There were many problems LBJ faced, and these are probably all connected in some way to his decision to not run for president in the 1969 election. One of these is the opposition he got from sending in the troops to Vietnam. The majority of recognition he received was from younger people and students. They opposed the war and staged large scale protests outside large company buildings and in the middle of roads, where they would be noticed the most. Between 1964 and 1965 there were many violent and once fatal protests. Johnson also had to contend with guerrilla warfare that the USA found difficult to fight. Losses were unacceptable to the public at home in America and it seemed that the USA military was unable to defeat the enemy. For the first time in history the media reported daily from the front line. The American public watched the wear every night on their TV screens and could see for themselves, not only the horrors of way but the fact that things were not always going well. This led to the war itself being questioned. Anti-war sentiment became strong at home leading to mass anti-war demonstrations and caused demoralisation amongst the military. Blacks (especially the young) believed themselves to be unfairly treated by conscription and became alienated from society leading to an increase in support for Black militant groups such as the Black Panthers. the war was expensive and this forced Johnson to cut back on his social programs at home (as he couldn’t afford them). Diem's unpopularity was so great that in November 1963,that the ARVN overthrew and killed him. The confusion at a political level in South Vietnam and the abuse of peasants rights within the agricultural community were two reasons for the spread of communism within the south. Such a development alarmed the American president, Lyndon Johnson, who had asked his military chiefs to formulate plans should a full-scale war break out. The one proviso the chiefs-of-staff had was that America had to be seen as the victim rather than the aggressor.
In August 1964, the Tongking Incident occurred when two American destroyers were attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats while they were in international waters. In response to this, the American Senate gave Johnson the power to give armed support to assist any country requesting help in defence of its freedom. In March 1965, the first American ground troops landed in South Vietnam and by December 1965, there were 150,000 stationed in the country. The bombing of North Vietnam had already started in February 1965.
American involvement in Vietnam :
This was at its peak from 1965 to 1969 when a maximum of 500,000 American troops were in Vietnam. Most of the front line troops were conscripts and not professional troops. They were young, usually from lower social groups and frequently from America's minority groups. They were trained in conventional warfare whereas the Viet Cong used guerilla tactics - hitting the enemy and then moving away; not wearing a standard uniform; merging into village life with ease etc. It was difficult for these young American troops to know who was the enemy and who they could trust amongst the South Vietnamese population.
The Viet Cong had had years to perfect their tactics whereas the American soldiers in Vietnam had only had their basic training. The Viet Cong used no tanks and frequently moved by foot. US troops responded with the use of helicopter gun ships and they tended to treat all civilians alike as potential enemy. Innocent civilians were killed by both sides. The Viet Cong killed those villagers they believed were helping the Americans while US troops killed those who they believed were helping the Viet Cong. The most infamous case of the latter was the Pinksville Massacre - better known as the My Lai massacre. The village of My Lai was considered friendly by US troops but 109 civilians were murdered here as the US troops investigating the village believed that they were conspiring with the Viet Cong.
America had total control of the air. Planes could be used to back-up ground troops by using napalm. Defoliation chemicals were also used to destroy the jungle cover given to the Viet Cong along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Agent Orange killed large areas of jungle disguising this trail but those using it, simply moved further inland or further into Laos thus avoiding the defoliated areas. To hinder the supply of US troops, the Viet Cong blew up bridges, roads and destroyed canals.
American front line troops were nicknamed "grunts". This is because every time they sat down, the straps on the heavy packs they were carrying tightened into their chests thus forcing out air in the lungs causing a sound like a grunt. The average age of a "grunt" was 19 and they knew that the land they operated in was littered with booby-traps. Each step they took in the jungle or in the long grass that was common in South Vietnam could result in serious injury. This had a devastating psychological effect on the conscripts.
