3.2 Escalation Under Johnson Flashcards
What were Johnson’s goals?
- setting up a goverment in South Vietnam that people wanted
- stopping communism
- stopping the war escalating and avoiding nuclear war
(Vietcong are stronger and South Vietnamese go erment are weaker)
Why were the Vietcong more of a threat in 1964?
- organisation
- local support
- Foreign aid
- south Vietnamese goverment
- time
- vietcong ideals
How did organisation make the Vietcong more of a threat in 1964?
- NLF provided a political leadership and structure
- North Vietnam send more pwople to prganise resistance
How did local support Vietcong more of a threat in 1964?
- VC lived in villagers and shared hardships
- respected villagers and involved them in decision making
How did Foreign aid make the Vietcong more of a threat in 1964?
-communist China and the USSR provided ammunition
How did the South Vietnamese goverment make thr Vietcong more of a threat in 1964?
- villagers didn’t want to go to strategic hamlets
- goverment seen as a ‘puppet’ of USA
Why did Johnson want Congress to authorise the use of troops in South Vietnam?
He did not want to bring up issues that would provide congress because it was an election year
When was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
1964
Describe the Gulf of Tolkin incident?
2nd August: -maddox radar showed three North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired, maddox sithdrew and Us planes arrive
4th August: confusion with an incident-in retaliation US planes attack North Vietnamese targets
5th August: Johnson asks congress to give him power to stop fiture attacjs on US forces
7th August: congress pass the gulf of Tonkin with little oposition
What was the North Vietnamese reaction to the Gulf of Tonkin?
- more people and supplies sent south
- Vietcong urged to target US bases
What problems did south Vietnam face!
- ARVN caught up in goverment struggles instead of facing the vietcong
- North Vietnam sent increasing amounts of men and equipment along the Ho Chi Minh trail between 1955 and 1963
- VC getting stronger and attacjed US targets more often
North Vietnamese reaction to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution?
- more men and supplies sent south
- VC urged to target US bases
By feb 1965 how much gas it costing the Us per day?
2 million
Why did the USA untimately sent troops to Vietnam?
It disn’t look like the ARVN would be able tokeep the goverment in power
