The Gulf of Tonkin and the Vietnam War
Background to the War:
Vietnam was originally a French colony (Indochina)
Ho Chi Minh and his communist supporters resisted Japanese occupation during WWII
After WWII the French reoccupied
Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
Laos, Cambodia granted independence
Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
American Involvement in Vietnam:
U.S. saw this as another situation in which containment was necessary (SEATO)
The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
CIA overthrows Diem (President of South Vietnam) in 1963 (corruptness)
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964:
A fabricated incident was set up; an American destroyer (USS Maddox) was torpedoed
Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
The Ho Chi Minh Trail:
The National Liberation Front (NLF) supported by the North
Sent supplies on a route from the north through Cambodia, Laos and behind lines into south Vietnam
The U.S. refused to fight on Cambodia or Laotian territory so supplies remained safe
The Tet Offensive:
Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in 1968
Surprises Americans
Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little is achieved
Public relations victory
Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
USA Withdrawals:
American’s began to make their first withdrawals in Aug. 1969
The air war increased
B-52s dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than during all of WWII
1971 almost entirely an air war
1972 200,000 troops
Jan. 1973 a cease fire is signed (Americans got their POWs back after 20 years of fighting)
Aug. 1973 all U.S. forces out of Vietnam
Spring1975 all of south Vietnam falls to the north and becomes Communist
Effects of the Vietnam War:
Costs the U.S. 150 billion dollars
57, 939 men killed
Loss of a country to Communism
Limitations brought in on the President’s powers to wage war (Vietnam never declared a war)
Made the U.S. look bad worldwide
Conscription was ended in U.S.
Laos:
The Pathet Lao (Communist) worked with Viet Cong
Power struggle between two princes in Laos (one supported by communist countries and other by the USA)
Remains communist until 1991 when a western-style constitution is brought in
Cambodia:
The Cambodians were led by the Communist Khmer Rouge
Led by an absolute dictator (Pol Pot)
Massacred about 1 million people in 4 years and removed in 1979 by the Vietnamese (renamed Kampuchea
for 10 years)
U.N.moved in to help maintain order
Becomes democratic in 1990’s
The Watergate Scandal:
As Nixon was about to run for the 1972 election the Republicans were accused of a crime
5 men were caught trying to break into the Watergate hotel (headquarters for the Democrats) to place bugs
The investigation led to much more corruptness and also implicated Nixon in the cover up
Nixon resigned before he could be impeached
Vietnam was originally a French colony (Indochina)
Ho Chi Minh and his communist supporters resisted Japanese occupation during WWII
After WWII the French reoccupied
Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
Laos, Cambodia granted independence
Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
American Involvement in Vietnam:
U.S. saw this as another situation in which containment was necessary (SEATO)
The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
CIA overthrows Diem (President of South Vietnam) in 1963 (corruptness)
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964:
A fabricated incident was set up; an American destroyer (USS Maddox) was torpedoed
Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
The Ho Chi Minh Trail:
The National Liberation Front (NLF) supported by the North
Sent supplies on a route from the north through Cambodia, Laos and behind lines into south Vietnam
The U.S. refused to fight on Cambodia or Laotian territory so supplies remained safe
The Tet Offensive:
Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in 1968
Surprises Americans
Is played up as a major victory for the North although very little is achieved
Public relations victory
Anti-war demonstrations increase as a result
USA Withdrawals:
American’s began to make their first withdrawals in Aug. 1969
The air war increased
B-52s dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than during all of WWII
1971 almost entirely an air war
1972 200,000 troops
Jan. 1973 a cease fire is signed (Americans got their POWs back after 20 years of fighting)
Aug. 1973 all U.S. forces out of Vietnam
Spring1975 all of south Vietnam falls to the north and becomes Communist
Effects of the Vietnam War:
Costs the U.S. 150 billion dollars
57, 939 men killed
Loss of a country to Communism
Limitations brought in on the President’s powers to wage war (Vietnam never declared a war)
Made the U.S. look bad worldwide
Conscription was ended in U.S.
Laos:
The Pathet Lao (Communist) worked with Viet Cong
Power struggle between two princes in Laos (one supported by communist countries and other by the USA)
Remains communist until 1991 when a western-style constitution is brought in
Cambodia:
The Cambodians were led by the Communist Khmer Rouge
Led by an absolute dictator (Pol Pot)
Massacred about 1 million people in 4 years and removed in 1979 by the Vietnamese (renamed Kampuchea
for 10 years)
U.N.moved in to help maintain order
Becomes democratic in 1990’s
The Watergate Scandal:
As Nixon was about to run for the 1972 election the Republicans were accused of a crime
5 men were caught trying to break into the Watergate hotel (headquarters for the Democrats) to place bugs
The investigation led to much more corruptness and also implicated Nixon in the cover up
Nixon resigned before he could be impeached