Vietnam War: Difference between revisions

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{{Quote|I got a letter from LBJ. It said, "This is your lucky day. It's time to put your khaki trousers on. Though it may seem very queer, we've got no jobs to give you here, so we are sending you to Vietnam." Lyndon Johnson told the nation, Have no fear of escalation. I am trying everyone to please. Though it isn't really war, we're sending fifty thousand more to help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese.|Tom Paxton, "Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation"}}

The '''Vietnam War''', also known as the '''Second Indochina War''', and in Vietnam as the '''Resistance War Against America''' or simply the '''American War''', was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the [[Fall of Saigon]] on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the [[Indochina Wars]] and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is considered a [[Cold War]]-era proxy war by some US perspectives. The war would last approximately 19 years and would also form the [[Laotian Civil War]] as well as the [[Cambodian Civil War]], which resulted in all 3 countries becoming communist states in 1975.

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Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina. Most of the funding for the French war effort was provided by the U.S. or ''FNL'' (the National Liberation Front), a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North, fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region, while the [[People's Army of Vietnam]], also known as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), engaged in more conventional warfare, and had launched armed struggles from 1959 onward. U.S. involvement escalated in 1960 under President John F. Kennedy, with troop levels gradually surging under the Military Assistance Advisory Group program from just under a thousand in 1959 to 16,000 in 1963.

By 1964 there were 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, but this escalated further following the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which a U.S. destroyer was alleged to have clashed with North Vietnamese fast attack craft. In response the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Lyndon B. Johnson authorization to increase U.S. military presence, deploying ground combat units for the first time and increasing troop levels to 184,000. Every year onward there was significant build-up despite little progress, with Robert McNamara, one of the principal architects of the war, beginning to express doubts of victory by the end of 1966. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes. The U.S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Following the [[Tet Offensive]], U.S. forces began withdrawal under the Vietnamization phase; the Army of the Republic of Vietnam unconventional and conventional capabilities increased following a period of neglect and became modeled on heavy fire-power focused doctrines like US forces. Operations crossed international borders: bordering areas of Laos and Cambodia were used by North Vietnam as supply routes and were heavily bombed by U.S. forces.

By 1964 there were 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, but this escalated further following the [[1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident]], in which a U.S. destroyer was alleged to have clashed with North Vietnamese fast attack craft. In response the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Lyndon B. Johnson authorization to increase U.S. military presence, deploying ground combat units for the first time and increasing troop levels to 184,000. Every year onward there was significant build-up despite little progress, with Robert McNamara, one of the principal architects of the war, beginning to express doubts of victory by the end of 1966. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes. The U.S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Following the [[Tet Offensive]], U.S. forces began withdrawal under the Vietnamization phase; the Army of the Republic of Vietnam unconventional and conventional capabilities increased following a period of neglect and became modeled on heavy fire-power focused doctrines like US forces. Operations crossed international borders: bordering areas of Laos and Cambodia were used by North Vietnam as supply routes and were heavily bombed by U.S. forces.

Gradual withdrawal of U.S. ground forces began as part of "Vietnamization", which aimed to end American involvement in the war while transferring the task of fighting the communists to the South Vietnamese themselves and begun the task of modernizing their armed forces. Morale declined significantly among U.S. forces during the wind-down period and incidents of fragging, drug-use and insubordination increased with General Creighton Abrams remarking "I need to get this army home to save it". From 1969 onwards the military actions of the Việt Cộng insurgency decreased as the role and engagement of the NVA grew. Initially fielding less conventional and poorer weaponry, from 1970 onward the People's Army of Vietnam and its branch People's Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam had increasingly became mechanised and armoured, capable of modernised combined arms and mobile warfare and begun to widely deploy newer, untested weapons. These two sides would see significant, rapid changes throughout its lifetime from their original post-colonial armies, and by mid-1970s the ARVN became the fourth largest army with the PAVN became the fifth largest army in the world in two countries with a population of roughly 20 million each.

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 {{Quote|I got a letter from LBJ.<br>It said, "This is your lucky day.<br>It's time to put your khaki trousers on.<br>Though it may seem very queer,<br>we've got no jobs to give you here,<br>so we are sending you to Vietnam."<br>Lyndon Johnson told the nation,<br>Have no fear of escalation.<br>I am trying everyone to please.<br>Though it isn't really war,<br>we're sending fifty thousand more<br>to help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese.|Tom Paxton, "Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation"}}
 The '''Vietnam War''', also known as the '''Second Indochina War''', and in Vietnam as the '''Resistance War Against America''' or simply the '''American War''', was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the [[Fall of Saigon]] on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the [[Indochina Wars]] and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is considered a [[Cold War]]-era proxy war by some US perspectives. The war would last approximately 19 years and would also form the [[Laotian Civil War]] as well as the [[Cambodian Civil War]], which resulted in all 3 countries becoming communist states in 1975.
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 Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina. Most of the funding for the French war effort was provided by the U.S. or ''FNL'' (the National Liberation Front), a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North, fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region, while the [[People's Army of Vietnam]], also known as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), engaged in more conventional warfare, and had launched armed struggles from 1959 onward. U.S. involvement escalated in 1960 under President John F. Kennedy, with troop levels gradually surging under the Military Assistance Advisory Group program from just under a thousand in 1959 to 16,000 in 1963.
-By 1964 there were 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, but this escalated further following the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which a U.S. destroyer was alleged to have clashed with North Vietnamese fast attack craft. In response the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Lyndon B. Johnson authorization to increase U.S. military presence, deploying ground combat units for the first time and increasing troop levels to 184,000. Every year onward there was significant build-up despite little progress, with Robert McNamara, one of the principal architects of the war, beginning to express doubts of victory by the end of 1966. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes. The U.S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Following the [[Tet Offensive]], U.S. forces began withdrawal under the Vietnamization phase; the Army of the Republic of Vietnam unconventional and conventional capabilities increased following a period of neglect and became modeled on heavy fire-power focused doctrines like US forces. Operations crossed international borders: bordering areas of Laos and Cambodia were used by North Vietnam as supply routes and were heavily bombed by U.S. forces.
+By 1964 there were 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, but this escalated further following the [[1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident]], in which a U.S. destroyer was alleged to have clashed with North Vietnamese fast attack craft. In response the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Lyndon B. Johnson authorization to increase U.S. military presence, deploying ground combat units for the first time and increasing troop levels to 184,000. Every year onward there was significant build-up despite little progress, with Robert McNamara, one of the principal architects of the war, beginning to express doubts of victory by the end of 1966. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes. The U.S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Following the [[Tet Offensive]], U.S. forces began withdrawal under the Vietnamization phase; the Army of the Republic of Vietnam unconventional and conventional capabilities increased following a period of neglect and became modeled on heavy fire-power focused doctrines like US forces. Operations crossed international borders: bordering areas of Laos and Cambodia were used by North Vietnam as supply routes and were heavily bombed by U.S. forces.
 Gradual withdrawal of U.S. ground forces began as part of "Vietnamization", which aimed to end American involvement in the war while transferring the task of fighting the communists to the South Vietnamese themselves and begun the task of modernizing their armed forces. Morale declined significantly among U.S. forces during the wind-down period and incidents of fragging, drug-use and insubordination increased with General Creighton Abrams remarking "I need to get this army home to save it". From 1969 onwards the military actions of the Việt Cộng insurgency decreased as the role and engagement of the NVA grew. Initially fielding less conventional and poorer weaponry, from 1970 onward the People's Army of Vietnam and its branch People's Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam had increasingly became mechanised and armoured, capable of modernised combined arms and mobile warfare and begun to widely deploy newer, untested weapons. These two sides would see significant, rapid changes throughout its lifetime from their original post-colonial armies, and by mid-1970s the ARVN became the fourth largest army with the PAVN became the fifth largest army in the world in two countries with a population of roughly 20 million each.