The Vietnam War: Escalation, Protest and End

Operation Rolling Thunder

● Feb. 1965 Vietcong forces attack a military base in South Vietnam, killing 8 Americans

● LBJ orders the bombing of major bases, roadways and railways, including the Ho Chi Minh Trail (a supply line of dirt roads and trails, which supplies flowed from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam)

US Troop Deployment to Vietnam

Fighting the War

● At first, Americans were optimistic about ending the war quickly

● High Vietnamese body count led many Americans to believe we were winning

● US greatly underestimated Vietcong and Vietminh resiliency

● “You can kill 10 of my men for every 1 of yours, but in the end, it is you who will tire of this war” ---Ho Chi Minh

The Air War

● The US relied heavily on air power (cost fewer lives than ground war)

● 108,000 bombing raids in 1967

● By 1967, the US dropped more bombs on Vietnam than the Allies did during all of WWII

● To evade the bombs, the VC developed an extensive network of underground tunnels

The Ground War

● Miserable conditions● Suffocating heat,

mosquitoes, leeches, etc.

● Muddy trails, intense rain, jungles

● Farmers by day, Vietcong by night (didn't know who the enemy was)

Guerilla Tactics

● Vietnamese avoided open-air battles

● Relied on ambushes, hit-and-run raids and sabotage

● Vietcong had 2 major advantages: 1) Knew the terrain 2) Support of the peasants who provided them with food, shelter and information

The Tet Offensive,

January 1968

The Tet Offensive

● January 1968, the Vietminh and Vietcong attacked the south simultaneously (cities, bases and the US embassy in Saigon)

● Took every major southern city and surrounded major US base at Khe Sanh for 2 months

● Vietnamese were ultimately pushed back and suffered large casualties, but this battle turned the tide of war and the tide of public opinion in America

Impact of the Tet Offensive

● President Johnson decides not to seek another term as President due to overwhelming negative response against war

……I shall not I shall not

seek, and I will seek, and I will not accept, the not accept, the nomination of my nomination of my party for another party for another term as your term as your President.President.

American Morale Begins to Dip

● Disproportionate representation of poor people and minorities

● Severe racial problems● Major drug problems● Men in combat for 12

months● Average age of a US

soldier was 18

Anti-War Demonstrations

Columbia Columbia UniversityUniversity

19671967

Hell No! We Won't Go!

Anti-War Demonstrations

● May 4, 1970● 4 students shot dead● 11 students wounded

Kent State UniversityKent State University

Jackson StateJackson StateUniversityUniversity

May 10, 1970May 10, 1970

2 dead; 12 2 dead; 12 woundedwounded

Nixon on Vietnam

● 1968, Nixon ran on the idea of ending the Vietnam War “with honor”

● Vietnamization—Expansion of the conflict into Cambodia (The Secret War)

● Agent Orange (chemical defoliant)

The Cease-fire

● 1973, Cease-fire agreed to by South Vietnam, North Vietnam and US

● Conditions: 1. US to remove all troops 2. North Vietnam allowed to leave troops in S.V. 3. No provision for POWs or MIAs

● Last US troops left South Vietnam on March 29, 1973

● 1975 North Vietnam defeats South and Vietnam is united under a communist government

The Fall of Saigon

April 30, April 30, 19751975

America Abandons Its America Abandons Its EmbassyEmbassy

A United Vietnam

The Costs

● 58,000 Americans killed● 300,000 Americans wounded● 3,000,000 Vietnamese killed● Under funding of social programs at home

(Johnson's Great Society)● US morale, trust in government and confidence

destroyed