The Vietnam War, The American War 1961-1975

1961 The Vietnam War is not going the way America hoped. The military and political situation in South Vietnam is weak and corrupt. The Communist Viet Cong, VC, from North Vietnam controls much of the countryside. Former president Eisenhower has already sent military and economic aid to support the government of South Vietnam. The new US president, John F.

Kennedy, sends more money and over 16,000 American military advisers. Publically — Kennedy says that America will stay out of ground combat in Vietnam. Secretly, he authorizes operations against the Viet Cong. One of the first massive US war campaigns - Operation Ranch Hand - begins in the air. It involves spraying a chemical called Agent Orange to kill the thick jungle vegetation that provides cover and food for the VC guerrillas.

At the end of 1963, South Vietnam President Diem is assassinated in a military coup. Three weeks later, President Kennedy is also assassinated. The assassinations are probably not related to each other, but they affect the war effort. The North Vietnam communists are winning. August, 1964 On two separate occasions, US warships are allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin.

New President Lyndon B. Johnson says that the United States did nothing to cause the attacks. But actually, the US warships were spying along the coastline. Later reports show that the second attack never even occurred. On 7 August 1964, the United States Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Johnson is granted full power to take all necessary measures to repel armed attacks against US forces. In March 1965 the US begins operation Rolling Thunder, an air war in the North and a ground war in the South. US military aircraft drop endless bombs on North Vietnamese targets. By 1968, more than 500,000 Americans are fighting in Vietnam. VC guerrillas can attack at any time, anywhere in the country.

There are no clear-cut front lines. This is a different type of combat than in previous wars, so the US military needs a new strategy. Using helicopters, soldiers are dropped into remote jungle regions on search-and-destroy missions. For American soldiers unaccustomed to scorching hot temperatures and guerrilla warfare, Vietnam is a nightmare. The turning point of the war occurs in January 1968, when 84,000 VC guerrillas, aided by the North Vietnamese government, launch the Tet Offensive.

They attack the US Embassy in Saigon, and a hundred cities and towns throughout South Vietnam. Attacks continue in waves through September. For the first time in history, a war is watched live on TV news by American viewers. The bloody scenes are shocking, and popular support for the war greatly decreases. Peace movements are organised throughout the country, but a number of protests turn violent… even deadly.

The new US president Richard Nixon is the fourth president since the Vietnam War began. He wants South Vietnam to take over all of the war efforts, and calls the process “Vietnamization”. Secretly, he expands air and ground operations into Cambodia and Laos in an attempt to block enemy supply routes along Vietnam’s borders. When Americans learn this, new protests occur. Finally, in January 1973, the United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Viet Cong sign a peace agreement in Paris.

Direct US military involvement in the Vietnam War is over. But, by early 1974, full-scale war resumes between North and South Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, the remaining Americans in South Vietnam are airlifted out as Saigon falls to communist forces. After 19 years, 5 months, 4 weeks and one day, the Vietnam War is over. Millions of people have died.