The Vietnam War The Vietnam War took place in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30th 1975. The war was a battle between the Communist North Vietnam, who was supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, who was supported by the USA and other member nations of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). The Vietcong, the lightly armed South Vietnamese communist insurgency largely fought a revolutionary war against anti-communist forces in the region. The North Vietnamese Army engaged in a more conventional war, sometimes committing large sized units into battle. The US and South Vietnamese forces relied mainly on air superiority and firepower to successfully complete search and destroy operations,
1965, the ground war begins c. The North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong plan a major offensive 2. Vietnamese Lunar New Year “Tet” 1968 d. The North Vietnamese Army launch their attack e. Saigon f. The ancient city of Hue 3. Effects on the United States a. The United States military intelligence failure b. The Media brings the Tet Offensive to the American people c. Lyndon B. Johnson and General Westmoreland 4.
However, when President Johnson and other military advisors mixed-up events, possibly deliberately, to claim that North Vietnam had just attacked the US naval force in the Gulf of Tonkin- an incident which later proved to be a minor naval clash (Prados 1) and used this conflict as a premise to launch a full scale invasion of the communist state, the antiwar movement consolidated with great speed. This ‘military police action’ became a war overseas and instigated violence between young protesters and the government. Vietnam was not just a war zone, it was the catalyst for most of the dissent in the nation’s discourse throughout the second half of the 1960s. For the liberals of society, the
The South Vietnamese had relied on United States support more and more as the war was getting started. On July 30 and 31 1964, two North Vietnamese islands were bombed, and on July 31, 1964 while the United States Destroyer Maddox was on a recon patrol off of the North Vietnam islands of Ho Me and Hon Hgu where they were setting up strategic positions for a covert operations again the North Vietnamese. August 2, 1964, the United States Maddox was very close to Hon Me when two North Korean torpedo boats were launched from the island, the United States Maddox fired several warning shots, but the torpedo boats continued to advance. The United States Maddox fired directly at the torpedo boats, one
Viet Nam War "Nixon's Plan for "Peace With Honor" In 1969, Richard Nixon became the new U.S. President and he had his own plan to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam. President Nixon outlined a plan called Vietnamization, which was a process to remove U.S. troops from Vietnam while handing back the fighting to the South Vietnamese. The withdrawal of U.S. troops began in July 1969. To bring a faster end to hostilities, President Nixon also expanded the war into other countries, such as Laos and Cambodia -- a move that created thousands of protests, especially on college campuses, back in America. To work toward peace, new peace talks began in Paris on January 25, 1969.
In the 1960’s protest, activism and social change started to take over America. Waldo Emerson had part in the art moment and had social and political protests during the great depression. America was deeply involved with waging a neo-colonial war of imperialism. The French colonists had finally withdrawn from Vietnam after centuries that they occupied it. The Anti-Vietnam war moment in the untied states prove that there were people who cared about peace not war, with protesting, sit ins, and the communication to boycott drafting of soldiers so they wouldn’t go to war.
However, bobby Kennedy had become passionately anti-war and publicly opposed the war from January 1966. Johnson privately insulted ‘Nervous Nellies’ who disagreed with him about Vietnam, calling one senator a ‘prick’, Senator Fulbright ‘Senator Halfbright’ and Bobby Kennedy ‘spineless’. Johnson considered the Kennedy-McNamara friendship dangerous. One reason why McNamara ceased to be secretary of defence is, that he wanted to decrease the fighting for the U.S and hand over the conflict to South Vietnam. In an early November 1967 memo to Johnson, McNamara's recommendation to freeze troop levels, stop bombing North Vietnam and for the U.S. to hand over ground fighting to South Vietnam was rejected outright by the President.
At the same time they tried to create a strong non-communist South Vietnam under the leadership of Diem. By the late 1950s, the communist rebels in South Vietnam declared a revolutionary struggle against Diem, so as to reunify Vietnam under communist rule. In turn, by the 1960s the USA became more and more alarmed at this prospect, leading to further intervention in Vietnam to stop this. When Kennedy was inaugurated he inherited many crises around the globe, the most pertinent was the loss of Cuba. After the well known Bay of Pigs fiasco, he felt he was advised that he needed a foreign policy success.
Before we begin our review and analysis of Exactly where the Domino Fell, it's important first to take into account the developments ahead of the war, during the war, and after the war. Within the early 20th century, Vietnam, in addition to Laos and Cambodia had been under French control. In the Second World War, the Japanese took control of Vietnam until it surrendered in 1945. The same year, the Alliance for your Independence of Vietnam (a communist-controlled alliance) obtained control of North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, forming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In spite if the colossal military assist provided by america military for the French forces, France was eventually beaten by the Vietminh in 1954.
Soon, America knew that conventional warfare tactics with the communist guerilla fighters would not work. New types of weapons and tactics were implemented heavily in Vietnam. Such weapons included the two deadliest; Napalm and saturation bombings. These types of bombings would be dropped from jets high in the sky, usually guided by a recon team a couple miles away. You can see where a problem would arise here.