Confrontation in the Vietnam War (13)

Question 1

Johnson views of Vietnam

Answer 1

Elected in November 1963
Need a quick victory without the war becoming ‘Americanised’ so needed an escalation to inflict punishment on North Vietnam until they desisted in aggressive activities
Approved OPLAN 34A as a strategy of progressive escalation - Jan 1964
Continued Kennedy’s work and increased the number of ‘advisers’ from 16,300, to 23,300
Favoured Counterinsurgency as Kennedy also did
Initially dismissed negotiation as saw the US might as too strong to lose, rejected negotiation requests from the UN Secretary-General U Thant and offers from the Canadians

Question 2

Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Resolution

Answer 2

2nd August 1964, three North Vietnamese patrol boats fired torpedoes at the USS Maddox
- Aircraft carrier then dispatched planes which sunk one and badly damaged two of the patrol boats
- Johnson then began bombing the North Vietnamese naval bases
7th August 1964 the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed - Johnson had free rein on war issues in Vietnam

Question 3

Increasing problems for the USA

Answer 3

By the end of 1964

• China agreed to supply weapons to N. Vietnam
• USSR established diplomatic ties with the NLF, started a permanent mission in Moscow and sent military supplies to N. Vietnam
• The first NV military forces - the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) moved down the Ho Chi Minh Trail
• Bombing had failed to bolster the government and anti American feelings were escalating
• The ARVN was in a state of low morale due to low wages, corruption, bad leadership structure and low pay

Question 4

Beginning of Americanisation of the war

Answer 4

February 1965, Vietcong attack on US barracks and US helicopter base in Pleiku - one of the main sparks
Johnson begins Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968) (no Hanoi)
March 1965, first US troops had landed near Danang

Question 5

N. Vietnams response to Americanisation of the war

Answer 5

4 point proposal on 8th April 1965

• US troops to withdraw in accordance with the Geneva agreements
• Neither North nor South can enter into a military alliance with a foreign power during the temporary split of Vietnam according to Geneva agreements
• South Vietnams internal affairs must be settled within South Vietnam
• Peaceful re-unification must be settled between the two zones

Question 6

Johnson response to NV proposal

Answer 6

Rejected it

• Ordered two marine battalions, an air squadron and 20,000 troops to be deployed
• Publicly announced 28th July 1965

Question 7

Troops escalation of the war

Answer 7

1965 - 184,300
1966 - 385,300
1968 - 536,000
1967 - 226,00 tons of bombs

Question 8

First major offensive

Answer 8

Ia Drang Valley, Novmeber 1965
US lost 300
North lost 2000-3000
US saw as victory due to numbers of dead
North saw as victory as the positions were held
General Giap of the North realised the North would have to change tactics to survive the war - Guerrilla warfare

Question 9

Tactics of the USA

Answer 9

Logistical and equipment - helicopters + 1967 - 1 million tons of supplies per month
Operation Rolling Thunder - B-52 bomber - undermine NV economically and undermine movement of forces - Ho Chi Minh Trail
Operation Ranch Hand (Agent Orange + Blue) - Kennedy approved in 1962 - kill crops and destroy the jungle they were hiding in
Napalm + Pineapple Bombs - Anti-personnel bombs
Search and Destroy

Question 10

Weakness of the US

Answer 10

Protest at home - was first televised war - activists such as Martin Luther King - speech in April 1967 that the war undermined the ‘Great Society’ that Johnson committed to.
Racism - mostly young African-Americans

Question 11

Tactics of the N.V

Answer 11

Peasant Support - Guding principles of the NLF helped attract support and fighters
- Do not destroy land or crops
- Always keep your word
- Always support the peasants
Guerilla tactics = complex tunnels, booby traps ( trip wire grenades) - undermined the mental state of the US troops
Ho Chi Minh Trail - US never able to disable - supplies from China (80,000 guns in 1964) - USSR supplied surface-to-air missiles, MiG-21 jets and artillery systems

Question 12

Tet Offensive

Answer 12

February 1968
Vietcong unleashed attack on over 100 towns and cities simultaneously
Attack on US embassy in Saigon
Televised
Worst fighting on the Hue - taken on 31st of Jan - not recaptured until 24th February
Military defeat for the N.V - 25,000 killed and 5,000 captured
Vietcong decimated
Correspondent Walter Cronkite explained to the people how the USA was not losing but had come to a stalemate
Phycological loss for the USA
March 1968 - Johnson announces he will not stand for re-election

Question 13

Anti-war demonstration

Answer 13

October 1967 Protest - extended beyond just the intellectuals - over 100,000 participated