The Johnson years, 1963-1967
The Vietnam War under president Johnson
- Created by: Lyyam
- Created on: 12-05-14 13:44
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- The Johnson years, 1963-1967
- Existing problems for Johnson
- Coups against Diem
- Increased sense of obligation to South Vietnam
- Increased sense of resistance to communism
- Nguyen Van Thieu emerged as leader in 1967
- Pressure to get further involved
- "I'm not going to let Vietnam go the way of China"
- It looked like South Vietnam would fall without further US intervention
- Upcoming 1964 election
- Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962
- 'losing to a bunch of Asiatic commies' wouldn't help at all
- Had to avoid direct confrontation with the USSR and China
- Coups against Diem
- The stepping up of US military assistance
- All advice pointed to the need to become more involved in Vietnam - 1964
- More pressure on the North and boost the confidence of the regime in the South
- In January, the Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted to carry the war to the North
- General Harkins, head of MAAG, stressed the need to halt the flow of supplies down the Ho Chi Minh trail
- The Viet Cong's power
- The VC controlled 30-40 percent of south Vietnam's territory
- Desertion from the ARVN was high and morale low
- How it would be done
- For the USA to attack North Vietnam openly required Congressional approval and possibly a declaration of war
- A declaration legitimising action by the president against specific enemies was drafted in the spring
- Johnson wouldn't put it to Congress without near-unanimous support.
- All advice pointed to the need to become more involved in Vietnam - 1964
- The Gulf of Tonkin incident
- What happened
- South Vietnamese forces began raids on North Vietnam's coastline
- The US Navy gave assistance but not through direct participation
- August 1946, the USS Maddox was attacked by DRV patrol boats on the night of 2 August
- Two days later, the Maddox and another destroyer claimed to have been attacked. Their radars picked up what they interpreted as enemy ships but none were sighted
- August 1946, the USS Maddox was attacked by DRV patrol boats on the night of 2 August
- The US Navy gave assistance but not through direct participation
- South Vietnamese forces began raids on North Vietnam's coastline
- Johnson's actions
- Congress passed the draft declaration already prepared by the State Department
- The resolution gave Johnson the power to 'take all necessary measures to repel armed attacks against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.'
- 'It was like Grandma's nightgown - it covered everything'
- The resolution gave Johnson the power to 'take all necessary measures to repel armed attacks against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.'
- Congress passed the draft declaration already prepared by the State Department
- What happened
- Taking the plunge, 1965
- Us involvement increased
- No planned escalation, but a series of responses
- Hoped to produce stability and force the DRV to the negotiating table
- The North's response
- Each American move produced a counter-escalation from the North
- Increased help from the USSR and China
- Us involvement increased
- The bombing campaign begins
- Causes
- Johnson sent McGeorge Bundy to asses the situation
- Viet Cong troops attacked the US air base at Pleiku
- Bombing operations
- Operation Rolling Thunder - 2nd March 1965
- Operation Steel Tiger
- Ineffectiveness
- The USA spent $9.60 to do $1 worth of damage
- The Ho Chi Minh Traiil was not broken
- Napalm and defoliates were used to little effect
- Causes
- The use of US combat troops
- First manpower on the ground
- March 1965, two marine battalions were sent to protect Da Nang air base.
- Numbers quickly increased in May
- Westmoreland and McNamara argued that only US action couls save the Republic of Vietnam
- March 1965, two marine battalions were sent to protect Da Nang air base.
- increasing the number of troops
- Johnson agreed to increase US military personnel to 125,000 in July
- Troops were dripfed in through the draft
- First manpower on the ground
- The battle of La Drang
- beginnings
- November 1965, La Drang Valley
- Westmoreland took the fight to a Viet Cong controlled area in the central highlands
- Used search and destroy tactics, using US fire power to overwhelm the enemy
- Course of the battle
- Many days of fierce fighting in which US air and fire power proved effective
- The NVA lost 3,561 compared to the loss of 305 Americans
- The remaining communist forces retreated into the Cambodian border
- US victory
- The remaining communist forces retreated into the Cambodian border
- The NVA lost 3,561 compared to the loss of 305 Americans
- Many days of fierce fighting in which US air and fire power proved effective
- beginnings
- What had been achieved by 1967?
- Resulting tactics from events
- NVA reverted to General Giap's strategy of guerrilla attacks
- The USA build-up continued throughout 1966 and 1967, until there were just under half a million US troops in the country
- Allied support
- Australia sent a brigade
- South Korea nearly 50,000
- Harold Wilson sent no British forces
- France demanded a neutral South Vietnam
- The state of Vietnam
- Thieu was now president in the South (1967)
- South Vietnam still appeared as a millitary dictatorship
- The South Vietnamese regime had undoubtedly been saved
- North Vietnamese suplies from the USSR were improving and the Ho Chi Minh Trail had not been cut
- Thieu was now president in the South (1967)
- Resulting tactics from events
- Existing problems for Johnson
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