American Involvement in the Vietnam War

After Diem Many leaders tried to take control 1964, combined Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces controlled most of the South Vietnamese countryside

Congressional Approval US destroyer in Gulf of Tonkin fired on by N. Vietnamese torpedo boats Possible second attack two days later Attacks prompted Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving Johnson the power to use military force

Johnson Sends Troops Escalation policy – increased military involvement in Vietnam Gen. William Westmoreland led US forces in South Vietnam 1968 – 536,000 Americans in Vietnam

US Disadvantages Fear of Chinese involvement Young, inexperienced soldiers No front line, different from WWII Viet Cong mixed in with civilians Never knew who the enemy was

Viet Cong Strategy Guerrilla Warfare fighters used… A network of tunnels to “appear” fight and then “disappear” Land mines and booby traps Bamboo stakes in covered pits Mortar/artillery shells in trees Grenades in bushes Land and Climate Heat and rain, jungles and flooded rice paddies

American Strategy US troops cleared dense jungles with… Napalm – jellied gasoline that burns violently Agent Orange – chemical that kills plants Destroyed Viet Cong hideouts and supplies Agent Orange harmed civilians, and has been linked to skin diseases and cancer in veterans Search-and-Destroy Missions – burned and bombed villages suspected of hiding Viet Cong soldiers

Tet: Turning Point Tet – Vietnamese celebration of the lunar new year Tet Offensive, 1968 – Communist surprise attack on US bases and cities in South Vietnam Viet Cong dressed as civilians to blend in Communist defeat, gained no cities lost 45,000 soldiers

US Doubts Grow Tet caused many US citizens to… Doubt “victory was in sight” as Westmoreland had claimed Question the wisdom of the US mission in Vietnam Destruction to civilian villages in Vietnam common Publicly protest the war (mostly youths)