vietnam: in search of a strategy situation to 1965
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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. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Vietnam: In Search of a Strategy Situation to 1965
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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.
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Timeline
Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam 1961
2,530
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Timeline
Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam
US Army helicopters arrived in South Vietnam
USAF personnel began “training” ops in VNAF aircraft
May 61
11 Dec 61
Mar 62
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US Advisors
(first 2:00)
(to Army of the Republic of Vietnam - ARVN)
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US Advisors
(5:00)
(to Montagnard irregulars)
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Early Air Operations
Aircraft Markings
USAF VNAF
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Early Air Operations
YouTube 3:03-8:00
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The Vietnam War
Operation Ranch HandDefoliation Spray Missions
More
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Operation Ranch Hand
YouTube 8:00-9:02
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Timeline
Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam
US Army helicopters arrived in South Vietnam
USAF personnel began “training” ops in VNAF aircraft
Battle of Ap Bac: VC inflicted major defeat on RVN force
1961
11 Dec 61
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
Mar 62
• Provided assistance to countries under Communist attack
3 Jan 63 • Significant setback for US faith in Diem government
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Timeline
Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam
US Army helicopters arrived in South Vietnam
USAF personnel began “training” ops in VNAF aircraft
Battle of Ap Bac: VC inflicted major defeat on RVN force
1961
11 Dec 61
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
Mar 62
• Provided assistance to countries under Communist attack
3 Jan 63 • Significant setback for US faith in Diem government
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Timeline
Buddhist unrest, repression in South Vietnam
Kennedy Administration discusses options for Diem
CIA-supported ARVN coup overthrows Diem
May- Aug 63
Aug-Oct 63
1 Nov 63• Diem and this brother killed by ARVN
22 Nov 63 President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas
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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 UninvolvedCol. William Wilson, USA (Retired)Vietnam Magazine, April 1997
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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
Link
Fredrik Logevall“Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam”Presidential Studies Quarterly, March 2004
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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 Vietnam14 Dec 64 US begins secret bombing of HCMT in Laos
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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
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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
7 Feb 65 President orders air strikes against North Vietnam• 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
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Operation Rolling Thunder
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Support for Buildup
“Even in the aftermath of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, as the Johnson administration began increasing troop levels in Southeast Asia,
Source
Joshua Zeitz"1964 - The Year the Sixties Began"American Heritage, October 2006
… 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 ...
Lyndon Johnson, then, was acting with the full faith and support of his electorate.
A
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LBJ’s Dilemma
“In later years [Johnson] lamented:
Source
... 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
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.
'I knew from the start that I was bound to be crucified either way I moved.
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The Great Society
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LBJ’s Dilemma
Escalate or Withdraw
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Discussions on EscalationFeb 65 – Jul 65
Part 1Feb-Mar 64
Part 2May64
Part 3Jun-Aug64
Part 4Feb-Jun65
Part 5Jun-Jul65
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End
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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.
Source
... 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
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Buildup In Vietnam
Why was our buildup in Vietnam so slow?
Gradual escalation?
Vietnam: 1964 - 1968
Gulf War: Aug 1990 - Jan-Mar 1991
Lack of infrastructure?
Probably a little of each!
Fear of Soviet or Chinese intervention?