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Vietnam: In Search of a Strategy Situation to 1965

Vietnam: In Search of a Strategy Situation to 1965. Lesson Objectives. • Describe the U.S. involvement in Vietnam in the context of the Cold War. • Understand and describe the challenges posed by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) against the south.

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Vietnam: In Search of a Strategy Situation to 1965

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  1. Vietnam: In Search of a Strategy Situation to 1965

  2. Lesson Objectives • Describe the U.S. involvement in Vietnam in the context of the Cold War. • Understand and describe the challenges posed by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) against the south. • Understand and describe the situation in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) after 1959 and the RVN reaction to the challenge from the north.. • Describe the doctrine of limited war and counterinsurgency as espoused by the Kennedy Administration. • Relate the timeline of events that led to U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. • Analyze the early roots of the U.S. search for a strategy for the Vietnam War.

  3. Timeline 1961 Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam 2,530

  4. Timeline May 61 Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam 11 Dec 61 US Army helicopters arrived in South Vietnam Mar 62 USAF personnel began “training” ops in VNAF aircraft

  5. US Advisors (to Army of the Republic of Vietnam - ARVN)  (first 2:00)

  6. US Advisors (to Montagnard irregulars)  (5:00)

  7. Early Air Operations Aircraft Markings VNAF USAF

  8. Early Air Operations YouTube 3:03-8:00

  9. The Vietnam War Operation Ranch Hand Defoliation Spray Missions More

  10. Operation Ranch Hand YouTube 8:00-9:02

  11. Timeline 1961 Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam 11 Dec 61 US Army helicopters arrived in South Vietnam Mar 62 USAF personnel began “training” ops in VNAF aircraft Mar 62 RVN initiated Strategic Hamlet Relocation Program May 62 VC began battalion-sized operations (Central Highlands) 1 Aug 62 Kennedy signed Foreign Assistance Act of 1962 • Provided assistance to countries under Communist attack 3 Jan 63 Battle of Ap Bac: VC inflicted major defeat on RVN force • Significant setback for US faith in Diem government

  12. Timeline 1961 Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam 11 Dec 61 US Army helicopters arrived in South Vietnam Mar 62 USAF personnel began “training” ops in VNAF aircraft Mar 62 RVN initiated Strategic Hamlet Relocation Program May 62 VC began battalion-sized operations (Central Highlands) 1 Aug 62 Kennedy signed Foreign Assistance Act of 1962 • Provided assistance to countries under Communist attack 3 Jan 63 Battle of Ap Bac: VC inflicted major defeat on RVN force • Significant setback for US faith in Diem government

  13. Timeline May- Aug 63 Buddhist unrest, repression in South Vietnam Aug-Oct 63 Kennedy Administration discusses options for Diem 1 Nov 63 CIA-supported ARVN coup overthrows Diem • Diem and this brother killed by ARVN 22 Nov 63 President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas

  14. US Locked In General William C. Westmoreland, who seven months after Diem's assassination replaced General Paul Harkins as commander of MACV, summed up the consequences of President Kennedy's involvement. “In his zeal, the young president made a grievous mistake in assenting to the overthrow of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963,” Westmoreland said. “In my view that action morally locked us in Vietnam. If it had not been for our involvement in the overthrow of President Diem, we could perhaps have gracefully withdrawn our support when South Vietnam's lack of unity and leadership became apparent.” Why It Was Impossible for the U.S. to Stay Uninvolved Col. William Wilson, USA (Retired) Vietnam Magazine, April 1997

  15. Situation 1964 White House concerned about the 1964 election Staffers realized current advising strategy was not succeeding • Predicted North Vietnamese takeover that year • Hoped to stave off collapse until after election Fredrik Logevall “Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam” Presidential Studies Quarterly, March 2004 Link

  16. Timeline Mar 64 Secret CIA bombing of Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos began • Civilian pilots (Air America) flying old U.S. aircraft May 64 LBJ staff begins drafting Congressional support resolution • Temporarily shelved due to lack of support in Senate Summer 64 Guerilla warfare spreading throughout South Vietnam • Now supported by NVA regulars 2-4 Aug 64 Gulf of Tonkin Incident 7 Aug 64 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress • Authorizes president to use force to protect U.S. forces • President orders retaliatory strikes against North Vietnam 14 Dec 64 US begins secret bombing of HCMT in Laos

  17. Timeline 16 Oct 64 China explodes its first nuclear weapon I Nov 64 VC attack Bien Hoa Air Base • First attack on Americans; five Gis killed 3 Nov 64 Lyndon Johnson elected to presidency by landslide

  18. Attacks on US Airfields I Nov 64 VC attack Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigom • First attack on Americans; five Gis killed 6 Feb 65 VC attack US base at Pleiku (central Highlands) • Eight Americans killed, ten aircraft destroyed President orders air strikes against North Vietnam 7 Feb 65 • Operation Flaming Dart continues to 24 Feb 65 7 Mar 65 President authorizes Operation Rolling Thunder • Progressively escalating air attack against North Vietnam • Dual military and political objectives • Ran until 2 Nov 68

  19. Operation Rolling Thunder

  20. Support for Buildup “Even in the aftermath of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, as the Johnson administration began increasing troop levels in Southeast Asia, … 45 percent of Americans wanted to stay the course in Vietnam,” … 36 percent wanted to 'step up the war by carrying the fight to North Vietnam,' for example, through more air strikes against communist territory, … while only 19 percent supported pulling out. In short, by a large margin, Americans demanded victory of their leaders ... A Lyndon Johnson, then, was acting with the full faith and support of his electorate. Joshua Zeitz "1964 - The Year the Sixties Began" American Heritage, October 2006 Source

  21. LBJ’s Dilemma “In later years [Johnson] lamented: 'I knew from the start that I was bound to be crucified either way I moved. If I left the woman I really loved, the Great Society, in order to get involved in that bitch of a war on the other side of the world, I would lose everything at home. All my programs. ... But if I left that war and let the communists take over South Vietnam, then I would be seen as a coward and my nation would be seen as an appeaser, and we would both find it impossible to accomplish anything for anybody anywhere on the entire globe.’” Joshua Zeitz "1964 - The Year the Sixties Began" American Heritage, October 2006 Source

  22. The Great Society

  23. LBJ’s Dilemma Escalate or Withdraw

  24. Discussions on Escalation Feb 65 – Jul 65 Part 1 Feb-Mar 64 Part 2 May64 Part 3 Jun-Aug64 Part 5 Jun-Jul65 Part 4 Feb-Jun65

  25. End

  26. LBJ’s Dilemma “In later years [Johnson] lamented: 'I knew from the start that I was bound to be crucified either way I moved. If I left the woman I really loved, the Great Society, in order to get involved in that bitch of a war on the other side of the world, I would lose everything at home. All my programs. ... But if I left that war and let the communists take over South Vietnam, then I would be seen as a coward and my nation would be seen as an appeaser, and we would both find it impossible to accomplish anything for anybody anywhere on the entire globe.'" Joshua Zeitz "1964 - The Year the Sixties Began" American Heritage, October 2006 Source

  27. Buildup In Vietnam Why was our buildup in Vietnam so slow? Vietnam: 1964 - 1968 Gulf War: Aug 1990 - Jan-Mar 1991 Gradual escalation? Fear of Soviet or Chinese intervention? Lack of infrastructure? Probably a little of each!

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