American Military Strategies in Vietnam

1. American Military Strategies in Vietnam Sending in the Troops http://www.globalsecurity.org

2. Pleiku and Operation Flaming Dart • The Viet Cong attack on Pleiku airbase occurred on the night of February 6, 1965. • The attack left eight Americans dead and 128 wounded • it prompted the United States to launch Operation Flaming Dart against North Vietnam in retaliation. • The Pleiku attack was used by the Johnson Administration as justification for committing combat troops to South Vietnam

4. Seek and Destroy • Under President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1968), US intervention mushroomed both militarily and politically. • General William C. Westmoreland, was commander of all U.S. Military Operations in Vietnam • The General Strategy was: • American ground divisions would seek out and destroy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong • Launch air strikes against the North targeting transportation, oil storage, and the nation's few industries • In theory, Westmoreland's strategy of search and destroy would force the Communists to expend supplies make the logistics in North Vietnam all the more vulnerable to bombing.

7. Troop Deployment • Total US Military Personnel in Vietnam • Date Total Personnel • 1960 900 • 1961 3,200 • 1962 11,500 • 1963 16,300 • 1964 23,300 • 1965 184,300 • 1966 425,300 • 1967 485,600 • 1968 536,100 • 1969 474,400 • 1970 335,800 • 1971 250,900

12. Wartime in Vietnam • The Vietnam conflict had many faces • insurrection by indigenous guerrilla forces • an invasion by the regular army of a neighboring regime • It was a war of snipers and ambushes, booby traps and pitched battles

13. Wartime in Vietnam • It was fighting small bands of unrecognizable Vietcong • It was large full scale military operations against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) • The fighting locale ranged from the densely inhabited rice basket of the Mekong Delta to the remote, jungled mountains of the Central Highlands

22. Changes in US Military Strategy • Because of these factors, the US military was forced to change its traditional military deployment strategy • Front lines common in previous wars were replaced by perimeter defenses • The helicopter became a prime mover for artillery • Artillery units occupied fire support bases and could fire 360 degrees • American tactics in Vietnam relied on overwhelming firepower

26. The New Strategy Challenge • Very few major engagements were fought without artillery support • air support and artillery reduced friendly casualties while overcoming the enemy’s advantage in numbers • Although American firepower created staggering enemy casualtiesand limited his ability to mass maneuver forces, preparatory fires seldom neutralized the NVA positions • The dense jungle and the steep slope of hills concentrated US firepower, as did the enemy's weIl-prepared defenses.

27. Rolling Thunder • In 1965, Rolling Thunder was the operation of US air strikes were ordered against North Vietnam • But US forces were not permitted to attack some targets for fear of Chinese retaliation • Spring 1965, 50,000 Chinese troops served in North Vietnam • Johnson limited ROLLING THUNDER to southern North Vietnam in 1968 • Having turned to air power, the Johnson administration chose to apply it in a gradually escalating fashion