The Vietnam War 2

What was "Operation Rolling Thunder" and why was it begun?

•   It was a bombing attack on North Vietnamese military and industrial targets (e.g. bridges, army barracks, railway lines, roads and arms depots).

• - Operation Rolling Thunder started in February, 1965. The aim was to end the North Vietnamese support for the Vietcong.

• - Bombing did not cost as many American lives as ground warfare.

• - At first, cities like Hanoi and Haiphong were not bombed because Johnson did not want to anger the USSR and China too much by targeting civilians. But, later, this policy changed and the USA began saturation bombing (bombing everything in sight). 

• What is meant by "search and destroy"?

  Army units were sent out into the villages and countryside to search for and kill any Vietcong they could find.

  - This led to much brutality against the Vietnamese, partly because the US soldiers were so afraid and angry when their friends were killed by the Vietcong.

  - The US Army High Command measured the success or failure of a search and destroy mission by the "body count", meaning the number of Vietcong killed.

  - Search and destroy missions were backed up by helicopters, which were used to carry troops, arms and supplies. Helicopters were the best form of transport in the thick rainforests and swamps of Vietnam.

  - Helicopters were also used as gunships armed with rocket launchers and machine guns

  What happened in the Tet Offensive?

  The Tet Offensive started on 31st January, 1968. It was an attack by the Vietcong and NVA on more than 100 cities, towns and military bases throughout South Vietnam, including Saigon.

  - It was totally different to the guerrilla fighting they has used before and was a…