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Description of timeline
It was during President Johnson's term that we decided to enter the Vietnam War to fight against North Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The begining of his term showed the attacks at the Gulf of Tonkin, with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution occuring just days after, to possible peace negotiations at the end of his term. While the public heavily supported the United States entering the war, by the end fo his term, it destroyed his presidency. -
Period: to
Lyndon B. Johnson's term as president during the Vietnam War
The purpose of this timeline is to show President Johnson's reaction to the war, and what he did during his time as president, as well as any major events that occured during his term. -
The entrance of the United States
While on an intelligence mission in the Gulf of Tonkin, the USS Maddox opened fire on multiple boats that had been stalking it. Two days later, however, another attack was made. This time, the target was the USS Maddox and Turner Joy. These alleged attacks would spark involvement in the war from the United States. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
As a reaction to the first two attacks only a few days earlier, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution whuch gave President Johnson authorization to use military force for the war without a formal declaration of war -
The battle of Binh Gia
A battle conducted by the Viet Cong from December 28, 1964 to January 1, 1965. The Viet Cong went to the eastern side of Binh Gia, and attacked the 65 guards that were stationed there. Quickly overpowered, they retreated and called for help, which allowed the Viet Cong to invade. Eventually, the United States Marines came as reinforcements. On the lkast day of the battle, Air Force bombers were brought in to end the fight, but they were too late. The majority of the Viet Cong forces had already -
The three operations
Operation Rolling Thunder, operation Flaming Dart and operation Arc Light were created following an attack on a US marine barracks. Rolling Thunder was a combined effort to bomb the Republic of North Vietnam by the Air Force, Navy and the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. Flaming Dart was conducted in two parts by the US and South Vietnam Air Force, while Arc Light was the deploymen of conventional bombers to Guam to support ground operations. -
Escalation
3,500 United States troops were deployed to South Vietnam, due to United States Air Force bases being unable to defend themselves properly. This deployment marked the very begining of the American ground war, and was heavily supported by the American people -
Stablization in South Vietnam
In Mid 1965, Nguyen Cao Ky was elected prime minister Air Marshall in South Vietnam, relieving any tensions in politics. With Ky, Nguyen Van Thieu as Chief of State, and bought an end to many coups that had been taking place multiple times a year, and stablized the nation. -
Reinforcements arrive
The number of United States troops in Vietnam went up to 300,000 to combat the growing need for soldiers. -
Turning point for the US
General Westmoreland wanted to increase public support, which he decided to do by pushing a public relations drive for the Johnson administration. In the end, he only confused the public by his statement saying that the end of the war was in sight, as the tet offensive occured shortly before. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Gen_William_C_Westmoreland.jpg -
The Tet Offensive
Normally, the Lunar holiday of Tet would have a truce to accompinay it. However, the Viet Cong and the NVA launched the largest battle of the war called the Tet Offensive. Communists rallied 80,000 soldiers to attack more than 100 towns and cities, which took South Vietnam and the US by suprise, but not for long. They quickly regained composure and begun to retaliate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cholon_after_Tet_Offensive_operations_1968.jpg -
Talk of peace, and legacy
While the expectations for this peace talk were low, they began between North Vietnam and the United States in Paris. However, the negotiations did not start right away. They were put n hold for five months, until finally President Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam to be stopped. They negotiations failed, and the war destroyed his presidency. The public took his refusal to send more troops as an act of saying that they had lost the war.
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