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Objective 8.8- Escalation in Vietnam

Added May 23, 2016 •

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Kern River following the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution the United States starting gearing up for war the United States reinstituted a draft and began mobilizing and in March of 1965 Johnson had sent American troops to Vietnam there are several famous battles associate the Vietnam War first is the Gulf of Tonkin incident 1964 the Tet Offensive in 1968 the Battle of Saigon in 1968 song in 1968 and Hamburger Hill in 1969 in 1965 president Lyndon Johnson is compelled the sand 180 u.s. troops to fight in Vietnam obj had promised in the 1964 presidential campaign that he would not send US troops into Vietnam however with the threat of South Vietnam volume to the commies and was 61% of Americans supporting military intervention violates his own campaign promise and his own conscience and send troops into Harm's Way the US Commander Vietnam General William Westmoreland ask President Johnson for more troops he believed that South Vietnamese couldn't withstand the Vietcong assault without us support two week and needed extra help you also believe that the Vietcong would be overwhelmed with more us ground troops and Superior Weaponry all President Johnson had to do was double down on the amount of she was sunny and the Vietnam conflict could be one hoping for a quick Victory President Johnson complied and instituted a draft General General Westmoreland  what more he needs to meet this mounting aggression he has told me and we will meet his needs however at home the draft was incredibly unpopular for took me among young people for the presence of so many US forces do not result in an easy Victory very quickly the Vietnam War play War of Attrition meaning the war became a stalemate in each side was trying to hold on I determined Vietcong use guerrilla warfare and the terrain to their advantage the Vietcong were ProCom you writers who supported Ho Chi Minh but they live in South Vietnam military tactics with massive casualties on US troops the Vietcong employ these guerrilla warfare and hit and run speeds the pic jungle to Ambush US troops once they Ambush they would run away and this made it hard to hit them back via concourses live within the population of South Vietnam making it hard to do English who was who on the battlefield defense systems these tunnels allowed to be enforced an airstrike surprise attacks connected Villages and a lot of Guerrilla fighters to hide from US forces and set booby traps for US forces coming through Villages and inspecting these tunnels one tactic the Vietcong use disarm or reuse United States landline and Vaughn and Creed booby-trapped out of them they would have children carry bales of hay and hide grenades within that when soldiers came by these grenades killing the child the Vietcong use so many landmines US troops were forced to sweep the land before they walk by it these metal detectors and then attempt to detect these mine one of the scariest booby traps was called a punji pit this punji pit with a Viacom would plays wooden Stakes ever sharpen into spheres and of a US Soldier fell into it they would be failed these booby traps are on the minds of US soldiers not only do they have to worry about being shot at they had to be on the constant lookout for hidden mechanisms of death by 1966 can clear that the United States had underestimated the Vietcong General Westmoreland thought that the Vietcong surrender if they were hit hard enough over a long period of time to him to increase us ground forces and escalate airstrikes against the Vietcong however the Vietcong saw this or as a fight for survival and remained defiant in their eyes there's he would be to hide from American airstrikes estimate of my zero casualties and then patiently set ambushes and traps to inflict casualties on American forces General Westmoreland strategy of attrition more waiting out the enemy until they finally surrender began to backfire and morale Among Us troops suck and growing casualty numbers eroded their will to fight United States begin their empty known as Operation Rolling Thunder this is where the United States miss you did a massive bombing campaign of North Vietnam this was to weaken the North Vietnamese before the United States Center troops of North between 1965 and 1968 US forces wage the most intense air Ground Battle of the Cold War or eight hundred thousand times a ball what's on Vietcong Target more than all of the cream were combined for three years US air strikes and carpet bombing bases in convoys the air strikes were accompanied by ground assaults play me Villages and defensive first the United States and public opinion at home the Vietnam war is very unpopular is American citizen didn't understand why we were involved in a country that many Americans and never even heard of second was in South Vietnamese civilian support for the Vietcong even in the south they were Pro communist supporters because Ho Chi Minh was a very popular leader he was a man of the people and his leadership seem to be gaining support in the South 3rd the United States wanted to destroy vehicle Restoril bases in supply routes and forth the United States one of the cut on Vietcong supply lines to the South their goal was to starve out the Vietcong so they can no longer continue their fight if the US going to win the war they needed to eliminate the effectiveness of the Viet Cong guerrilla warfare in which the US forces employed a defoliation they used herbicides and chemicals to destroy jungle cover and expose enemy positions and then peel the Vietcong hiding the United States use to devastating chemicals from the air in order to wipe call juncus agent orange and napalm buy 1971 20 million gallons of poisonous were sprayed from the air on the countries of South Vietnam Laos Cambodia these chemicals were extremely potent and deadly killing thousands of civilians and giving cancer to US veterans who returned from the front once the jungle cover was destroyed the next phase so I what sources used Search and Destroy Cactus Villages were rated and search for supplies and hiding Vietcong troops homes and crops were burned livestock was killed and civilians were murdered Vietnam War head turn on January 30th 1968 on the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Viacom lost a surprise attack on US forces using the ho I meant Trail tens of thousands of Vietcong not to the South and attack cities in the United States bases this was a violation of the week-long truce called to celebrate the holiday and the Vietcong use this is 12 us bases and the US Embassy were attacked and their 3000 us casualties during the offensive took a month for the United States and South Vietnamese forces to drive the turn out resulting in 32000 North Vietnamese troops losing their lives while this was technically a military victory for the United States it was a devastating psychological defeat for the United after the Tet Offensive the Vietnam War would never be the same surprise Vietcong attack over the Lunar New Year exposed a growing credibility gap in President Johnson's White House the president insisted the Vietcong were near surrender but if that were true how could they stage this massive offensive against US troops most Americans believe that Johnson had lied about the war after 10 breaking public opinion for Johnson and the war begin to plummet moderates and War Hawks in Congress who had support of the war strong turned into peace ducks and called for an immediate withdrawal of US troops what's Americans at home were Torn Between the choice of staying and the war at the threat of Greater us casualties or withdrawing from the conflict and risking dishonor on the country the media began to criticize the war stop bringing home the facts of what was happening on the front every Nightly News cast began with a body count of how many casualties have been inflicted on US troops that day in Vietnam and images of coffins victon American flags broadcast into American Homes even the most famous broadcaster in American history Walter Cronkite begin to support the option of withdrawal and negotiation the military and political analyst are right in the next few months we must test the enemy's intentions in case this is indeed his last big gas for negotiations but it is increasingly clear to this report that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate not as but I was an honorable people lived up to their pledge to defend democracy and did the best they could this Walter Cronkite President Johnson said when learning about this if I've lost Walter Cronkite then it's cold I've lost mr. average citizen the Vietnam war is a defining moment in a Make History Kid splinters American Society at home cause the radical groups to fight against each other the ripples of the spider still felt in American society today get physically and psychologically affects the you military and the veterans who fought in Vietnam and it came to define the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson hoping his presidency would be defined by his Great Society Johnson would have to focus his entire change on the war and how to end it with lead him to make a decision in 1968 that no one expected ask anyone your parents age they will tell you that the Vietnam War isn't event that find a moment in their lives and the divisions from that war have a lasting impact in America today

Uploaded by Mark Lovein.

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Objective 8.8- Escalation in Vietnam

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