The turning point in US involvement was the Gulf of Tonkin incident of August 1964. A North Vietnamese gun boat fired at a US warship and caused great anger for President Johnson. After the incident the president declared that, “I am not going to be the president who saw South East Asia going the same way that China went.” The Tonkin Resolution of 1964 allowed the Americans to use any force necessary to save South Vietnam. It was nicknamed, ‘grandma’s nightshirt,’ because it covered everything! The first military action against the North was Operation Rolling Thunder. In March 1965 the USA sent troops to the South, and by 1968 there were over 540,000 troops in the country.
However, the US Army faced many problems in Vietnam between 1965 and 1968. The US Army was far superior in terms of size and weaponry, but was ineffective against a hidden enemy. US planes carried out intensive raids on North Vietnam, where the Viet Cong got its weapons from. Many civilian were killed in these raids. In addition to this, the USA adopted the unpopular tactic of moving 40% of South Vietnamese citizens into Strategic Hamlets, where they received healthcare and education but had to surrender their land. This was a hated policy and just convinced more Vietnamese to join the Viet Cong.
Another problem faced by the Americans was the Ho Chi Minh trail, which was the Viet Cong supply route through the jungles of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. In order to destroy this trail and to gain a clear view of the enemy, the US bombarded the forests with chemical weapons such as Agent Orange and Napalm, which burnt human flesh as well as foliage. Around 300,000 civilians were killed. Despite this bombing, the Viet Cong were committed to keeping their supply route open.
As a result of these tactics the USA were seen as foreign aggressors rather than freedom fighters. The Americans could not tell the difference between a civilian and a Viet Cong member, so they destroyed entire villages. This was the case with the My Lai Massacre, where over 300 civilians were killed. This made the South Vietnamese resent the Americans even more. As well as this, the US troops were often young and inexperienced. By 1968 US morale was at an all-time low and drug abuse was rife. American victory looked highly unlikely.
This was largely due to the tactics deployed by the Viet Cong between 1965 and 1968. They were committed to uniting Vietnam and were experienced Guerrilla fighters. They knew the jungle well and could avoid direct confrontation with the Americans, preferring to ambush them and disappear again. The also used extensive tunnel networks. President Johnson sarcastically called them, “Guerrillas in black pyjamas.” They had the support of the South Vietnamese who allowed them to move freely and take shelter in their villages. The Viet Cong’s main offensive was the use of Punji traps and land mines, which brought to total US death toll to 58,000. They got weapons and supplies through the aforementioned Ho Chi Minh trail, and got raw material and vehicles from other communist nations such as China and the USSR.
The Viet Cong’s greatest success came in January 1968 when they and North Vietnamese troops launched the Tet Offensive, a sudden attack that reclaimed 75% of South Vietnam. The American Embassy in Saigon was attacked. Even though the Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties, it convinced many people that the Americans would never win the war.
Due to the infeasibility of an American victory, the US army slowly withdrew between 1968 and 1975. Media coverage of the war outraged Americans, especially events such as the My Lai Massacre. The war was costing $28 billion each year and interrupted social and welfare reforms. Most protesters were Black Americans or students. During one demonstration at a university in Ohio four students were killed when authorities opened fire.
Richard Nixon became president in January 1969 and he wanted to end the war and achieve, ‘peace with honour.’ He implemented the policy of Vietnamisation, where responsibility for the war was passed on to the South Vietnamese government. This allowed the Americans to withdraw without appearing to have been defeated. By 1971, the numbers of troops in the South reduced to 157,000. In his efforts to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail Nixon began to bomb Cambodia and Laos. This expansion of the war was criticised internationally and only gained more support for the communists.
Peace talks finally culminated in January 1973, when the USA and North Vietnam signed a cease fire. The US Army withdrew from the war. Soon after the North Vietnamese army attacked the South and in 1975 it recaptured Saigon. It was renamed Ho Chi Minh city, a name that remains to this day.
The results of the Vietnam War were largely negative. 58,000 US troops died and over 300,000 were injured. The greatest casualties were the South Vietnamese citizens – one million died. Many US veterans were mentally scarred. The USA’s domino theory was only partially correct. Cambodia and Laos fell to communism, but no other Asian country did. Vietnam was economically, socially and geographically wrecked by the war, and the USA also faced economic hardship after spending $120 billion on the war.
The Vietnam War proved that a clever enemy could humble even a superpower.
