33.2 The War Escalates

The Tonkin Gulf Resolution

President Johnson needed Congressional backing before he

could increase U.S. military commitment in Vietnam

Tonkin Gulf Resolution was overwhelmingly passed by Congress. It gave the President authority to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the

U.S.

LBJ claimed attacks in the Gulf of Tonkin were unprovoked, however in reality the U.S. destroyer Maddox had been spying for the South Vietnamese and had also fired

first.

A claimed second attack on the Maddox probably never occurred, but LBJ had gotten what they wanted, authority to expand the war

Senator Morse of Oregon said, “I believe that history will record we made a great

mistake…We are in affect giving the President war making powers in the

absence of a declaration of war.”

U.S. forces in Vietnam

LBJ called for an escalation, or build up of U.S. military forces in Vietnam

In April of 1965 the Selective Service notified 13,700 draftees

More than 2 million Americans served in Vietnam

The Average U.S. soldier was younger, poorer, and less educated than those who severed in WW II and Korea

Due in most part to college deferments young men from higher income families were less likely to

be drafted

African American and Hispanics severed in some of the most

dangerous ground units.

In 1965 African American accounted for almost 24% of all battle deaths, even though they made up just 11% of the U.S. population

Soldiers cut their way through jungle, where they heard but seldom saw the enemy

Administration, communications, medical care, etc were rarely safe as well. Enemy rockets and mortars could and did strike anywhere

10,000 women served in Vietnam, mostly as nurses.

They did not carry guns but nurses faced the horrors of the combat daily

The Air War

LBJ hoped an air power could secure a quick victory

In March of 1965 Operation Rolling Thunder was launched

It was a bombing campaign against military targets in the North. The goal was to weaken the enemy’s will to fight

A key target of the campaign was the Ho Chi Minh Trail

This trail was used to bring weapons and supplies into South

Vietnam

Parts of the trail went through Laos and Cambodia and were repeatedly bombed

The Vietcong were able to repair the trail very quickly

By 1967 the U.S. was dropping a daily average of 800 tons of bombs on North Vietnam

When the bombing did not produce the desired results LBJ broadened

the air to areas in Laos and much of South Vietnam

Weapons of the war

The U.S. Military also used a variety of new weapons in Vietnam

Napalm- Jelled gasoline mixture, used in fire bombs

Cluster Bombs- Sprayed razor sharp metal fragments when they exploded

Defoliants- Chemicals to strip the land of vegetation, most widely used was agent orange

Napalm

Cluster bombs

Defoliants

The Ground War

The U.S. bombing actually led to more South Vietnamese joining the

Vietcong

Soon the U.S. was facing more South Vietnamese than North Vietnamese

To counter this the U.S. launched a ground war

U.S. forces in Vietnam in 1965 were 185,000 by the end of 1967 the forces grew to 486,000

However the Vietcong’s use of guerilla tactics proved very effective against the

greatest military in the world

Vietnamese peasants who appeared peaceful during the day sided with the Vietcong at night

Ground patrols would first locate the enemy and then call air support to

kill them

To provide security in rural areas U.S. forces began a program called pacification

When these security forces were not enough U.S. forces moved the residents to

secure locations a burned the villages

Progress of this type of warfare could not be shown on a map, so instead daily body counts of the enemy became the only measure of success.

The U.S. would inflate this numbers by counting all Vietnamese dead the as the

enemy

One officer said, “If its dead and Vietnamese, its VC.”

U.S. morale declines

Optimism of the soldiers began to fade as the hazards of fighting a nearly invisible foe in an alien landscape became apparent

The soldiers became frustrated when the enemy continued to fight despite massive casualties

U.S. planners of the war expected U.S. technology would win the

war, but it has not

Ho Chi Minh warned the French, “You can kill ten of my men for everyone I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.”

It appears that same warning was apply to the Americans as well

By the end of 1967 more than 16,000 Americans had been killed in Vietnam

American homes were bombarded by nightly newscasts of terrified Vietnamese civilians and dead or injured soldiers

Because of the coverage some American wanted that the U.S. do what ever takes to win the war and some Americans wanted the U.S. to pull out of the

war

Journalist also started to report that the U.S. government had been

inflating body counts to give the appearance of progress

Johnson found his administration criticized by both doves, people who oppose the war and hawks, people who support the war

The Antiwar Movement

The antiwar movement attracted a broad range people like doctors,

teachers, and other professionals

The Students for a Democratic Society was radical antiwar student group

By 1965 SDS had members on 124 college campuses

SDS members held antiwar rallies and debates, they also protested the draft, ROTC on campus, and recruitment efforts

The SDS organized the first national antiwar protest, it was held in

Washington D.C.

More than 20,000 people participated, there were speeches, marches to the capital, and delivered petitions to Congress members

Civil rights activists like Martin Luther King said that the war was stealing from poverty programs

Civil rights activists also said that they were sending great numbers of

African Americans off to war yet did little to end discrimination at home

Despite its high visibility, antiwar protestors made up a small percent

of the U.S. population

Young men and women who tired to avoid the draft angered many veterans of past wars