One reason why the USA at first did not want to get too involved, was partly because they had just ended the war in Korea in which over 40 000 Americans had died, they were in no mood to see more Americans die. Instead of sending any soldiers out to Vietnam, they poured $500 million a year into the French war effort as part of the Truman Doctrine and helped the French set up a non-communist government in the south of the country. This already increasing involvement in a war they wanted to stay out of. The main reason for this was the United States would now assist any country opposing the spread of communism.
Ho Chi Minh, was a communist and they would do anything they could to help the French defeat him. However France were not succeeding against the experienced guerrilla fighters and their tactics. The experienced guerrilla’s attacked and then disappeared into the dense jungle, France was unable to keep control of territory it had conquered. The Viet Cong were also fighting for a cause they strongly believed in and had a much stronger morale than the French. Another reason the French were failing was lack of support; locals didn’t want the French to be there, they wanted an independent country.
A meeting was held in Geneva, later named the Geneva peace conference. Britain, France, China, the Soviet Union, USA and Vietnam met in May 1954. This was held the day after the infamous battle at Dien Bien Phu, where the French had suffered a magnificent defeat and were forced to surrender in their thousands. Eisenhower wanted the French to carry on fighting but they refused, Dien Bien Phu had been the last straw. It was decided that Vietnam would be split into a communist north and a non-communist south. This promise of help from the Americans meant again the USA was getting more directly involved. Also national elections were to take place on July 1956. However these elections never took place because the Americans feared the communists would win. The anti-Communists government in the south was very corrupt and was hated by the Vietnamese peasants. Ho chi Minh decided that if he could not win by elections he would win by war. The Viet Cong waged a war of terrorism and sabotage against the South Vietnamese government.
An event that was to change the war happened in July 1964. An American destroyer was attacked by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Johnson was outraged and used it as a justification to attack back, this led to “Operation Rolling Thunder”; the relentless bombing of North Vietnam. In 1965 it seemed the South’s government was about to collapse; the USA now decided to get directly involved, and started sending thousands of troops into Vietnam.
I believe that America tried very hard not to get too involved in the war. They tried to help from the sidelines, but it was inevitable. There were several long and short-term reasons for why the USA became involved however it seemed communism was the leading factor for why they first felt the need to get involved. The fear of communism spreading and how one man having so much control over a country could have disastrous effects was what sparked American interest. After the Geneva peace conference, the attitude of the Americans had to change as they realised France could not win the war on its own, and as one of the super powers of the world they had to step in to help. It was a gradual process where Americans involvement was to become more and more significant.
