "living" spaces,
military hospitals,
00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:49.560 line:90%,end
food and weapon storage.
00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:00.800 line:90%,end
Westmoreland says: They are human moles!
00:25:06.280 --> 00:25:07.320 line:90%,end
(helicopter whirring)
00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:11.800 line:90%,end
At the end of 1967, the Viet Cong
receive orders from Hanoi
00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:15.760 line:90%,end
to prepare a major offensive across
the entire southern part of the country.
00:25:20.600 --> 00:25:22.920 line:90%,end
The launch date is carefully chosen.
00:25:25.040 --> 00:25:27.480 line:10%,start
January 30th, 1968,
00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:31.120 line:10%,start
the day of the Vietnamese
New Year, the Tet.
00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:34.400 line:10%,start
It will be known as the Tet Offensive.
00:25:36.600 --> 00:25:40.680 line:10%,start
In Saigon, the year of the Monkey,
a very good omen, begins.
00:25:42.800 --> 00:25:45.600 line:90%,end
The unicorn dance chases the evil spirits.
00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:48.480 line:90%,end
Ancestors are honored.
00:25:50.560 --> 00:25:53.480 line:90%,end
Half the South Vietnamese
Army is on leave.
00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:59.640 line:90%,end
Good Morning, Vietnam!
00:26:00.280 --> 00:26:03.120 line:90%,end
(lively music playing)
00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:08.200 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: The young Americans spend
a tropical New Year at the beach.
00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:13.800 line:90%,end
North Vietnam has even
called for a cease-fire,
00:26:13.880 --> 00:26:17.080 line:90%,end
while secretly sending
reinforcements to the South.
00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:23.720 line:90%,end
(explosion)
00:26:23.800 --> 00:26:24.840 line:90%,end
During the night,
00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:28.640 line:10%,start
the North Vietnamese Army initiates
its attack throughout the country.
00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:34.440 line:10%,start
On the morning of January 31st, 1968,
the situation is unclear.
00:26:34.520 --> 00:26:37.040 line:90%,end
(gunfire and people shouting)
00:26:37.120 --> 00:26:41.120 line:90%,end
The Communists had bet on a massive
popular uprising in their favor.
00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:45.080 line:90%,end
But the people, terrorized,
seek protection.
00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:48.480 line:90%,end
(speaking in foreign language)
00:26:48.560 --> 00:26:51.240 line:90%,end
The South Vietnamese Army
manages to hold its own
00:26:51.320 --> 00:26:53.040 line:90%,end
against the soldiers from the North.
00:26:53.600 --> 00:26:56.880 line:90%,end
(heavy gunfire)
00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:17.120 line:90%,end
The Marines fight to regain control
of the American Embassy's gardens.
00:27:18.120 --> 00:27:21.640 line:90%,end
A powerful symbol that the Viet Cong
has managed to occupy.
00:27:23.800 --> 00:27:28.080 line:90%,end
(heavy gunfire and soldiers shouting)
00:27:30.320 --> 00:27:33.800 line:90%,end
(gunfire continues)
00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:04.600 line:90%,end
By the evening of January 31st,
00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:07.680 line:90%,end
the situation in Saigon
has returned to normal.
00:28:07.760 --> 00:28:10.000 line:90%,end
But not in the hundreds
of towns of the South
00:28:10.080 --> 00:28:11.920 line:90%,end
which were attacked at the same time.
00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:14.600 line:90%,end
(explosions)
00:28:15.760 --> 00:28:20.120 line:90%,end
Especially in Hué, where the Viet Cong
has taken over the Imperial City
00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:21.880 line:90%,end
and are now holed-up inside.
00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:27.440 line:90%,end
They have raised their flag, which the
Americans are struggling to take down.
00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:35.600 line:90%,end
These particularly violent
combats last 28 days.
00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:37.720 line:90%,end
(gunfire)
00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:52.960 line:90%,end
In the end, the South
Vietnamese and Americans
00:28:53.040 --> 00:28:56.760 line:90%,end
count 700 men killed and 4000 injured.
00:28:57.280 --> 00:28:59.480 line:90%,end
8000 Communist fighters died.
00:29:02.320 --> 00:29:06.520 line:90%,end
But not before executing
3000 South Vietnamese civilians,
00:29:06.600 --> 00:29:10.440 line:90%,end
dignitaries, and civil servants
along with their families.
00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:16.120 line:90%,end
In eight months of offensive warfare,
00:29:16.200 --> 00:29:19.080 line:90%,end
North Vietnam has lost 50,000 soldiers
00:29:19.560 --> 00:29:21.360 line:90%,end
and must now recruit children.
00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:31.040 line:90%,end
But it is also a failure
for the Americans,
00:29:31.120 --> 00:29:34.560 line:90%,end
one which costs Westmoreland
and McNamara their jobs.
00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:40.480 line:90%,end
These images, like those
of the American camp of Khe Sanh,
00:29:40.560 --> 00:29:43.800 line:10%,start
create a widespread
change in public opinion.
00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:48.960 line:10%,start
(electric guitar music playing)
00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:53.840 line:10%,start
Mass protests, refusal to enlist
00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:56.120 line:10%,start
and desertions take place everywhere.
00:29:56.600 --> 00:29:59.680 line:90%,end
The younger generation
rebels across the country.
00:30:01.760 --> 00:30:03.840 line:90%,end
This revolt spreads around the world.
00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:06.200 line:10%,start
To Tokyo,
00:30:08.520 --> 00:30:09.360 line:10%,start
Berlin,
00:30:09.760 --> 00:30:10.800 line:90%,end
WE DEMAND FREEDOM
FOR VIETNAM
00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:12.600 line:10%,start
Madrid,
00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:15.560 line:10%,start
London,
00:30:18.120 --> 00:30:19.160 line:10%,start
Sydney,
00:30:20.840 --> 00:30:26.560 line:10%,start
and Paris, where the student protests
turn May '68 into a national crisis.
00:30:30.520 --> 00:30:33.040 line:90%,end
Peace talks between
North Vietnam and the United States
00:30:33.120 --> 00:30:34.720 line:90%,end
begin in the French capital.
00:30:36.080 --> 00:30:39.200 line:90%,end
In Washington, Johnson has lost
a great deal of popularity
00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:44.360 line:90%,end
and has already decided not to run
for re-election in November '68.
00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:49.760 line:10%,start
He is followed by President Richard Nixon,
00:30:49.840 --> 00:30:52.360 line:10%,start
who brings on Henry Kissinger
as an advisor.
00:30:53.040 --> 00:30:56.720 line:10%,start
Kissinger is thought to be capable
of resolving this impossible situation.
00:31:00.320 --> 00:31:03.560 line:90%,end
Kissinger is a German
who fled Nazi persecution.
00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:08.280 line:90%,end
He became an American citizen
and taught at Harvard.
00:31:11.320 --> 00:31:13.200 line:90%,end
Because of his European origins,
00:31:13.280 --> 00:31:15.160 line:90%,end
he is one of the rare people in Washington
00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:17.840 line:90%,end
able to understand the workings
of the Communist world
00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:20.680 line:90%,end
and the very essence of the Vietnam war.
00:31:23.640 --> 00:31:26.680 line:90%,end
He explains to Nixon
that the key is China.
00:31:27.840 --> 00:31:31.280 line:90%,end
Once they give in to Mao's demands,
the war will end.
00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:37.840 line:10%,start
Mao, to eliminate those
he calls "inside enemies",
00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:40.800 line:90%,end
has launched
a so-called "cultural revolution".
00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:47.640 line:90%,end
Mao wants American recognition...
00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:50.840 line:90%,end
a seat on the UN Security Council.
00:31:51.600 --> 00:31:54.960 line:90%,end
He also wants American
troops pulled out of Taiwan.
00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:57.960 line:10%,start
Will Nixon give in?
00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:02.760 line:90%,end
In the meantime, in South Vietnam,
the war continues,
00:32:02.840 --> 00:32:06.440 line:90%,end
with the never-ending patrols
on the hostile streams and rivers.
00:32:07.360 --> 00:32:10.520 line:90%,end
(gunfire)
00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:17.000 line:90%,end
(indistinct chatter)
00:32:20.800 --> 00:32:24.320 line:90%,end
Many desperate American soldiers
fall prey to madness,
00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:27.000 line:90%,end
drugs and senseless bloodshed,
00:32:28.040 --> 00:32:30.280 line:90%,end
like the massacre at My Lai,
00:32:30.360 --> 00:32:34.080 line:10%,start
a village where the entire
population of 400 are killed by soldiers
00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:36.120 line:10%,start
from the 23rd infantry division.
00:32:41.120 --> 00:32:43.960 line:90%,end
At the same time, in early March of '69,
00:32:44.040 --> 00:32:45.840 line:90%,end
on the front line of the Cold War,
00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:49.160 line:90%,end
the USSR and China go
head to head in Siberia,
00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:50.520 line:90%,end
on the Chinese border.
00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:56.320 line:90%,end
Colonel Leonov's tanks advance.
00:32:57.320 --> 00:33:00.640 line:90%,end
The Chinese Red Guard,
fanaticized by the Cultural Revolution,
00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:02.600 line:90%,end
shoots and kills Leonov.
00:33:04.040 --> 00:33:05.480 line:90%,end
The Soviets retaliate.
00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:09.680 line:90%,end
A hundred Chinese and Russian soldiers
die in this brief conflict
00:33:09.760 --> 00:33:11.960 line:90%,end
over domination of the Communist world.
00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:17.400 line:90%,end
At the time, most observers
believe that a war,
00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:22.120 line:90%,end
possibly even a nuclear war, will break
out between China and the USSR.
00:33:25.840 --> 00:33:27.200 line:90%,end
On the other side of the globe,
00:33:27.280 --> 00:33:30.560 line:90%,end
the Americans get their revenge
in the race to Space.
00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:33.960 line:10%,start
July 1969.
00:33:34.040 --> 00:33:38.360 line:10%,start
Neil Armstrong and two other astronauts
board for a round-trip to the Moon.
00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:39.560 line:90%,end
(cameras flashing)
00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:48.400 line:90%,end
And also demonstrate to the world
00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:53.640 line:90%,end
that America can now easily send a loaded
nuclear weapon anywhere on the planet.
00:33:53.720 --> 00:33:55.200 line:10%,start
(indistinct conversation on the radio)
00:33:55.280 --> 00:33:58.440 line:10%,start
During the night of July 20th, 1969,
00:33:58.520 --> 00:34:02.960 line:90%,end
Armstrong pronounces these famous words
for 500 million TV viewers:
00:34:03.040 --> 00:34:05.520 line:90%,end
NEIL ARMSTRONG: That's
one small step for man,
00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:09.120 line:90%,end
one giant leap for Mankind!
00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:14.560 line:90%,end
(gunfire)
00:34:14.640 --> 00:34:17.400 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: In Vietnam,
major operations continue.
00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:25.160 line:90%,end
(explosion)
00:34:26.120 --> 00:34:27.440 line:90%,end
(screaming)
00:34:27.520 --> 00:34:30.200 line:90%,end
(indistinct conversation)
00:34:31.040 --> 00:34:34.320 line:90%,end
They reach as far as Cambodia in 1970.
00:34:34.400 --> 00:34:38.520 line:10%,start
And in 1971 in Laos, Operation Lam Son,
00:34:38.600 --> 00:34:43.600 line:10%,start
8000 American and South Vietnamese troops
are killed and 20,000 injured
00:34:43.680 --> 00:34:46.160 line:90%,end
while trying to cut off
the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail,
00:34:46.240 --> 00:34:48.680 line:90%,end
which enables
the North to infiltrate the South.
00:34:55.560 --> 00:34:58.320 line:90%,end
In Paris, the peace conference
has been turning in circles
00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:00.880 line:90%,end
for three years, without any results.
00:35:05.200 --> 00:35:07.160 line:10%,start
Nixon decides to go to Peking,
00:35:07.240 --> 00:35:10.600 line:10%,start
now Beijing, with Kissinger,
to break the deadlock.
00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:15.320 line:10%,start
He is the first American President
ever to visit China.
00:35:16.520 --> 00:35:19.480 line:10%,start
Nixon must bow to Mao, the Great helmsman.
00:35:22.600 --> 00:35:24.280 line:90%,end
But the worst part for him
00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:28.240 line:90%,end
is having to announce that he will be
leaving South Vietnam to its fate.
00:35:32.800 --> 00:35:34.000 line:10%,start
(people cheering)
00:35:34.080 --> 00:35:37.160 line:10%,start
Paris, January 23rd, 1973.
00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:41.520 line:10%,start
The North Vietnam and United States
peace agreement is signed.
00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:47.680 line:90%,end
It is more like
a cease-fire in three parts:
00:35:48.600 --> 00:35:52.160 line:90%,end
cessation of hostilities,
release of all prisoners,
00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:57.720 line:90%,end
upholding the Southern regime
and its 1954 borders at the 17th parallel,
00:35:58.280 --> 00:36:01.040 line:90%,end
but leaving the country
to face the menacing North.
00:36:06.160 --> 00:36:09.200 line:90%,end
For the North, the Vietnam
war has been won.
00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:16.960 line:90%,end
(lively music playing)
00:36:18.320 --> 00:36:22.840 line:90%,end
The Americans can pack up, as can all
those who came to fight with them.
00:36:24.760 --> 00:36:27.880 line:90%,end
A hundred thousand Australians,
New Zealanders,
00:36:28.480 --> 00:36:31.960 line:90%,end
Thais, Taiwanese Chinese, Filipinos
00:36:32.040 --> 00:36:34.880 line:90%,end
and even some Spaniards
from Health Services.
00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:41.160 line:90%,end
The North Vietnamese release fighter
pilot prisoners, including John McCain.
00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:47.400 line:10%,start
Yet barely two years after the signature
of these "Peace Agreements",
00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:51.520 line:90%,end
the South Vietnamese population
massively flees the Northern Army,
00:36:51.600 --> 00:36:54.480 line:90%,end
who sweep down on them,
in total violation of the agreements,
00:36:54.560 --> 00:36:56.880 line:90%,end
which were intended to protect the South.
00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:00.000 line:90%,end
(explosion)
00:37:00.560 --> 00:37:04.840 line:90%,end
The Southern Army begs for American
air support, which will no longer come.
00:37:09.640 --> 00:37:13.480 line:10%,start
On April 30th, 1975, Saigon falls.
00:37:16.040 --> 00:37:20.320 line:90%,end
Thirty years after the beginning of
the first war of Indochina against France,
00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:23.520 line:90%,end
the Viet Cong flag flies
over the Presidential palace.
00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:30.920 line:90%,end
Ho Chi Minh is no longer there
to savor his victory.
00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:36.240 line:90%,end
After a stroke, he died in 1969,
at the age of 79.
00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:42.200 line:90%,end
His body, embalmed like Stalin's,
is displayed in his mausoleum,
00:37:42.720 --> 00:37:45.360 line:90%,end
which becomes a place
of pilgrimage for the Vietnamese
00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:47.240 line:90%,end
and later, for tourists.
00:37:51.640 --> 00:37:56.200 line:90%,end
The Vietnam War cost the Americans
the equivalent of 300 billion dollars.
00:37:57.680 --> 00:38:00.400 line:90%,end
58,000 Americans have perished.
00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:03.800 line:90%,end
Hundreds of thousands
are physically or emotionally injured.
00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:06.600 line:90%,end
America is deeply divided.
00:38:11.240 --> 00:38:16.240 line:90%,end
Eight million tons of bombs have been
dropped on Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia,
00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:20.560 line:90%,end
four times as many as on Germany
during World War II.
00:38:22.160 --> 00:38:25.480 line:90%,end
The Earth has been severely
contaminated for generations.
00:38:30.520 --> 00:38:32.520 line:90%,end
Two million Vietnamese are dead.
00:38:34.640 --> 00:38:38.240 line:90%,end
Millions of widows and orphans
wander the streets aimlessly.
00:38:41.960 --> 00:38:44.320 line:90%,end
A million boat-people flee Vietnam,
00:38:46.360 --> 00:38:49.720 line:90%,end
risking their lives once again
in overcrowded vessels.
00:39:07.120 --> 00:39:09.960 line:90%,end
Mao has won on all fronts.
00:39:11.120 --> 00:39:17.040 line:10%,start
He dies on September 9th, 1976,
after killing 80 million Chinese.
00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:22.640 line:90%,end
Communism has spread
to the majority of South East Asia.
00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:26.440 line:90%,end
To Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia,
00:39:26.520 --> 00:39:29.920 line:90%,end
where the Khmer Rouge
will massacre a quarter of its population.
00:39:30.840 --> 00:39:35.840 line:90%,end
Although Mao weakened the United States,
he crippled the Soviet Union even more.
00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:39.120 line:90%,end
Soviet aid to North Vietnam,
00:39:39.200 --> 00:39:42.720 line:90%,end
the Middle East, and the insurrections
in Africa and South America
00:39:42.800 --> 00:39:44.720 line:90%,end
have bankrupted the USSR.
00:39:45.680 --> 00:39:48.680 line:90%,end
To survive, a wartime
economy is instituted.
00:39:48.760 --> 00:39:51.680 line:90%,end
The iron fist of the KGB,
the political police,
00:39:51.760 --> 00:39:54.320 line:90%,end
is the only way to force
the population to accept
00:39:54.400 --> 00:39:55.880 line:90%,end
shortages and rationing.
00:39:57.320 --> 00:39:59.440 line:90%,end
Against the regime, many become dissidents
00:39:59.520 --> 00:40:02.480 line:90%,end
and even defectors,
like Nureyev, the dancer
00:40:04.040 --> 00:40:06.560 line:10%,start
and Stalin's own daughter, Svetlana!
00:40:09.400 --> 00:40:13.480 line:90%,end
Hello to everybody,
I am very happy to be here.
00:40:15.560 --> 00:40:17.720 line:90%,end
NARRATOR: The Soviet Empire
begins to crack.
00:40:18.240 --> 00:40:20.800 line:90%,end
In 1980, after Budapest and Prague,
00:40:21.600 --> 00:40:24.680 line:10%,start
the Polish workers
led by Lech Walesa rise up.
00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:33.040 line:10%,start
The Afghan trap closes in on the Red Army.
00:40:35.960 --> 00:40:39.560 line:90%,end
The Soviet Union had
set up a so-called Socialist regime,
00:40:40.120 --> 00:40:42.760 line:90%,end
which was rejected
by the local population.
00:40:46.080 --> 00:40:50.080 line:90%,end
For ten years, from 1979 to 1989,
00:40:50.160 --> 00:40:53.560 line:90%,end
young Russian soldiers confront
the elusive Afghan fighters.
00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:58.920 line:90%,end
Only the Soviet helicopters
manage to locate them.
00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:05.200 line:90%,end
But, consistent with Cold War logic,
00:41:05.680 --> 00:41:08.400 line:90%,end
the Americans and their allies
supply the insurgents
00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:10.640 line:90%,end
with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
00:41:12.080 --> 00:41:15.600 line:90%,end
(speaking in foreign language)
00:41:20.320 --> 00:41:23.480 line:90%,end
These missiles contribute
to shaking the balance of terror
00:41:23.960 --> 00:41:26.440 line:90%,end
and provoke a Soviet withdrawal.
00:41:31.120 --> 00:41:34.440 line:90%,end
Ronald Reagan, President of
the United States since 1980,
00:41:34.520 --> 00:41:37.520 line:90%,end
plays a major role by launching a new race
00:41:37.600 --> 00:41:39.160 line:90%,end
for more sophisticated weapons.
00:41:41.840 --> 00:41:43.040 line:90%,end
(beeping)
00:41:43.120 --> 00:41:46.320 line:90%,end
The USSR can't engage
in this ruinous space adventure,
00:41:46.400 --> 00:41:48.000 line:90%,end
nicknamed "Star Wars".
00:41:49.960 --> 00:41:53.920 line:10%,start
The country is now governed by
a high-ranking Communist civil servant,
00:41:54.560 --> 00:41:56.080 line:10%,start
Mikhail Gorbachev,
00:41:56.160 --> 00:41:58.320 line:10%,start
who has no choice but to concede.
00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:02.000 line:90%,end
This sets off an explosion
in the Soviet Union,
00:42:02.720 --> 00:42:06.480 line:90%,end
Glasnost, or transparency,
truth and freedom.
00:42:08.640 --> 00:42:09.760 line:90%,end
And Perestroika,
00:42:10.640 --> 00:42:11.720 line:90%,end
the reconstruction,
00:42:12.800 --> 00:42:14.640 line:90%,end
the major economic reform.
00:42:18.560 --> 00:42:21.120 line:10%,start
On November 9th, 1989,
00:42:21.560 --> 00:42:26.000 line:90%,end
the Soviet government lets Berlin's
population destroy the Wall of Shame,
00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:30.440 line:90%,end
which leads to Germany's reunification.
00:42:33.840 --> 00:42:37.640 line:90%,end
The Soviet Empire explodes
into ten independent nations.
00:42:38.720 --> 00:42:42.640 line:90%,end
Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia,
00:42:42.720 --> 00:42:43.680 line:90%,end
Poland,
00:42:44.200 --> 00:42:45.920 line:90%,end
and the Baltic States,
00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:48.920 line:90%,end
all reject the regimes imposed by Moscow.
00:42:52.640 --> 00:42:54.920 line:10%,start
On July 2nd, 1990,
00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.120 line:90%,end
the 28th and last Congress of the Party
is held at the Kremlin.
00:42:59.200 --> 00:43:01.560 line:90%,end
(singing 'The Internationale')
00:43:01.640 --> 00:43:07.080 line:90%,end
General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev sings
"The Internationale" one last time.
00:43:11.200 --> 00:43:16.240 line:90%,end
Like a farewell to a social utopia
corrupted by bloodthirsty tyrants.
00:43:33.160 --> 00:43:36.400 line:90%,end
In the new Russia,
the Communist Party is forbidden.
00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:41.280 line:10%,start
On December 25th, 1991,
00:43:41.760 --> 00:43:45.840 line:10%,start
the Soviet Union's red flag
is taken down from the Kremlin roof...
00:43:48.120 --> 00:43:50.280 line:10%,start
and replaced by the Russian flag.
00:43:52.840 --> 00:43:54.400 line:10%,start
The Cold War is over.
00:43:58.440 --> 00:44:00.120 line:10%,start
The hands of the Doomsday clock
00:44:00.640 --> 00:44:03.000 line:10%,start
back away from the Apocalypse!
00:44:06.800 --> 00:44:07.920 line:10%,start
For now!
00:44:08.120 --> 00:44:09.920 line:10%,start
Captioned by Visual Data Media Services