Two Stages of U.S. Involvement in Vietnam

Unit Objectives To understand the background of conflict in Vietnam To analyze why America chose to get involved To learn the stages of U.S. involvement in Vietnam To analyze why America couldn’t win in Vietnam and why the war was so unpopular at home

1. Advise and Aide (Dwight Eisenhower and JFK) U.S. advisors were sent to train the South Vietnamese how to fight—they were not supposed to take part in the fighting themselves The training was ineffective—Why?

2. Direct Involvement (Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon) LBJ was the most responsible for increasing U.S. involvement (authorized by the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution) Operation Rolling Thunder:

The Draft:

Search and Destroy Missions:

My Lai Massacre: Village wiped out by U.S. troops in 1968 based on incorrect intelligence Some continued to fire even though it was obvious there were no Vietcong present because they were following orders

My Lai

Why Couldn’t the U.S. Win in Vietnam? Vietcong had the home field advantage -Example--Ho Chi Minh Trail:

Vietcong were supported by China and the Soviets It was often difficult to tell who the enemy was:

U.S. had never fought a jungle war before: It was hard to find the enemy in the jungle and in the tunnel system they used U.S. used napalm and Agent Orange to burn off the foliage without understanding the health risks—U.S. soldiers were sent into burned off areas looking for Vietcong and were exposed as were civilians

Effects of defoliants

Vietcong troops were more committed to their cause:

Very unpopular war in America: The public questioned the cause, strategy, and lack of results Limits on U.S. military strategy: It was limited because the war was not popular (could not commit fully to winning) -The U.S. was forced to fight a defensive war of attrition that it was not prepared to win (the Vietcong was willing to accept huge losses, the American public was not)

Main criticisms of the war

Vietnam Protest, Madison, WI

Credibility Gap: The public stopped believing what the government was saying about the war (the war is almost over, we were winning) Tet Offensive (Jan., 1968): North Vietnamese offensive deep into South Vietnam at a time the U.S. government was saying the war was almost over leading to an increase in anti-war protests and the media began criticizing the war

PENTAGON PAPERS (Daniel Ellsberg, 1971) were released showing the government was lying