the gulf of tonkin incidence, 1964
- A fabricated incident was set up; an American destroyer (USS Maddox) was torpedoed
-Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
-Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
-200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
-Led President Johnson to install the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
-Lead to the commitment of regular ground troops and air support
-200,000 troops in 1965 - 600,000 in 1968
background to vietnam war
-Originally a French colony (Indochina)
-Ho Chi Minh and his communist supporters resisted Japanese occupation during WWII
-After WWII the French reoccupied
-Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
-Laos, Cambodia granted independence
-Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
-Ho Chi Minh and his communist supporters resisted Japanese occupation during WWII
-After WWII the French reoccupied
-Ho Chi Minh fought the French and defeated them in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
-Laos, Cambodia granted independence
-Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel
a divided country
- South Vietnam was led by a Catholic named Ngo Dinh Diem
- The mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Viet Cong ( a guerrilla force)
-The North (Ho Chi Minh) supported both of these groups
-The north never accepted the Geneva agreement of 1954
- The mainly Buddhist south had opposition in the form of the National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Viet Cong ( a guerrilla force)
-The North (Ho Chi Minh) supported both of these groups
-The north never accepted the Geneva agreement of 1954
american involvement in vietnam
- U.S. saw this as another situation in which containment was necessary (SEATO)
-The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
-Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
-CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)
-The U.S. had supported the French (military advisors)
-Kennedy increased troops in 1962 from 500-10,000
-CIA overthrows Diem in 1963 (corruptness)