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.

• 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.

Timeline

Kennedy ordered 2,530 more advisors to South Vietnam 1961

2,530

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

US Advisors

(first 2:00)

(to Army of the Republic of Vietnam - ARVN)

US Advisors

(5:00)

(to Montagnard irregulars)

Early Air Operations

Aircraft Markings

USAF VNAF

Early Air Operations

YouTube 3:03-8:00

The Vietnam War

Operation Ranch HandDefoliation Spray Missions

More

Operation Ranch Hand

YouTube 8:00-9:02

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Operation Rolling Thunder

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

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.

The Great Society

LBJ’s Dilemma

Escalate or Withdraw

Discussions on EscalationFeb 65 – Jul 65

Part 1Feb-Mar 64

Part 2May64

Part 3Jun-Aug64

Part 4Feb-Jun65

Part 5Jun-Jul65

End

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

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?