Vietnam War: Diem Assassination & Gulf of Tonkin

Diem's Assassination Aftermath

• In the 2 weeks following Diem's assassination, 400 battles occurred
• After the assassination, 40% of the countryside and 50% of the population fell under the NLF's influence
• Eight US-backed governments were overthrown by coups between January 1964 and June 1965
• Le Duan advocated for violent conflict in late 1964, leading to Ho Chi Minh losing power
• Le Duan's strategy involved decisive battles followed by popular uprisings
• Le Duan eliminated opponents in the North through demotion, re-education camps, and executions
• Johnson increased military personnel from 16,000 to 23,000 in 1964

Gulf of Tonkin Events

• Event 1 (July 1964): South Vietnamese ships, supported by the US, attacked North Vietnamese islands
• North Vietnamese ships attacked the USS Maddox, which retaliated with planes damaging North vessels
• Event 2: A misinterpreted radio order from the North caused US anxiety about an impending attack
• Event 3: The USS Maddox mistakenly believed it was attacked by torpedoes, likely due to anxiety
• LBJ's quote: "For all I know, our navy was shooting at whales out there,” reveals concerns about the validity of the attack
• These events led Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate military involvement

Americanization of the War

• The US never declared war, but the DRV captured Alverez, who bombed North Vietnam but lacked POW status
• August '64: LBJ requested executive power, which the Gulf of Tonkin incident caused him to send to Congress
• The Tonkin Resolution passed in the Senate 88-2 and unanimously in the House
• LBJ's popularity increased by 30% post-resolution
• November: DRV retaliated, attacking the US base at Bien Hoa, killing 5 and injuring 30 Americans
• After winning the election, LBJ gradually increased involvement, but only with air support

Practices of War

• Paper 1: Source depicts two views on the Second Indochina War: hawks supporting it, doves opposing it.
• The source uses a rooster to mock politicians who were publicly undecided on the war
• DRV's military approach included guerrilla warfare, strategic flexibility, subversive activities, and simultaneous execution
• Giap's perspective as DRV's military leader provides valuable insight into strategies, such as breaking the will of the American government and can explain the US loss in Vietnam
• An interview in 1990 lowers the chances of the information being propaganda or manipulated
• The content is limited and emotive, with opinions not helping understand the US loss in Vietnam

Public Opinion in 1966

• Hawks: 47%
• Doves: 26%
• No opinion: 27%
• By 1971, 61% of people believed the war was a mistake

"People's War"

• The DRV adopted a holistic approach, encompassing military, political, cultural, and diplomatic elements
• Giap characterized the war as "essentially a peasant's war under the leadership of the working class"
• Truong Chinh emphasized a protracted war strategy to wear down the enemy
• The ultimate goals were launching a general counter-offensive, annihilating the enemy, and achieving final victory

War of Attrition

• The war of attrition was designed to "wear down" the enemy through a series of attacks
• It assumed the communists would reach a “breaking point" after suffering enough punishment
• There was a focus on "body count" due to not prioritizing territorial gains
• The DRV was able to sacrifice more people and absorbed the casualties

1967 Stats

• 200,000 DRV to 75,000 US missing/injured/dead, with 14,000 being dead
• Pacification was not effective
• Taxes were on the rise in America
• The President sent the army into Detroit to quell rioting
• South Vietnam was divided into four tactical zones: I Corps, II Corps, III Corps, and IV Corps
• The DRV used AK-47s, while the US used M16s, which often jammed during fights
• DRV troops would mix in closely with US troops to prevent air strikes

Land Tactics (NLF and DRV)

• The AK-47, provided by the USSR, was durable and easy to use, facilitating recruitment

Infantry Tactics included,

• Waiting for soldiers to return for bodies, booby trapping the bodies or waiting to attack.
• Camouflage was used by hiding within vegetation
• Tunnel systems provided safety, rest, ambushes, storage, command, transport, and scared US soldiers
• The Cu Chi tunnel was the largest, forming an underground city

Booby Traps

• The purpose was to significantly harm or kill enemy soldiers
• The traps were a non-confrontational tactic

Ho Chi Minh Trail

• Constructed in 1959, it moved southward through Laos and Cambodia
• Giap's porters transported military supplies, crucial to the communist effort
• The trail included hospitals, stores, and military bases
• 50,000 women were employed full time to repair the trail
• US efforts to shut it down were largely ineffective and expensive

Air & Sea (NLF and DRV)

• Anti-aircraft technology, including heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft batteries, and hand-held missiles, was supplied by the USSR
• Soviet SAM missiles and radar batteries training was also provided by the USSR
• One of the densest and intricate anti-air technology
• Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) MIG jets were mainly for defense against napalm bombing
• Jets were supported by USSR pilots and training, but maneuverability was an issue compared to US aircraft

Small Navy

• The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN) included Soviet Osa missile boats, Tarantul corvettes, minesweepers, and Peyta class light frigates
• There was minimal sea combat, with the Gulf of Tonkin incident being prominent

Land & Sea (US)

• The US replicated booby traps with M14 "toe poppers"
• M16 rifles jammed frequently due to humidity and cheap gunpowder
• M16s improved in 1967-68, but US troops were still skeptical

Operation Buffalo

• On January 2-14 1967, a tank hit a landmine, leading to an ambush and 34 US deaths due to malfunctioning weapons

Infantry Tactics

• In 1965, the US initiated "take the war to the enemy" search and destroy tactics

In villages

• Soldiers burned huts, escalating civilian casualties and leading to massacres like My Lai (500 deaths)

Tank Warfare

• M48 Patton tanks were deployed, playing a role in repelling attacks during the Tet Offensive
• They had reliable radio, good armor, short gasoline range, and vulnerability to fires

Tunnel Rats

• Specialized US troops explored NLF tunnels, encountering traps like punji sticks, snakes, scorpions, and fake flooded tunnels
• This lead to psychological trauma for untrained personnel

US Navy

• The US Navy conducted extensive sea operations, providing medical and weaponry support
• Naval personnel decreased from 38,000 in 1968 to 17,000 by the war's end
• In 1972, ships fired over 111,000 rounds at targets on the North Vietnamese coast
• Hospital ships operated at Danang and Saigon, staffed by Navy doctors, corpsmen, and Nurse Corps

Tet Offensive Context

• By 1986, the US had over 500,000 ground troops in Vietnam
• General Westmoreland claimed the US was winning a war of attrition in November 1967
• Robert McNamara resigned in November 1967, believing the war was unwinnable

Goal of COSVN

• COSVN was the Central Office for South Vietnam that was responsible for directing struggle in the south

Tet Offensive Key Objectives

• Profit from a "decisive victory" to initiate an "uprising"
• Leverage anti-US sentiment in the South
• Stretch the US "throughout the Southern battlefield"

What Happened During Tet Offensive

• January 31st 1968, 84,000 DRV & NLF soldiers attacked 36/44 provincial capitals
• Communists took over the South Vietnam radio station, but broadcast plans were thwarted
• 19 communist troops infiltrated the US embassy
• Giap considered Tet a “costly lesson"
• 58,000 killed/wounded/captured, mainly from the South
• Hawks viewed this as a last grasp, while doves thought the North could still attack
• Robert Kennedy suggested settlement over 206,000 more troops

Mobilization – Prior Knowledge

• North Vietnam mobilized the whole country in the war
• Communist forces: Mobilizing women and 50,000 were permanently employed to repair the Ho Chi Minh Trail
• 500,000 US troops on the ground but, only 25% were fighting
• DRV and NLF troops mobilized 84,000 for the Tet Offensive
• US focusing on a "body count" vs communist sacrifice
• NLF infiltration & membership throughout villages made it easy to mobilize troops (Tet Offensive)

Communist Forces

• CIA estimated in 1965 that Vietnam was able to train 75 to 100k
• They could recruit and train 84k to 120k per year

Conscription

• North Vietnam started the conscription in 1960
• The US had 2.2 million American draftees of 27 million
• 25% were draftless and 80% came from the poor or working-class

Hue Massacre

• The mass executions of 2800 Vietnamese citizens occurred in Hue by communist forces during the Tet Offensive (1968)

Factors

• 80% of Hue was destroyed, and bodies were found until 1969
• Civilians had seen the communist secret forces and they had them killed

My Lai Massacre

• In March 1968, a division of American soldiers was ordered into My Lai, and 407 defenseless civilians were executed

Factors for this

• The commander had suffered losses and wanted revenge and ordered them to commit these actions

Aftermath

• Many soldiers were charged with murder
• Calley was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life, reduced later. It was overturned by a court.

Nixon, Laos, and Cambodia

• Vietnamisation replaced US troops with the South Vietnamese troops.
• US numbers lowered from 543k to 47k. ARVN numbers increased for 82k to 1 million
• Senate voted on ending the Tonkin Resolution. President could not end the war, needed approval

Peace Negotiations

• Le Duc Tho was one of the founders of the Communist Party in 1930
• Henry Kissinger Nixon appointed as assistant security
• Thieu won the South VIetnam election and ran a semi stable party
• Kissinger and Nixon knew the South would fall, they began negotiations trying to leave the south in power
• US would withdraw within 7 months as long as they returned prisoners of war, they would maintain troops
• Bombed into accepting US consessions

Factors that contributed to the DRV victory

• Diminishing chances of victory
• Congress halved military and economic assistance
• Army couldn't sustain

Weaknesses

• Bombings for peace accors, Thieu not involved, etc.
• No reuqirement for ORV to remove troops.

Women in Communism

• Wanted women with them to cause men to continue
• 100k were permanent fixing
• 138k of women volunteered
• The Long haired army fought with the NLF
• Couldn't serve
• The VIetnam War expanded gender roles
• Women were to take up arms