Chapter 25 Section 2 Going to War in Vietnam

American Involvement Deepens After unifying elections were not held, Ho Chi Minh organized a new guerilla army called the Vietcong. Fighting between the South Vietnamese army and the Vietcong increased making it necessary for President Eisenhower to increase military aid and to send military advisors to train the South Vietnam armies.

The Vietcong’s influence increased because they used terror and fear to rule the people. By 1961 the Vietcong had assassinated thousands of government officials in both North and South Vietnam.

President John F. Kennedy President from Served during WWII in the Navy before becoming a Senator in Assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald.

President Kennedy continued providing aid to South Vietnam. Within a year the number of troops sent to Vietnam increased from 2,000 to more then 15,000. Kennedy believed that the Vietcong increased in power because Diem was running a corrupt government.

Diem created strategic hamlets, which were small towns protected by machine guns, trenches and barbed wire. Peasants were forced to move into these towns, for their own protection but also so they could not aid the Vietcong armies. The Vietnamese did not like being relocated from their ancestral villages and Diem became even more unpopular.

The Overthrow of Diem In 1963 Diem started to discriminate against Buddhism by banning the tradition of raising religious flags on Buddha’s birthday. When the people started to protest the police killed 9 and injured 14 more people. Further demonstrations followed, including those of Vietnamese monks who had lit themselves on fire to show their dedication to their beliefs.

In 1963 America supported a military coup launched by Diem’s generals. After Diem was executed Vietnam, especially South Vietnam became even more unstable and needed more American support.

President Lyndon B. Johnson Took over after Kennedy’s assassination in After finishing Kennedy’s term in office Johnson ran for president and was re- elected in his own right.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution In 1964 Johnson told the American people that the North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked two American ships. He claimed that this attack was completely unprovoked and ordered American aircrafts to attack the North Vietnam navy.

Johnson asked the congress to authorize the use of force to defend American forces. August 7 th 1964, the Senate passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving the President power to take all necessary actions to prevent any further attacks on Americans.

The United States Send in Troops After the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution the Vietcong began attacking bases where American advisors were staying in S. Vietnam. In March 1965, American involvement was increased in and Johnson started air- attacks on N. Vietnam called Operation Rolling Thunder.

Frustrating Warfare By 1965 there were over 180,000 American troops in Vietnam and in 1966 that number doubled. The Vietcong frustrated American Soldiers because they used ambushes, booby traps, guerilla warfare and were able to blend in with the general populations of big cities.

American troops in retaliation started Search and Destroy missions, where they tried to find Vietcong outposts or supply lines and bomb them. America also wanted to stop the Vietcong from being able to hide in the thick jungles by having planes drop napalm, a jellied gasoline that explodes on impact, and Agent Orange a chemical that strips the leaves off the trees. Agent Orange turned the jungle into a wasteland.

North Vietnam began sending arms ( weapons) and supplies to the Vietcong army through the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which went through Cambodia and Laos. Because the trail went through other countries that were not effected by the war President Johnson would not allow a full scale attack to completely shut the trail down.

North Vietnam were also getting weapons and supplies from China and the Soviet Union. American troops feared that a full scale attack on North Vietnam would bring both countries into the war. Between ,000 Vietnamese people were killed because of American bombings. Over 6,700 American soldiers were killed. America began to realize that this war was “un- winnable”