Major events of the war
gulf of tonkin resolution (1965)
The President (LBJ) next asked Congress to authorize the use of force to defend American troops. With little debate and only two senators voting against it, Congress agreed with Johnson’s request and passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The resolution authorized the President “to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” The resolution gave Johnson tremendous war powers. It allowed him to commit U.S. troops to South Vietnam and fight a war against North Vietnam without ever going back to Congress to ask for a formal declaration of war.
document analysis - clifford
document analysis - nature of the conflict
operation rolling thunder
After the Gulf of Tonkin incident, President Johnson began to shift U.S. military efforts in Vietnam into high gear. In February 1965, President Johnson ordered the start of Operation Rolling Thunder. This was the first sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Johnson hoped the new strategy of intensive bombing would convince North Vietnam to stop reinforcing the Vietcong in South Vietnam.
The bombs rained down destruction, but failed to convince the North Vietnamese to make peace. As the communist forces continued to fight, the United States committed more troops to battle them on the ground. American soldiers moved beyond their adviser roles and assumed greater military responsibilities, while South Vietnamese troops assumed a secondary, more limited role in the war. U.S. military and civilian leaders hoped the combined efforts of sustained bombing and boots on the ground would eventually force the communists into peace talks.
The bombs rained down destruction, but failed to convince the North Vietnamese to make peace. As the communist forces continued to fight, the United States committed more troops to battle them on the ground. American soldiers moved beyond their adviser roles and assumed greater military responsibilities, while South Vietnamese troops assumed a secondary, more limited role in the war. U.S. military and civilian leaders hoped the combined efforts of sustained bombing and boots on the ground would eventually force the communists into peace talks.
napalm & agent orange
Johnson’s change in strategy stemmed from the counsel of his Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, and General William Westmoreland, the American commander in South Vietnam. These two advisers believed winning the war would require more American troops. Beginning in March 1965, U.S. airstrikes hammered North Vietnam and Vietcong strong points in South Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1973, American pilots dropped more than six million tons of bombs on enemy positions – almost three times the tonnage dropped by ALL the combatants of World War II. How insane is that? Think about the expense!
In addition to conventional bombs, American pilots dropped napalm and Agent Orange. Napalm is a jellied gasoline, which was dropped in containers and exploded on impact, covering large areas in flames. It clung to anything it touched and was difficult to put out. Agent Orange is an herbicide meant to kill plant life in the very dense, tropical forests of Vietnam. Almost half of South Vietnam’s forested areas were sprayed at least once, and the ecological impact was devastating. Exposure to Agent Orange also caused HORRIFIC birth defects, cancers, and other issues for the Vietnamese for years to come.
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GUERRILLA warfare - an elusive enemy
Large-scale battles against Vietcong or the North Vietnamese Army units were not typical of America’s strategy in Vietnam. American soldiers generally fought lightly-armed Vietcong guerillas in small engagements. Ho Chi Minh’s military doctrine hinged on fighting only when victory was assured, which meant never fighting on his opponents’ terms. Minh’s troops carried only a rifle and a few handfuls of rice, digging tunnels and hiding during the day only to surprise-attack at night. They infiltrated American bases and set off explosives. They booby-trapped paths that crippled American troops. They hid in rice paddies among civilians and then opened fire as troops passed through villages. This form of warfare is known as guerilla warfare and is very difficult to defeat.
the tet offensive
In November 1967, President Johnson brought General Westmoreland home from Vietnam to discuss Americans’ concerns with the war. Westmoreland assured the President that the Vietcong were declining in strength and could no longer mount a major offensive against the United States. He would soon be proven wrong.
On January 21, 1968, some 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive (named for the lunar new year holiday called Tet), a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. General Vo Nguyen Giap, leader of the Communist People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), planned the offensive in an attempt both to foment (encourage) rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back (reduce) its support of South Vietnam. |
Though U.S. and South Vietnamese forces managed to hold off the Communist attacks, news coverage of the offensive (including the lengthy Battle of Hue) shocked and dismayed the American public and further eroded support for the war effort. Despite heavy casualties, North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive, as the attacks marked a turning point in the Vietnam War and the beginning of the slow, painful American withdrawal from the region. Two months after the Tet Offensive, President Johnson announced he would not be running for a second term as president.