Vietnam:US Involvement and

Escalation

Chapter 22, Section 2Notes

Objectives

• Explain the reasons for the escalation of US involvement in Vietnam

• Describe the military tactics and weapons used by US forces and the Vietcong

• Explain the impact of the war on American society

Main Idea and Terms/Names

• The United States sent troops to fight in Vietnam, but the war quickly turned into a stalemate.

• Robert McNamara• Dean Rusk• William

Westmoreland• Army of the

Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

• Napalm• Agent Orange• Search and

destroy mission• Credibility gap

Johnson increases Involvement• 1965 – Johnson and his foreign

policy advisors decide to send troops to fight– Secretary of Defense Robert

McNamara– Secretary of State Dean Rusk

• Congress strongly supported Johnson’s strategy

• Americans supported Johnson’s containment of communism– 61% supported

Johnson increases Involvement• By the end of 1965 – 180,000

Americans were sent to Vietnam• William Westmoreland –

American commander in Vietnam– Continued requesting more troops– Was not impressed with the Army

of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

• By 1967 – 500,000 US troops in Vietnam

Fighting in the Jungle• US thought its superior weaponry would

lead it to victory– The Jungle terrain and the enemy’s guerilla

tactics turned the war into a stalemate

• Vietcong used hit and run and ambush tactics– Did not have high-powered weapons

– Knew the jungle terrain – advantage!

• Vietcong had a network of elaborate tunnels– Withstand airstrikes and disappear quickly– Connected villages to launch surprise

attacks

Vietcong Tunnel System Link

Fighting in the Jungle• The jungle was laced with booby

traps and land mines–The US had laid land mines throughout the jungle

–Vietcong reused American mines

–Nerve-racking for US troops to walk through the jungle

A War of Attrition• Westmoreland’s strategy was to

destroy the Vietcong morale– A war of attrition – gradually

wearing down the enemy with continuous harassment

– Used a body count to keep track of the number of Vietcong deaths

• Vietcong had no intention of quitting– Received supplies from China and

USSR• The US misunderstood the Vietcong

– it was a battle for existence

Battle For Hearts and Minds• US began a campaign to win the “hearts

and minds” of S.Vietnamese villagers– Would keep them from supporting Vietcong

• However, this was a difficult task• US planes dropped napalm

– Gasoline based chemical that set fire to the jungle

• US sprayed Agent Orange to kill the jungle– Also suspected of causing cancer years later

• These chemicals wounded civilians and left their villages in ruins

Battle For Hearts and Minds

• Search and destroy missions– US troops uproot civilians with

suspected ties to the Vietcong and burned their villages

– Villagers fled to cities or refugee camps

Sinking Morale• US troops’ morale sunk

– Frustrated with guerilla warfare– Brutal jungle conditions– Failure to make substantial headway

against enemy

• Some soldiers believed in the cause, but many soldiers were legally required to fight a war they did not support – turned to alcohol and drugs

• Corruption of S. Vietnamese government – civil war within a civil war

The War at Home• Great Society Suffered

– The war was costly and the US economy suffered

– Inflation rate jumped to 5.5%– Johnson asked for a tax increase to

help fund the war and check inflation

– Congress agreed, but only if the funding for Great Society programs was reduced

• “Living Room War” – combat footage appeared on the nightly news– Quoted body count statistics

The Credibility Gap• Difference between what the

government reported and what was really happened

• Americans saw images on TV that did not match up with the optimistic gov. report

• Fulbright hearings– Senator Fulbright televised a

series of hearing in which the Johnson administration defended their Vietnam policies

Section 3: A Nation DividedThe Working Class Goes to War• A “Manipulatable” Draft• Selective Service System, draft, calls

men 18–26 to military service

• Thousands look for ways to avoid the draft

• Many—mostly white, affluent—get college deferment

• 80% of U.S. soldiers come from lower economic levels

•African Americans in Vietnam• African Americans serve in disproportionate

numbers in ground combat

• Defense Department corrects problem by instituting draft lottery in 1969

• Racial tensions high in many platoons; add to low troop morale

•Women Join the Ranks• 10,000 women serve, mostly as military

nurses

• Thousands volunteer: American Red Cross, United Services Organization

Roots of Opposition

• The New Left• • New Left—youth movement of

1960s, demand sweeping changes• Students for a Democratic Society

(SDS), Free Speech Movement (FSM):

- criticize big business, government; want greater individual freedom

The Protest Movement Emerges• The Movement Grows• In 1965, protest marches, rallies draw

tens of thousands

• 1966, student deferments require good academic standing

• SDS calls for civil disobedience; counsels students to go abroad

• Small numbers of returning veterans protest; protest songs popular

From Protest to Resistance•Antiwar demonstrations, protests increase, some become violent

•Some men burn draft cards; some refuse to serve; some flee to Canada

War Divides the Country

• Doves strongly oppose war, believe U.S. should withdraw

• Hawks favor sending greater forces to win the war

• 1967 majority of Americans support war, consider protesters disloyal

Johnson remains determined•LBJ continues slow escalation, is criticized by both hawks and doves

•Combat stalemate leads Defense Secretary McNamara to resign