13) Confrontation in the Viet Nam war Flashcards
Lyndon B Johnson presidency
November 1963-1969
Great Society- signed the civil rights act in 1964
Gulf of Tonkin resolution
escalated involvement in Viet Nam
Secured the passage of many of Kennedy’s initiatives
JFK’s escalation in Viet Nam
-16,000 military advisors in Viet Nam by the end of his presidency
-committed soldiers but stuck to counter insurgency
LBJ’s aims in Viet Nam
quick victory without committing the US to major escalation
serious issue for him, met advisors less then 48 hours after Kennedy’s death
looks weak if they negotiate
Early actions of LBJ in Viet Nam
Jan 1964
O PLAN 34- supposed to increase pressure on the North Vietnamese
March 1964
NSAM 288- increased US involvement in south Viet Nam and saw a greater use of force
However, they were struggling to gain support and the advisors were split over what to do
Gulf of Tonkin incident
August 1964
essentially a big accident
territorial disputes over whether waters were international or North Vietnamese
N. Viet Nam attack the US ship Maddox but it resulted in a short, insignificant skirmish
LBJ orders an offensive
due to a topical storm, Maddox later believes it is being attacked again and the Americans in return pass the gulf of tonkin resolution
when do soviets install anti-aircraft missiles in the gulf of tonkin area
early 1964
Gulf of Tonkin resolution
August 1964
allows the president to “take all necessary measures, including the use of armed force” in a conflict without consulting congress
when what percentage of Americans supported the gulf of Tonkin resolution
85%
1964 elections
LBJ has a landslide majority, support to implement policies in Viet Nam
LBJ’s advisors take on Viet Nam
feared (like LBJ) any failure against communism would result in a mass fall out of the cold war alliance and result in both LBJ and America loosing credibility and support- domino theory esk
Scared of the impact of China becoming more powerful
Allies opinion on Viet Nam
America thought it was just as important as Berlin/Turkey/Greece/Korea but others did not agree
saw communism in south east Asia as peripheral to wester security
mocked the US
downplayed the threat of China
China’s view on Viet Nam
-China wants to expand it’s influence into Viet Nam
-commits military supplies in 1964
-this scares the US
-at this point historians often argue that China had surpassed the USSR’s threat level because it was much more isolated, hostile and militant- only embolden by the Sino-Soviet split
Soviet involvement in Viet Nam
1964
set up permanent links with the national liberation front (permanent mission in Moscow)
send supplies
Domino theory
situation by the end of 1964
-USSR and China both sending supplies to the North
-PAVN (peoples army of Viet Nam) are making advances down the Ho Chi Minh trail
-Viet Cong’s position was strengthened, partially due to the unpopularity of the US bombing campaign (in response to the Gulf of Tonkin)
-ARVN (south Vietnamese army) were is a state of disarray with low morale, poor leadership, inadequate training and low pay
-all incentives for LBJ to send over US troops in 1965
Operation rolling thunder
1965-68
Retaliation against a Viet Cong attacks on US army barracks in Feb 1965
American bombing campaign in North Viet Nam
try to pressure Northern leaders
significant expansion into Viet Nam
success of rolling thunder
limited, since the US were avoiding the Chinese border, the could not target many important bases like airfields and ship yards
Likewise, these raids did not deter the Vietnamese- they made bomb proof shelters + tunnels
ground troops in Viet Nam from 1965-68
1965- 184,310
1968- 563,000
Viet Nam’s four point proposal
April 1965 as a response to the first US ground troops landing in March
from the North to the US
1) US must withdraw troops
2) No military alliance allowed between North OR South Viet Nam
3) S. Viet Nam’s internal affairs must be dealt by the southern Vietnamese WITH external interference
4) Peaceful re-unification will be settled by the Vietnamese
essentially a return to the rules set out by the Geneva accords
la Drang Valley
November 1965
34 day battle between americans and veitnamese
first major confrontation
both sides had significant losses, the US couldn’t support and pulled out- Viet Nam lost more men
search and destroy
American tactic
‘indiscriminate violence’
supposedly raiding villages harbouring the Viet Cong however it was had to tell
caused a massive loss in support
key strategy in the early years (1965-68)
Operation Ranch hand
chemical warfare
burnt foliage to revel villages/roads or supply chains that were underneath
didn’t stop the Viet Cong
Agent orange, very, very controversial tactics
hard to control and was very destructive (Napalm)
Napalm Girl image (June 1972)
doctrine of attrition- scorched earth
doctrine of attrition
Attrition warfare is the term used to describe the sustained process of wearing down an opponent so as to force their physical collapse through continuous losses in personnel, equipment and supplies or to wear them down to such an extent that their will to fight collapses.
Ho Chi Minh trail
very important supply line from north to south
went through Cambodia and Laos
Supplied men and equipment
was frequently targeted but had significant detours and other routes which enabled it to continue to function
Grabbing the enemy by the belt
To deny the American’s the advantage of the US air force, the Viet Cong were advised to engage the enemy in close proximity to prevent them from calling for air support- ‘grab the enemy by the belt and hang on’
Guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong
couldn’t engage in regular warfare so they
built complex tunnel systems to hide troops
booby trapped dense forests with trip wires and grenades
small ambushes in dense forestation
snake traps
tunnel system under Saigon
found in January 1967
US weaponry
cluster bombs or mother bombs- following the initial explosion, the bombs would release 350-600 smaller bombs which would explode on impact, later the US switched to fibre glass to prevent fragments from showing up in x-rays- indiscriminate violence
Helicopter- big one
Peasant support
the N, Vietnamese won the support of the peasants because the US were so unpopular
elements of co-operation through terror were also used, significant violence against those who challenged them
Weaknesses of the US
unpopular
military superiority led to overkill
S, Vietnamese army were uncommitted and not well trained
lack of support from home due to broadcasting of the events
Martin Luther King was against the War
strengths of North Viet Nam
support (China, USSR and Vietnamese people)
guerrilla tactics
Ho Chi Minh trail
agrarian nature meant they could conceal their bases well, they new the landscape
had very few military targets
Weaknesses of the N, Viet Nam army
couldn’t engage in regular warfare so HAD to use guerrilla tactics
degree of dependency upon the USSR and China
weak economy
although popular, no guaranteed support from the S, Vietnamese
What was the Tet Offensive
January-March 1968
A surprise co-ordinated attack from the Northern Vietnamese
series of co-ordinated attacks on S, Vietnamese strong holds (~100)
including Saigon- fighting there for 2 weeks (gained control for 8 hours)
big change from guerrilla tactics
3 aims of the Tet offensive
influence a rebellion (against the US)
De-escalating American involvement
Southern liberation
Battle of Hue
Jan 1967, part of Tet
3 week long battle in Hue
N, Vietnamese soldiers searched for counter revolutionaries and executed civilians who had relations with the US
2,800 killed and 3,000 missing
My Lai massacre
March 1968
US raided the village to find Viet Cong soldiers but there were only women, children and elders- US soldiers raped and executed 500 soldiers
loss of control over the army
impact of Tet Offensive on Johnson
Johnson called a halt in escalation and withdrew from the presidential election
The Tet holiday
most important holiday on the Vietnamese calendar
Normally a time of peace
US and S, Vietnamese were preoccupied with celebrating so it was a big surprise
Impact of Tet offensive in Viet Nam
the US enacted their most successful counter attack but still very unpopular
N, Vietnamese military defeat, took Hanoi a few years to get over it
Lots of damage and loss of life
communist support in the countryside increased due to Tet
N, Vietnamese had a strategic victory and was the start of a slow, painful US withdrawal
Tet offensive impact on the media
till February 1968, popular war correspondent Walter Conkrite had been very unbiased but he announced Viet Nam could only end in a ‘bloody stalemate’
news coverage of fighting shocked many Americans
Why did LBJ lie/hide the truth about Viet Nam
didn’t want it to take it away from his great society, did not want the Americans to think he was spending too much money on it
what did LBJ lie about
oversold American progress to the public
‘public relations blitz’
nation press club US official involved in Viet Nam, William Westmoreland said ‘the end begins to come into view’
credibility gap
death of US soldiers in 1968
in early 1968, 700 soldiers were being killed in actions per week
supplies in Viet Nam
by 1967, 1 million tonnes of supplies were arriving in south Viet Nam
how much herbicide was dropped on Viet Nam
1962-1971
19 million gallons of defoliating herbicides
