vietnam Flashcards
GULF OF TONKIN INCIDENT
One feature of the Gulf of Tonkin incident was that Johnson’s actions were influenced by personal motives.
Elections were taking place that November, and Johnson’s place as president was threatened by his Republican competitor, who had accused him of not being aggressive enough on communism.
This motivated him to prove himself
This can be shown by how he ordered the Maddox to stay in the area despite having shot down or damaged all three enemy ships.
Another feature of the Gulf of Tonkin incident was that there was a lack of clear communication.
On the night of 3rd August, 1964, the captain of the Maddox and Joy reported that they were being attacked.
No sailors or jet pilots flying overhead saw any enemy boats or torpedoes being fired, a fact which they reported. However, the captain was not challenged and Johnson prompted further attack on the unseen enemy.
There was a lack of clear communication on Johnson’s part with the public
as on one hand, he was telling the American public that it hadn’t been a serious issue,
but on the other hand, he was telling Congress to grant him more military power in light of the dangerous situation.
GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION
A feature of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was that it was met with little to no opposition.
The Resolution was a document where President Johnson requested for the US Congress to give permission for him to defend forces in Southeast Asia.
The Gulf of Tonkin resolution was passed with only two opposing votes, from Senator Wayne Morse and Ernest Gruening.
Furthermore, there was an unanimous affirmative vote in the House of Representatives, as well as an 88-2 vote supporting the Resolution from the Senate.
= This showed that many in the US government felt that North Vietnam posed a military threat.
Another feature of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was that it escalated tensions between the US and North Vietnam.
The premise of the Resolution was that the US could now “take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force” to assist their troops stationed in Vietnam.
This became the justification for further increased conflict in Vietnam.
Examples of this can be seen when President Johnson launched Operation Rolling Thunder, a bombing campaign against North Vietnam, as well as the deployment of troops on Vietnamese ground to fight the Viet Cong.
By passing the Resolution, it laid down the foundation for more conflict, thus increasing tensions between the two countries.
ROLE OF JOHNSON
His role in widening the credibility gap
During his presidency, many events and battles were fabricated, often being too optimistic and exaggerated
With the Tet Offensive showing the true extent of Viet Cong control and US military weakness as well as the release of the Pentagon papers, this confirmed that there was a gap between what was the truth and what was told to the press and public
Johnson throughout his presidency worked with his administration to ensure the bare minimum was told to the public, and this only continued to widen the gap further Nixon’s presidency
Escalation
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
ROLE OF MCNAMARA
influence on the president regarding its escalation.
played a large role in escalating the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, as he initially encouraged further military action in Vietnam after visiting the country thrice in 1962, 1964 and 1966.
He was Johnson’s spokesman and made public statements for him,
and his publicly expressed optimism about the war was clearly shown in the consequent increase of US troops in South Vietnam from 900 to 16,000 advisers.
attempts for de-escalation near the end of the war.
Despite his previous aggressive policies, he eventually ended up regretting his decisions in Vietnam and pushed for de-escalation and peace talks in 1967.
He privately urged LBJ to limit troop levels and pushed for an unconditional end to the bombing past the 17th parallel.
ROLE OF WESTMORELAND
emphasis on the body count.
He used the body count to boost American morale and to show the American public that America was winning the war.
This led to many atrocities caused by American soldiers, in order to boost their body count and please their superiors.
One example of this happening is in raids of Vietnamese villages, where the soldiers killed innocent civilians.
Search and Destroy campaign.
This campaign entailed soldiers searching Vietnamese villages in order to find Vietcong supporters.
American soldiers often never found these enemies and became frustrated. As a result of this frustration, they destroyed many innocent villages.
This swung public opinion in America against the war, as people at home saw the barbarity of the soldiers and were shocked by their actions.
SEARCH AND DESTROY
Part of Westmoreland’s three phase strategy
offensive tool that was crucial to General William Westmoreland’s second phase during the Vietnam War.
In his three-phase strategy, the first was to tie down the Viet Cong, the second phase was to resume the offensive and destroy the enemy, and the third phase was to restore the area under South Vietnamese government control. Most Zippo missions were assigned to the second phase around 1966 and 1967, along with clear-and-secure operations.
Search-and-destroy missions entailed sending out large detachments of US troops to locate and destroy communist units in the countryside.
These missions most commonly involved hiking out into the “boonies” and setting an ambush in the brush, near a suspected Viet Cong trail.
Every Vietcong weapon found, 6 people would be killed
Ineffective
The offensive failed to destroy the NLF’s headquarters or to capture any high-ranking officers and so it had little effect toward Hanoi’s plan.
lack of distinction between clearing and search-and-destroy missions. Thus, clearing missions, which were less aggressive, eventually morphed into a more violent and brutal form of tactic, just as search-and-destroy missions were.
With the lack of distinction between, clearing, and search-and-destroy missions, it led to atrocities like the Mỹ Lai massacre of 1968, where American troops massacred at least 347 Vietnamese civilians.
Some soldiers were even killed on these operations
Operation Junction City, the report also states that 282 US soldiers were killed,
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER
Americans launched the program
Aim = bomb army bases, Ho Chi Minh trail
MacNamara = believed Vietcong used 15 tons of supplies per day, but even if the quantity were five times that amount it could be transported by only a few trucks
The campaign specifically targeted military and other strategic sites in the North.
It dropped over 600 000 tons of bombs in the years 1965–68.
North Vietnam was able to reduce the impact of the raids
With assistance from China and the Soviet Union, the North Vietnamese constructed a sophisticated air-defence system
Using surface-to-air missiles and radar-controlled anti-aircraft artillery, the North Vietnamese shot down hundreds of American planes over the course of the bombing campaign.
constructed networks of bombproof tunnels and shelters, and dispatched crews by night to rebuild the roads, bridges, communication systems and other facilities struck by bombs
Additionally, the communists used the destructive air strikes for propaganda purposes to increase anti-American sentiment and patriotism among North Vietnamese citizens.
SIEGE OF KHE SANH
Both sides used many weapons
North wanted to recreate Vietnamese victory of the French at Dienbienphu
20,000 Vietnamese surrounded 5500 Americans
American were within artillery range of NVA, Vietnam was able to explode the ammunition dump with 1500 tons of explosives
US dropped 5000 bombs daily, equivalent 3 Hiroshima sized nuclear bombs
heavy bombing capacity of the B-52 fighter planes, which dropped close to 100,000 explosives on the hills surrounding Khe Sanh over the course of the battle
= 274 Americans killed, 2500 wounded
US army abandoned the base right after the siege
Siege lifted on April 6
The evacuation of Khe Sanh began on 19 June 1968 as Operation Charlie.
Useful equipment was withdrawn or destroyed, and personnel were evacuated.
Many were outraged as to why the army defended the base in the first place if it was to be abandoned right after
Westmoreland claimed that it prevented the enemy from gaining control over the northwest corner of South Vietnam and inflicted heavy losses on PAVN forces.
= Johnson administration lost confidence in the general’s strategy of attrition and his claims of progress in the war effort.
ROLE OF THE MEDIA
Increased public opposition to the war
Exposed the atrocities of war
Showed the credibility gap
Tet Offensive = Cronkite said that “to say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion”
Johnson said that “If we’ve lost Cronkite, we’ve lost Middle America”
Met with opposition
Wilfred Burchett, journalist who would often report with the PAVN
Did not support them, showed a new perspective to the war
= because he reported with the communists, he was called a traitor
My Lai = rotten, anti-American
Military thought they would push some stupid agenda
TET OFFENSIVE
US military win
The decision for Vietcong troops to fight in the open was a poor strategy on the Northern Vietnam side, as they were much stronger fighting in the jungles and hiding in the trees.
Because of this the Viet Cong troops lost more than 10,000 experienced fighters and were weakened by this.
The US and South Vietnam forces were able to take back villages from Viet Cong control, and were able to defeat Northern Vietnam soldiers in 48 hours.
changed the American public’s perception of the Vietnam War
Before the incident, the general view on the war was that it was going well, and the media was generally sympathetic towards American causes.
However, when the Viet Cong commando unit took over the US embassy in Saigon for six hours, many started to question the US’ success in this war.
Furthermore, the brutal killing of a Viet Cong soldier by a South Vietnam officer was shown on American live television, and many were horrified by this as he did nothing to provoke the officer.
This started to change the media’s perspective on the war, and they continued to air the atrocities of the US troops, like the bombing of villages or the use of chemical weapons.
= With the shift in the media’s view, it changed the public’s stance on the war, thus leading to a growing demand for peace.
An example of this can be seen when 250,000 marched in Washington on October 1969 against the war.
BATTLE OF HUE
PAVN Took control of the city of Hue
Aim to eliminate anyone “hostile to the NLF”
National Liberation Front attacked the major city of Hue, holding it hostage for 25 days until the US would recapture the city
During this time, they killed around 3000 civilians
Thought that they had links with the South Vietnam government
Used this as an opportunity to get rid of any enemies
Many fled behind the US lines, took shelter in their homes or churches
Some were sent out for reeducation, few made it back
Affected American public opinion
Press statements were largely optimistic and exaggerated, stated that only a small portion of the city was taken under control
These were shot down by the journalists and reporters who went to Vietnam and reported the full extent of PAVN control
Undermined Westmoreland’s strategies in the public eye = increased anti-war sentiment
WIDENING THE WAR IN CAMBODIA AND LAOS
Aim was to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail
Trail was integral in transporting weapons
Facilities along the way
There were numerous supply bunkers, storage areas, barracks, hospitals, and command and control facilities, all concealed from aerial observation by an intricate system of natural and man-made camouflage that was constantly improved.
In 1970, Nixon sent US troops into Cambodia to stop the North Vietnamese from helping Cambodian communists take control of the country, top supplies getting to the VC in South Vietnam.
A battle was fought in Laos ⇒ The Communists had a force of 36,000. The fighting was bloody and the ARVN fled leaving weapons and equipment behind.
= trail was still left intact
Hard to bomb
12,000 miles of different trails, difficult to target particular troops
Met with much opposition
Within the government
Congress did not support Nixon with his attacks in Cambodia
= cancelled the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and reduced the money for the war.
General public
April 1970 = Nixon announced that the war had entered neutral Cambodia
Many saw that another ‘Vietnam War’ was going to begin
=protests all over universities in the US
One of them in May - 4 students were shot dead by National Guard soldiers at Kent State
= 400 protests and strikes
PARIS PEACE TALKS
A feature of the Paris Peace Talks was that it laid out terms for a settlement between opposing sides.
Terms of this settlement include a ceasefire throughout Vietnam,
American troops were to withdraw from Vietnam within 60 days of ceasefire,
American war prisoners were to be freed by North Vietnam,
elections would be held in the South to determine a new government,
both sides would stay in the areas they currently controlled.
Another feature of the Peace Talks was that Nixon wanted to reach an agreement for his own personal benefits.
With Nixon set on being reelected as president, he and Kissinger wanted to reach a peace agreement before elections in November.
A favourable peace agreement would mean more public support and more votes, as many would be reassured by his leadership.
Because of the Paris Peace Talks, Nixon won the majority of the votes that year and became reelected.
VIETNAMISATION
Based around the Nixon doctrine
Richard Nixon was elected President in 1969 and promised he would make ‘peace with honour’ in Vietnam.
In reality, the US was losing the war and wanted to withdraw in a way that did not look like a public defeat
In July 1969, Nixon gave a speech outlining what came to be known as the Nixon Doctrine.
It laid down what the role of the USA should be in Southeast Asian politics in the future.
Key Features of the Doctrine
The ARVN was to provide its own officers.
The US was still to provide training and equipment.
The US withdrawal would be done with honour and they would continue to help South Vietnam.
South Vietnam would remain a separate country and not become communist.
The withdrawal led to a loss of morale in general
Most of the American public wanted troops to come home.
Troops began to be withdrawn from 1968 onwards.
Once soldiers knew they were leaving, they were a lot less willing to fight in battles.
Some killed their officers to stop them taking them into battle.
Drug use by soldiers increased greatly
20,000 were treated for drug abuse
FINAL OFFENSIVE
ARVN collapse in the North
ARVN met many obstacles, which ultimately resulted in their failure
Planning
Operational planning was limited only to a few trusted subordinates who had either contributed to or knew about it. Staff work was non-existent.
Obstacles
Combat engineers had to complete a pontoon bridge across the Đà Rằng River. That night VC forces began to intercept and stall, dubbed the “convoy of tears.”
Reached PAVN roadblock - met with unrelenting shower of artillery shells, mortar rounds and rockets
only 20,000 of the 60,000 troops survived
Ho Chi Minh Campaign
In December 1974, the North Vietnamese launched a major attack against the lightly defended province of Phuoc Long, located north of Saigon along the Cambodian border. They successfully overran the provincial capital at Phuoc Binh on January 6, 1975.
Resulted in the fall of Saigon and reunification in Vietnam
Rushed the whole campaign to finish the war on Ho Chi Minh’s birthday
