05 vietnam strategies

VietnamStrategies, Successes,

Struggles

Objectives Techniques and Strategies use by

U.S.

Ways the U.S. was successful

Ways the U.S. struggled

Saigon 1968

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Situation in 1965 Gulf of Tonkin – 1964

Johnson ramps up military presence

What was it like in Vietnam?

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Strategies Search and Destroy

Special Forces

Operation Rolling Thunder

Operation Rolling Thunder Intense bombing campaign – 3 years

Goal: Apply so much force that they have to surrender

864,000 tons of bombs in 44 months

90,000 Casualties – 72K civilians

Operation Rolling Thunder Failure?

North Vietnamese morale boosted

“The Americans thought that the more bombs they dropped, the quicker we would fall to our knees and surrender. But the bombs heightened rather than dampened our spirit.” – NV Civilian

Tet Offensive Tet is the Lunar New Year

Both sides 3 day cease fire

January of 1968 – General Giap

Tet Offensive January 30th, 1968 – Midnight

Coordinated North Vietnamese attack around South Vietnam

Attack on U.S. Embassy in Saigon

45,000 Viet Cong Killed 1,000 U.S. Killed

Tet Offensive Why is this not a success?

Political disaster in U.S.

Image of dead Viet Cong in Embassy

How did such a weak army get so close