Was the Gulf of Tonkin incident really an incident or were the 2 attacks on the USS Maddox within reason? Thus the correct historical analogy may not be Nixon's secret air campaign and incursions into Cambodia, but the Tonkin Gulf incident-the alleged pair of attacks by North Vietnamese naval forces against American destroyers that President Lyndon B. Johnson used to win public support and congressional approval for escalating the confrontation with North Vietnam. The government has ways to make information and secret operations disappear as if it never happened by making them nonexistent on paper. Is a secret operation or reconnaissance mission what the ship was doing? What was OPLAN-34A? Why did the PT (Torpedo) boats attack? Was the USS …show more content…
We responded immediately. And we took out one of their boats and put the other two running. And we're puttin' our boats right there, and we're not running on in." is what President LBJ tells secretary McNamara to say to Senate Majority Leader Mansfield. Later President Johnson consequently approved a move under which the destroyer Maddox was reinforced by the C. Turner Joy, and both ships entered the Gulf together. With the American warships in a state of hyperalert, on the night of August 3/4 the warships recorded a series of sound (sonar) and electronic (radar) readings interpreted to be attacking torpedo boats. Although the commander on the scene, Captain John D. Herrick, quickly amplified the initial, excited reports with one stating he doubted the reality of the attacks, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Ulysses S. Grant Sharp nevertheless proceeded as if the attacks were genuine. This is a clear reference to the OPLAN-34A raids, confusion about which had been a factor in the initial Tonkin Gulf engagement on August 2. Here LBJ suggests a measure that would actually increase Hanoi's incentives to fight. A little over an hour later, at 10:53 AM., McNamara has a second conversation with the president in which Johnson's concern centers on the details of the supposed combat in the Gulf. McNamara tells LBJ that the U.S. aircraft carrier Ticonderoga sent out …show more content…
Codenamed Operations Plan (OPLAN) 34A, the activities were conceived and overseen by the Department of Defense, with the support of the Central Intelligence Agency, and carried out by the South Vietnamese Navy. Initial successes, however, were limited; numerous South Vietnamese raiders were captured, and OPLAN 34A units suffered heavy casualties. In July 1964, Lieutenant General William C. Westmoreland, commander of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, shifted the operation's tactics from commando attacks on land to shore bombardments using mortars, rockets, and recoilless rifles fired from South Vietnamese patrol boats. It is also notable that McNamara in this conversation clearly favors explaining to Congress the link between the incident and the OPLAN-34A activities. The naval battle between the destroyer USS Maddox and several North Vietnamese torpedo boats occurred in the immediate aftermath of a series of 34-A maritime raids on North Vietnamese coastal targets. After observing North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats pursuing the vessels that had attacked Hon Me, the Maddox withdrew from the area. Nevertheless, when later queried by NSA headquarters, the destroyer indicated she had been unaware of the OPLAN raid on the island. That ignorance set the stage for a showdown between North Vietnamese forces
There was this star shaped building that had buildings inside of the star. It was a star so that they could have cannons at each point facing down at the other team. Also the walls were really tall so it made it harder on the other army to get them. There was a main party at the Saw Mills further south. Then there was an advanced party at the southern end of the portage that bypassed the rapids. Uncertain where to contest the British advance Montcalm wanted to build a fortified abattis in front of the fort. On the 5th of July 1758 the British and Americans got ready to sail up to Lake George. Arriving to the north of Lake George, Howe, Rogers and Bradstreet ended up at the French positions.
Throughout the Revolutionary War, there were many battles that occurred that are not remembered today. The reasons for this are plentiful, examples include minor battles, unimportant skirmishes, or travesties of war. However, some battles are forgotten intentionally, like times whenever something embarrassing happened to a soldier, or to an entire side. This case of embarrassing defeat is exactly what happened at Fort Galphin or, as the British called it, Fort Dreadnought, in Beech Island, SC on May 21st, 1781.
In August 1964, two US destroyed that were positioned in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam claimed that they had been “attacked” by North Vietnamese forces. President Lyndon B. Johnson demanded authorization from the United States Congress to augment US military presence in Vietnam. As a result, congress ended up passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which authorized President Jonson to act any way to retaliate against the Vietnamese. Later on, many would question if either attacks had taken place. Key leaders included Barry Goldwater, William Westmoreland who was the US general who advocated aggressive strategies against Viet Cong and NVA using large numbers of US forces. Lastly, another key leader was Ho Chi Minh who was a North Vietnamese communist
"Tribe follows tribe, and nation follows nation like the waves of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless." Chief Seattle. This quote shows or represents that when the Yakima tribe got into war a lot more tribes were involved or following the Yakima tribe to fight with them.
The date was December 10th 1864, just a little over three years after the beginning of the civil war, and the Union Army was waiting just outside the city of Savannah. Just 25 days earlier General Sherman and his Union Army had left the city of Atlanta after its seizure and were now poised to try the same thing in Savannah . The only thing standing in their way of completing this task was the formidable Fort McAllister. The Union Army, if it were able to seize the Fort would complete the seizure of the city of Savannah and open up a valuable resupply route to the sea. The man chosen to complete this task was General William Babcock Hazen, commander of the 15th Corps.
Moreover, the real nature of the Battle of Midway was poorly understood for some months after the Japanese defeat. On 9 June 1942, The New York Times noted that, “So far as we can now learn, the main damage to the Japanese fleet off Midway was inflicted by our land-based airplanes. The battle shows what land-based air power can do to naval and air power attacking from the open sea when that land-based air power is alert, well-trained, courageous, and exists in sufficient quantity…” But this statement was dead wrong. The Army Air Force B-17s and B-26s did not land a single hit on the Japanese carriers.
sea, it is important to note that the initial portion of this battle involved the Japanese attack on the American airfield on Midway Island in the early morning of June 4, 1942. The defenders of Midway would have had excellent observation and fields of fire into attacking enemy aircraft. This would have hindered the Japanese and their ability to advance undetected towards the island, as they would have been easy to spot against the backdrop of the horizon. Views from the air would have been advantageous to both forces in their search for the opposing ships. The Airfield on Midway was the initial key terrain of this battle, with the shift moving towards the carriers once the main battle started. The obstacles of this battle would have mainly
A North Vietnamese civilian said, “The Americans thought that the more bombs they dropped, the quicker we would fall to our knees and surrender. But the bombs heightened rather than dampened our spirit.” This shows that congress was not correct in approving the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution because the results were war, bombing, and deaths.
Additionally, Brigadier General consulted with the Naval Commander operating in the waters off of the eastern Vietnamese Coast so his forces could from Thailand into west Vietnam undetected. Upon discussions with the White House, it was determined that the November timeframe would be the best course of action to begin the raid.
On August 2,1964 a United states ship was attacked by a North Vietnamese patrol boat in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Vietnamese ship had blankley opened fire against the United States which prompted Lyndon B. Johnson to ask congress if the United States could take action against the ship who was firing upon them. With this the Tonkin Gulf Resolution was passed giving our president the ability to conduct war against the North which allowed him to have authority in authorization. This aspect negative because it was giving the president too much power to conduct a war in southeast asia when the south, who the United States was trying to help out. The South Vietnamese seemed to be deceitful because they didn't have any territorial, military or political ambitions, it was simply just the United States trying to help fellow peers from falling into the communist ways
With the free hand recently provided by Congress, Johnson presumed that escalation would help to protect his soldiers. He ordered the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy to begin an intense series of air strikes called “Operation Rolling Thunder”. He hoped that the bombing campaign would demonstrate to the South Vietnamese the U.S. commitment to their cause, and its resolve to halt the spread of Communism. Ironically, the air raids seemed only to increase the number of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army attacks.
Lyndon Johnson and the Tonkin Gulf Resolution The official rhetoric of Lyndon Johnson’s administration portrayed the Gulf of Tonkin incident as an unprovoked and malicious attack on U.S. ships by the armed forces of North Vietnam, as a result of which the President needed the power to deal militarily with the North Vietnamese. The Gulf of Tonkin incident explicitly encompasses military actions on August 2, and alleged actions on August 4, 1964, between North Vietnamese torpedo patrol boats and United States destroyers and aircraft off the coast of North Vietnam. President Johnson and many top administration officials declared that the United States was innocent of any aggressive offensive maneuvers against the North
There was not much serious thought in escalating the Vietnam War until the Tonkin Gulf incident occurred. In the Gulf of Tonkin it was reported “that two American destroyers had been attacked by North Vietnamese PT boats on August 4, 1964,” (Friedman 293). Shortly after these incidents, “Johnson immediately escalated the war by ordering airstrikes on North Vietnam” (Friedman 293). These events made it so Johnson could raise United States involvement in Vietnam without congressional backing on his decisions. Increasing involvement in the war was appealing though because after the Tonkin Gulf incident support of military involvement in North Vietnam raised from thirty one percent approvals to fifty percent approval (Moise 226). Although approval of the amount in favor immediately after the Gulf of Tonkin incident rose, it was a “mistake on Johnson’s part… assuming that the
The United States issued the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. It said that Congress empowered the President, as Command in Chief, "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression." Most importantly, the memorandum gave the President the permission to retaliate North Vietnam's threats to international peace, as the attacks were reason enough for further American involvement in Vietnam, as well as an escalation of military forces.
Around midnight on August 4, 1964 American aircrafts began sixty-four sorties (one plane attacks) over North Vietnamese patrol boat bases and a major oil storage depot. During the sorties more than twenty Vietnamese vessels were destroyed, while the oil depot became an inferno of flame and smoke. The events that took place in the Gulf of Tonkin added to years of tension between the United States and North Vietnam.