Transcript Objective 2: Vietnam war

OBJECTIVE 2:
VIETNAM WAR- US
ESCALATION
Examine the reasons for U.S. escalation in
Vietnam and how 1968 marked a turning
point in the War.
REVIEW- CAUSES OF WAR?
Why conflict began:
 Vietnam wanted
independence from
France
Why the US got
involved:
 Vietnam wanted to be
Communism
 Stop the spread of
Communism in Asia
The Domino Theory was that if North Vietnam won the war then Laos
Cambodia and the rest of Asia will turn communist. America and south
Vietnam did not wan to be communist and let it spread throughout
Asia.
“If we have to
fight, we will
fight. You
will kill ten
of our men
and we will
kill one of
yours, and in
the end it
will be YOU
who tires of
it”
-Ho Chi Minh
Was
supported in
Vietnam the
same way
that we
supported
Chiang Kai
Shek in the
Chinese Civil
War
Ngo Dinh Diem - Dinh Diem was named premier of South
Vietnam after the CIA helped to put him charge in 1954. He
was a strong anti communist. He was not a strong leader and
lost much support in his country (Buddhist monk) as they saw
him as a rich elitist who had helped the French take their
money.
Vietcong- the lightly armed South Vietnamese
communist insurgency, largely fought a guerilla war against
anti communist forces in the region Vietnamese government
officials. They could be seen similar to today’s Taliban that
are presently in Pakistan. Farmers by day; guerillas at night.
Vietcong Tunnel Video #1
Vietcong booby traps video
HO CHI MINH TRAIL
A trail supported by
Ho Chi Minh that
began supplying arms
to the Vietcong via a
network of paths
along the border s of
Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia.
QUESTION
Did the US have good reason to go to
war?
Timeline:
1956-French need US help, but leave training
of S. Vietnamese soldiers to the US
1959- first 2 US soldiers killed by Guerilla
attack
1963- Kennedy assassinated, Diem
overthrown and murdered
1964- Gulf of Tonkin Incident
GULF OF TONKIN INCIDENT
GULF OF TONKIN
RESOLUTION
 President Lyndon Johnson's televised
message to the nation: "The initial
attack on the destroyer Maddox, on
August 2, was repeated today by a
number of hostile vessels attacking two
U.S. destroyers with torpedoes…. Air
action is now in execution against
gunboats and certain supporting
facilities in North Vietnam which have
been used in these hostile operations .“
 The next day, the president addressed
Congress, seeking the power to "to take
all necessary measures in support of
freedom and in defense of peace in
Southeast Asia."
GULF OF TONKIN EFFECTS
 On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any
measures he believed were necessary to retaliate & to
promote the maintenance of international peace & security in
southeast Asia.
QUESTION
Did the US have good reason to go to war?
DISPUTE
 video
War Escalates
• Much of nation supported Johnson’s determination to
contain communism
• 1965 poll – 61% supported U.S. policy in Vietnam
• Johnson wins 1964 election on anti war support
“not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do
what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”
• *As soon as elected Johnson sent tens of thousands of
U.S. soldiers to Vietnam*
Go To Guys
• Robert McNamara: Secretary of Defense
• Pushed Johnson during the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
• Instrumental in Vietnam
• Dean Rusk: Secretary of State
• Key foreign policy advisor to Johnson
• Supported increased # of troops
• General William Westmoreland: American Commander
in Vietnam
• Continued to request more troops – “Army of the Republic
of Vietnam cannot stand without U.S. support”
• By 1967 – 500,000 troops in Vietnam
• Aug 2, 1964 : N. Vietnam patrol boat fires torpedo at USS
Maddox (it misses), U.S. fires back
• Aug 4, 1964 : Maddox crew reported seeing enemy
torpedoes so U.S. responds (later crewmen will deny
seeing anything)
• Alleged attacks prompt Johnson to launch striking attacks
on N. Vietnam
• Johnson asks Congress for power to “take all necessary
measures to repel any armed attack against U.S. forces &
prevent further aggression  Tonkin Gulf Resolution
U.S. entered war believing that its superior weaponry
would lead to quick victory over Vietcong.
United States
• Superior firepower &
weaponry
Vietcong
• Guerilla warfare
• Knowledge of jungle
terrain
• Use tunnel system/fight at
night
Both sides had their own military strategies
against the other
United States
Vietcong
• Destroy VC morale = Body Count
• Guerilla warfare (hit & run or
• Napalm: gasoline-based
ambush attacks)
• Avoid major head to head
battles
• Knowledge of jungle terrain
• Underground system of
tunnels
bomb set fire to jungle
• Agent Orange: leaf-killing
toxic chemical
• Search & Destroy
Missions: uprooting
civilians thought to be VC,
killing livestock, burning
villages
Vietcong
System of underground
tunnels
• Connecting villages
throughout countryside
• Terrain laced with
booby traps and land
mines
• Type of warfare frustrated
U.S. military officials and
soldiers
United States
*Must win support of rural
South Vietnamese
• Military strategies made
that a tough task
•
Use of napalm and
agent orange angered
civilians and destroyed
villages
• Agent orange linked to
cancers in Vietnamese
and U.S. soldiers
United States
• Search and destroy missions played out throughout Vietnam
• Left over 3 million Vietnamese in refugee camps by 1967
• Never know who the enemy is so destroy it all
Slide 23
The US Struggles

in spite of ongoing escalation
throughout the 1960s, the US
experienced a lack of success
against the Vietnamese
guerrilla forces in S.
Vietnam (the Vietcong) as the
US Army was unprepared for
their tactics and mentality

The US was also never entirely
successful in shutting
down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a
supply line that ran between
North and South Vietnam via
difficult jungle terrain,
often underground and
through neighboring nations
like Cambodia
Morale Begins to Sink
• Many still believed in fulfilling their American duty
• Sinking Morale
• More and more were forced to fight : turned to alcohol,
marijuana & drugs
• Some even go as far as to kill superior officers
• Constant sweltering heat, leeches, thought of unknowing
Fall of Public Support
• U.S. Economy: began to suffer
• Inflation rates went up 2%-5.5% by 1969
• Johnson increased taxes  reduce spending on Great Society programs
• Television: America’s first “living room war”
• Combat footage appeared nightly on TV news
• Contradicting what generals were telling the public
• Countless American body bags (16,000 between ’61 and ‘67)
• Credibility gap: public distrust of statements made by the government
FOR:it’ll help South Vietnam
justice may be brought
There wont be any communism
The Domino Theory was that if south
Vietnam became communist then all the
other Asian countries will become
against.
The Americans had more weapons,
machine guns, rockets, launchers, tanks
and helicopters.
The war established peace and stability.
AGAINST:Vietnam could fight for themselves
The U.S used napalm which killed 400
000 innocent civilians
No one in America supported the war
as it used unnecessary force which
massacred the whole village
William Kaylie was responsible for the
killing of loads of civilians. He was
imprisoned for life.
most of South Vietnam didn't support
the U.S
Many Americans staged anti-war
protest
PROTESTS
America will soon see
the country divided
on what to do in
Vietnam