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Truman Reexamines Vietnam
As the outbreak of the Korean War came to light, plus the flow of aid from China and the Soviet Union to the Viet Minh, President Truman was prompted to reexamine Vietnam in a Cold War light. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Two U.S. destroyers stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin radioed that they had been fired at by North Vietnam forces. Suggestively speaking, the North Vietnamese saw the foreign destroyers as threats. -
Johnson Initiates War Upon Vietnam
On August 4th, 1964, reports of a second attack, but there were doubts that it had actually happened. However, Johnson took the attack as the second strike, and immediately asked Congress to give him power to initiate war on Vietnam, aka The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. -
Operation Flaming Dart
The White House authorized Operation Flaming Dart, a series of targeted bombing runs against the North, purposely in response to the Viet Cong attacks. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
US President Lyndon Johnson ordered massive bombing runs over North Vietnam, a move intended to curtail Hanoi's support for the Viet Cong. It was a demonstration of America's near total air supremacy. -
Marine Arrival upon China Beach
President Johnson sent 3500 Marines over to Vietnam, to fight on foot. Their arrival marked them as the first US Combat troops who landed at "China Beach", near Da Nang. -
Search and Destroy Missions
The Search and Destroy Missions were used to locate enemy bases or tracks, laying anti-personnel mines or setting ambushes, before withdrawing immediately. This military strategy became a large component in the Vietnam War. -
Operation Starlite
This was the first major offensive that was launched solely by US troops. 5,000 American troops decimated 2,000-strong Viet Cong forces near Chu Lai, killing or capturing more than 1/4 of them. -
Battle of la Drang
American soldiers had their first major engagement against the regular North Vietnamese Army in the Drang River Valley. Two US Army regiments held off two NVA in one of the Vietnam War's few major set-piece battles. -
Operation Crimp
A joint US-Australian mission in Binh Duong province that involved 8,000 men. The objective was to locate significant Viet Cong headquarters, several miles north-west of Saigon. -
Operation Attleboro
The objective was to discover the location of People's Army of Vietnam and Viet Cong base areas, and force them to fight. It cleared a large area of South Vietnam, killing more than 2,000 Viet Cong and capturing important supply dumps. -
Operation Cedar Falls
It aimed to drive the Viet Cong out of "Iron Triangle", a large area of South Vietnam. It was largely successful, but caused significant disruption and property damage.
