Vietnam War
Johnson, not Kennedy, bears the responsibility for the escalation of the war in Vietnam. 'How far do you agree with this statement?' President Johnson must take major responsibility for the escalation of the war in Vietnam, however he cannot take full responsibility as Kennedy also played a part in increasing commitment there. Johnson takes the larger amount of responsibility as he took the first major escalatory step by approving of large scale bombing in Vietnam; Operation Rolling Thunder, as a response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. LBJ was also the first President to send ground troops into Vietnam. LBJ may have also got further involved in Vietnam because he didn't want to 'lose Vietnam' like Truman 'lost China' because 'losing China' affected Truman's reputation greatly and therefore LBJ did not want the same to happen to him over Vietnam. On the other hand, JFK must take some responsibility because during his time in office, military advisers in Vietnam were increased from 500 to 16,000. Also the American government had some involvement in getting rid of Diem, therefore increasing commitment to Vietnam and LBJ had the same foreign policy advisers as Kennedy, so they possibly brought Kennedy's ideas back into the White House. The Gulf of Tonkin incident is when a US Navy ship was allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats. Reports of this attack angered LBJ
Vietnam War.
Vietnam War, military struggle fought in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975. It began as a determined attempt by Communist guerrillas (the so-called Vietcong) in the South, backed by Communist North Vietnam, to overthrow the government of South Vietnam. The struggle widened into a war between South Vietnam and North Vietnam and ultimately into a limited international conflict. The United States and some 40 other countries supported South Vietnam by supplying troops and munitions, and the USSR and the People's Republic of China furnished munitions to North Vietnam and the Vietcong. On both sides, however, the burden of the war fell mainly on the civilians. The war also engulfed Laos, where the Communist Pathet Lao fought the government from 1965 to 1973 and succeeded in abolishing the monarchy in 1975; and Cambodia, where the government surrendered in 1975 to the Communist Khmer Rouge. This article is concerned primarily with the military aspects of the war; for further discussion of the historical and political issues involved, see Vietnam: History. Vietnamese Independence Struggle (1945-1954). The war developed as a sequel to the struggle (1946-1954) between the French, who were the colonial rulers of Indo-China before World War II, and the Communist-led Vietminh, or League for the Independence of Vietnam, founded and headed by the revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh. Having emerged
Vietnam War
. Why did the USA become involved in the Vietnam War during the 1950's and 1960's? The United States of America (U.S.A) became involved in the Vietnam War between the north Vietnamese (communist) also known as the Vietcong and the south Vietnamese (non-communist) because president Eisenhower was concerned about the success of Communism in south east Asia during the 1950's. At first USA would not send troops to help fight this war in Vietnam because they had lost 142,000 troops trying to stop communism entering southern Korea. President Eisenhower felt there efforts would have been wasted if they continued to let communism stay in Northern Vietnam as it could quickly spread all through Asia. America sent troops to fight this war to stop the communist north of Vietnam entering the south of the country. America had a theory this theory was the domino theory. This was Eisenhower's foreign policy that all of the communist countries of south east Asia were closely linked so if one of the countries fell to communism others would quickly follow. China became communist in 1949; this was the start of the falling of the dominoes. America knew if they didn't stop communism from spreading it would take over southern Asia. Ngo Dinh Diem was elected President of South Vietnam in October 1955. Diem was not very popular with the people of South Vietnam so America would have to try to get
Vietnam war
* Total U.S. bomb tonnage dropped during: World War II = 2 057 244 tons Vietnam War = 7 078 032 tons (3.44 times as much as WWII) * Bomb tonnage dropped during the Vietnam War amounted to 000 lbs. for every man, woman and child in Vietnam. * An estimated 70 000 draft evaders and "dodgers" were living in Canada by 1972. * A Cornell University study placed the over-all total U.S. cost of the Vietnam war at $200 Billion * 30 April 1969 - Peak US troop strength 543 000 * Approximately 12,000 helicopters saw action in Vietnam * 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam era (August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975). * 8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (August 5, 1964 - March 28, 1973). * Married men killed: 17,539. * 61% of the men killed were 21 or younger. * Hostile (VC, NVA) deaths: 47,359. * Non-hostile (US, ARVN) deaths: 10,797. * POWs: 766 (114 died in captivity). * Total draftees (1965-73): 1,728,344. * Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam. * Twenty-five (25) percent of the total United States forces serving in Vietnam were draftees * 76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/ working class backgrounds * 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost because of lack of political will * (1993) Nearly 75% of the public agrees it was a failure of political
The Vietnam War
Introduction: The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1964 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos, and in bombing runs over North Vietnam. Fighting on one side was a coalition of forces including the United States, the Republic of Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. Fighting on the other side was a coalition of forces including the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the National Liberation Front, a communist-led South Vietnamese guerrilla movement. The USSR provided military aid to the North Vietnamese and to the NLF, but was not one of the military combatants. Body:Vietnam is a country approximately 2,845 km north east of Australia. The period between 1950's up until 1975, war in Vietnam seemed so near and yet distant from Australia. Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began when it responded with thirty military advisers, dispatched as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam . The commitment of Australia to the Vietnam War, started in 1965 when Australia committed two hundred thousand troops to fight the war in Vietnam with America. Committed meaning that Australia bonded with the promise of fighting side-by-side America. The question of whether Australia's commitment arises from here and with the basis of historical facts and contemporary reasoning, everything seems to appear that
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War During War there are always difficulties and causalities just because of enemies or accidents on your own side. People who die in war should have a special place or thing to be remembered by. In The Monument by Gary Paulsen and The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien there is war. They deal with the Vietnam War which lasted from 1945 to 1975. The war started when the Japanese seized control of Vietnam on March, 9th, 1945. In the summer of 1945 famine struck Hanoi which caused two million people to die. In July, 1945 Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fall in the control of the French. In August the Japanese surrender ending World War II. Vietnam becomes independent and Ho Chi Minh the president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. On September 13th the British troops arrive in Saigon and then on September 22 the French attack the Viet Minh. 2 days later the Viet Minh massacre 150 French soldiers. 2 days after that there is an American killed on accident. He was Lt. Col A. Peter Dewey. The French arrive to restore their power in October, 1945, which causes the Viet Minh to start guerilla tactics. The first Indochina war started on December 19, 1946 and lasted 8 years. October seventh through December twenty-second the Viet Minh lost 900 solders. The French establish the South Vietnamese National Army in July 1949 it was also called the ARVN, which were
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War "No 'healing', no apologies, no memorials, nothing can possibly compensate for the damage done and the pain inflicted....The only thing we can possibly do, twenty years too late, is to try and tell the truth." Eric Bergerud, Historian UC Berkely The problem is though, that there is no one truth about the Vietnam War, even more than two decades after America's intervention. Critics of the intervention claim that the war was unnecessary and immoral and also policymakers in Washington dragged the country into and unwanted war. A group of scholars and military leaders have contrasting ideas, providing a strong defense for the American intervention. Although there is a multitude of facts and sources, without a framework to place them into context understanding the war would be impossible. Even after a careful examination of all the information we have today, it would reveal neither view as entirely accurate. The Vietnam War was arguably the most traumatic experience for the United States considering a whole range of events including two world wars, assassinations of two presidents, the Great Depression, the Cold War, racial issues, etc... Examining the events of the war including the Tonkin Resolution, Ho Chi Minh trail and Tet Offense while analyzing US involvement in the war can help us understand more about the truth of the war and why it was considered one of
The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War
The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War (also known colloquially as Vietnam or Nam as well as the American War to the Vietnamese) was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam). It was allied with the Communist World, namely the Soviet Union and China against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam). Also with its allies; notably the United States military in support of the South, with US combat troops involved from 1965 until the official withdrawal in 1973. The earliest troop involvement was by the end of 1962 there were 12,000 military advisers in Vietnam. Kennedy denied any American combat action occurring but American pilots were becoming increasingly involved in fighting. After Kennedy's assassination in December 1963 Lyndon.B Johnson became America's new president. Johnson quickly became pressured into using more force action against the north Vietnamese by his chief of staff in the military, to do so this action would have to be justified to the rest of the world. Johnson got his chance when the American destroyer the 'Maddox' was fired upon by 3 Vietnamese torpedo boats. Although there was very little evidence to say this event actually happened it was enough for Johnson to launch 'operation rolling thunder.' 'Operation rolling thunder' was the code name used for the strategic bombing of all North Vietnamese targets and
Vietnam war
9/03/06 ''The Vietnam War was lost in the United States of America and not in Vietnam", to what extent do you agree with this statement? The Vietnam War was a conflict fought between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) allied with major communist powers namely the Soviet Union and China, against the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and its major ally the United States of America. The United States of America played a major role in the Vietnam War and the outcome of the war was heavily dependant on what the U.S.A did in Vietnam and also what was going on in the U.S.A itself, while its troops were fighting in Vietnam. To answer this question I will provide examples from my knowledge of why the U.S.A lost in Vietnam itself, and why it failed in the U.S.A as well, following this I will draw up a conclusion and decide to what extent I agree with the statement in question. Let me begin by presenting examples of why the U.S lost while fighting in Vietnam. One of the main points as to why the Vietnam War was a failure for the U.S was due to the Vietcong's use of Guerilla warfare. First of all the U.S army was mostly full of draftees which only received about six weeks of combat training, this meant that they were in no way trained to fight against an army using Guerilla tactics. The terrain was also very suited for the use of Guerilla tactics. The dense jungle
Vietnam War
Document Based Essay Topic: Vietnam War In 1954, Vietnam brutally defeated France in the battle of Dien Bien Phu, thus ending a nine year war. The US had supported France under the policy of containment, and began their involvement in Vietnam. As the United States got progressively more involved, it got worse and worse, and eventually turned into what is now called the Vietnam War. Support of the policy of containment quickly diminished, as Americans questioned the validity of their presence in Vietnam, due to bad media which caused nation wide anti-war movements and lowered the morale of American troops, causing the inevitability of American defeat. The policy of containment had been in use for many years by that time, and Americans felt it was their duty to stop the spread of communism. In the beginning of the war, many people believed the United States was doing what was morally right by entering Vietnam. Barry Goldwater backed this up in his speech by saying, "we are at war in Vietnam and we must have the will to win that war....the security of all Asia hinges on this crucial battle" (F). Americans, however, did not obtain this will due to the lack of support. Goldwater goes on to say that the United States was at risk of "committing to communist domination its resources and its people" (F). Vietnam and its surrounding countries were vital traders of important raw
