"BATTLEFIELD VIETNAM" "The Undeclared War" "In early 1962 the helicopters sent to Vietnam by President Kennedy flew their first combat missions against the NLF." "In Operation Chopper, the aircraft flown by U.S. Army pilots ferried 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep an NLF stronghold near Saigon." "It was the beginning of a whole new phase of the conflict." "From the start the American helicopters had a dramatic effect on the fighting." "Government troops could take the guerrillas by surprise or cut off their line of retreat after a battle." "Often they panicked and were killed while trying to escape." "In the first months of 1962, the South Vietnamese army won a string of victories, badly shaking the NLF's morale." "Using helicopters for offensive operations called for a whole new set of tactics." "It was a complex business in which helicopter forces and ground units had to be strictly coordinated, but the aim was simple, ...the enemy had to be found, fixed in position, and then defeated." "Government troops called it 'spear and net'." "Later it would become known as 'Search and Destroy'." "A Search and Destroy operation usually began with intelligence locating an NLF unit." "The task then was to place forces to cut off the enemy's retreat." "If there was a river nearby, South Vietnamese gunboats were deployed in blocking positions." "Infantry on foot and on armored personnel carriers were moved in overland." "Meanwhile, American helicopters loaded up with government troops... rendezvous with an escort of ground attack aircraft." "After bombing or artillery strikes, the airborne infantry landed and advanced towards the enemy, acting as the offensive spear." "Trapped by the net of blocking forces, the Vietcong would be forced to do battle and be destroyed by vastly superior firepower or so the theory went." "The instant success of helicopter operations seemed to prove that the approach favored by the Americans was the right one." "What U.S. advisors wanted now was more and bigger offensive operations." "The greatest need was for more helicopters and the Americans quickly provided them." "A series of government victories followed and soon it looked as if the South Vietnamese army might, in the not too distant future, actually defeat the guerrillas." "In July, 1962 General Paul D. Harkins, head of the US military assistance command in Saigon, reported to Washington that tremendous progress was being made in South Vietnam." "It was just what president Kennedy wanted to hear, and in the White House there was a deep sense of relief." "They hoped they could bring home all U.S. military personnel by the end of 1965." "CHINA" "To Ho Chi Minh and the leaders of North Vietnam, the big increase in American military support for the South was deeply troubling." "Did the U.S. mean to put in combat troops or perhaps even invade the north itself?" "They appealed to the Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung for help." "Mao was anxious to be seen as the champion of liberation movements around the world." "He was also determined to counter the American strategy in Vietnam." "In the summer of 1962, the Chinese leader promised Ho Chi Minh substantial support for the guerrilla war against the Southern government." "Right away, North Vietnam would get 90,000 extra rifles for the Vietcong." "As yet the Americans knew nothing of the Chinese decision to back the war." "They were still highly optimistic." "Although the NLF were not being beaten on the battlefield, and it managed to hit over 2,500 hamlets in 1962 alone, pacification programs designed to increase government control over the countryside, promised real progress in the villages." "In a program coordinated by the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. special forces were working with mountain yard travel groups in the central highlands of South Vietnam." "They fortified villages and trained local volunteers to fight the Vietcong in their own areas." "The tactics involved setting ambushes, heavy night patrolling and above all, responding fast to guerrilla incidents." "The civilian irregular defense forces created by the American teams were highly effective." "The NLF found it increasingly difficult to organize openly amongst the population." "At its peak, the program would encompass thousands of villages and hundreds of thousands of people." "While the effort in the Highlands was entirely an American initiative, further South, the Saigon government had embarked on its own pacification program." "Backed by the CIA called the Strategic hamlets Program, the idea was to create 11,000 settlements which could defend themselves from the Vietcong and bring government authority into the countryside." "The campaign was a disaster from the start." "Instead of winning the voluntary cooperation of villagers the government embarked on a crash program of forced resettlement." "Families were moved, sometimes at gunpoint, from the traditional lands and the burial grounds of their ancestors." "Funds promised for development were embezzled by corrupt officials." "Soon, the strategic hamlets came to be seen by their inhabitants as little better than prisons." "The result was a massive upsurge in support for the NLF who vowed to destroy the strategic hamlets by every means possible." "AP BAC" "From the first introduction of American helicopters into South Vietnam, NLF tacticians had worked feverishly to develop ways of dealing with the threat." "They had learned to mount ambushes with heavy machine guns near the obvious landing zones." "They also practiced breaking up their larger units at high speed and melting into the forests or swamps at the first sign of an enemy sweep." "One of the bigger lessons learned by the guerrillas in 1962 was to keep their attacks short." "Raids or ambushes were planned to last no more than 15 minutes." "The idea was that even with helicopters, government forces would have too little time to react." "Slowly, by using their new tactics the Vietcong had recovered their confidence." "So much so that by the start of 1963 they were able to inflict a shattering defeat on a South Vietnamese army air mobile operation." "The hamlet of Ap Tan Thoi in the Mekong delta  was believed by the South Vietnamese army to be the location of a Vietcong headquarters, a radio transmitter and a small guerrilla force." "The Army's 7th division, with American advice, decided to attack." "What they didn't know is that they were walking into a trap." "The South Vietnamese army were lured in, so the NLF could for the first time test their effectiveness against militia and airborne units." "The operation was launched on January 2nd of 1963." "The neighboring hamlets of Ap Tan Thoi and Ap Bac were strung out along a rice dike and an irrigation canal." "In the tree line was deployed the whole of Vietcong 514th battalion reinforced by local guerrillas." "Altogether nearly 350 men." "The 11th regiment of the South Vietnamese army landed north of Ap Tan Thoi and exchanged fire with the Vietcong." "Meanwhile, a Civil Guard task force pushing from the South ran straight into the Vietcong at Ap Bac and was stopped in its tracks." "Air and artillery strikes were directed at both hamlets, but the Vietcong were well dug in." "A reserve company of Army troops was landed in transport helicopters to attack Ap Tan Thoi." "Fire from Ap Bac destroyed 5 aircraft." "Next, a company of Armored Personnel Carriers made a disorganized assault on Ap Bac, but was driven off with heavy losses." "Airborne reinforcements were dropped in the wrong place by the army commander." "This allowed the Vietcong to escape and avoided further government casualties." "For the Vietcong the battle of Ap Bac was a stunning victory." "For the first time, they had stood their ground against helicopters and armored vehicles." "Almost 500 South Vietnamese troops were killed or wounded." "Three American advisors were also killed and they had lost only 9 men themselves." "As the news swept through the hamlets and villages of Vietnam, ...Vietcong morale and recruitment soared." "After Ap Bac, the guerrillas sharply accelerated the tempo of their operations." "Attacks on strategic hamlets were launched almost every day, and hundreds were overrun." "The guerrillas hit isolated government forts, tempting sources of arms and radios." "Usually they set ambushes for any army troops that might be sent to the rescue." "The South Vietnamese army's attempts to find the Vietcong's big units and make them fight, seemed increasingly futile." "One major sweep after another failed to find the guerrillas in any numbers." "By now many American advisors in South Vietnam, Colonels and Captains at the sharp end of the battle had begun to ask questions about the U.S. military doctrine." "They were training the South Vietnamese to depend on big operations and very heavy firepower." "As a result, large numbers of civilians were being killed which could only increase support for the NLF." "And in spite of everything the guerrillas were usually escaping the net." "What the advisors wanted were tactics more like those the Special forces had adopted in the central highlands." "Small units patrolling, ambushes, and night operations all the time working closely with local people." "In Washington the suggestion met with some hostility." "As far as the generals were concerned, the job was to find the enemy and destroy him with as much firepower as could be mustered." "CHAOS" "For years, president Diem had filled the ranks of South Vietnam government officials with fellow catholics, enraging the majority Buddhist population." "From the beginning of May 1963 there were widespread protests." "Diem reacted violently." "The army raided temples." "Monks, nuns and priests were arrested, and demonstrators were shot in the streets by police." "In July students began their own mass actions in support for the Budhist cause." "By the fall of 1963, South Vietnam was sliding into political chaos." "As sheer mismanagement looked set to destroy the country, army generals, directed by the CIA, hatched a plan to overthrow the president." "American officials, exasperated at Diem's failures signaled that Washington would not oppose a coup." "The plotters made their move on November 1st 1963, ...attacking the presidential palace with armor and aircraft." "The generals had promised that president Diem would be allowed to safe flight into exile." "However, the day after the coup, Diem was brutally murdered along with his brother Nu by unidentified assassins." "Three weeks later on November 22nd 1963, in the United States, president Kennedy was himself assassinated." "Kennedy's place was taken by his vice-president, Lyndon Baines Johnson." "Johnson had always been wary of America's involvement with Vietnam." "Now he had inherited a strong U.S. commitment to the South." "Whatever his private doubts, it was a commitment he was determined to honor." "The chaos that had engulfed South Vietnam in the closing months of 1963 were seen in North Vietnam as a golden opportunity." "Ho Chi Minh and most of his fellow leaders saw the chance of a quick victory if the war was stepped up fast." "Amongst the North's communist backers, the Soviet Union was opposed to any escalation," "But the Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung had promised his support." "If the Americans reacted by invading North Vietnam China would even deploy combat troops to help the defense." "In December 1963 in Hanoi, the Central committee of the Communist Party approved measures to intensify the war in South Vietnam." "General Giap, the Defense Minister had argued for precaution, but most of the leadership was against him." "The order was given to speed up the flow of men and weapons to the NLF in the South." "In 1959 a specialized North Vietnamese Army unit, group 559, had been formed to create a supply route from the North to the VC in South Vietnam." "Jungle trails inside the South had proved too vulnerable to government army sweeps and so, helped by their allies, the Pathet Lao guerrillas in Laos and with the tacit approval of prince Sihanouk of Cambodia," "...group 559 had taken over the border areas just outside South Vietnam." "A primitive route was developed, soon known as the Ho Chi Minh trail, with offshoots into Vietnam along its entire length." "By early 1964, the trail was being transformed into a secret jungle highway... with Depots, air defense, and garrisons of permanent logistics troops." "Meanwhile, another unit, group 579, controlled the infiltration of men and weapons into South Vietnam by sea." "In the first months of 1964 the NLF stepped up their campaign in a concerted effort to push South Vietnam to the edge." "With better equipment, leadership and training, the NLF were now attacking in big units, up to 1,000 men at a time." "As the guerrillas sensed the victory and piled on the pressure, on January 30th there was yet another military coup in Saigon." "The U.S. defense secretary, Robert McNamara, was dispatched to Vietnam to boost the authority of the new leader, General Nguyen Khanh." "Yet few American officials imagined Khanh could soon  win popular support or rally the demoralized South Vietnamese army." "As the crisis in Vietnam deepened, the pressure on President Johnson to take strong action grew almost intolerable." "Many of Johnson's political opponents, including the Republican Senator Barry Goldwater, were calling for North Vietnam to be bombed and for US troops to be sent to fight in the South." "The Joint Chiefs of Staff were also insisting that decisive military action would have to be taken to pressure Hanoi." "From the start, Johnson doubted that United States could win a war in Southeast Asia." "He also believed that neither congress nor the American people would approve of open military intervention." "However he did agree to covert actions against North Vietnam including secret bombing of economic targets and villages along the Laotian border." "With support from American warships, the South Vietnamese Navy began a series of commando raids on North Vietnamese coastal installations." "It was one such operation in August 1964 that would set the stage for a dramatic clash between U.S. and North Vietnamese naval forces." "In the Gulf of Tonkin, the simmering conflict between United States and Hanoi would sense spiraling towards outright war." "On the night of 30th July 1964, South Vietnamese commandos attacked two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin." "The US destroyer Maddox, an electronic spy ship, was 123 miles south with orders to electronically simulate an air attack to draw North Vietnamese boats away from the commandos." "On August 2nd, three North Vietnamese torpedo boats approached the Maddox at high speed, mistaking it for a South Vietnamese escort vessel." "In the engagement that followed, the Maddox sank one of the craft and air support planes damaged the others." "Maddox continued operations reinforced by a second destroyer the USS Turner Joy." "Two nights later, still gathering intelligence and in bad weather conditions, the captain of the Maddox reported that he thought they had been fired on and were about to be attacked." "As he later reported, no attack took place." "The possibility that a second attack had been imagined by ten sailors in poor weather conditions was considered and rejected in the White House." "Six hours after the supposed attack, a retaliation against North Vietnam was ordered by President Johnson." "American Jets bombed two naval bases." "A major oil facility was also destroyed." "Two U.S. aircraft were lost in the raids." "Within hours of the American air strikes, the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai was calling on the Vietnamese to prepare to fight back." "Chinese air units on the Vietnam border were heavily reinforced." "Frantic efforts were made to improve North Vietnam's anti aircraft defenses." "At the same time jets of the fledging North Vietnamese air force returned to Vietnam from their training base in China." "The same day that North Vietnamese fighters began operations from their new home airfield, an historic step was taken in Washington." "On August 7th 1964 the U.S. congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution." "It gave President Johnson the freedom to take whatever actions he thought necessary to defend Southeast Asia." "Johnson now had the power to use military force in Vietnam in almost any way he chose." "THE NVA" "In North Vietnam there was a growing fear that United States meant to deploy troops in the South and perhaps even invade the North itself." "The U.S. might also decide to bomb North Vietnam into the ground." "Communist leaders could only hope that fear of China would make the enemy hesitate before taking any drastic steps." "Meanwhile, a bold stroke might win the war in the South before the Americans could intervene." "The plan was that the North Vietnamese Army should be sent to fight in the South." "Supplying them would be no easy task, but their well trained and heavily armed regiments just might tip the balance." "The aim was to topple the weakened South Vietnamese state within little more than a year." "The first North Vietnamese Army units to be raised and trained for combat in the South were the 32nd and the 33rd regiments of the 325th division based at Dung Hoi." "The 66th regiment of the 304th would follow next." "The plan was that, starting in October the troops would march for 6 weeks down the Ho Chi Minh trail and enter South Vietnam's Central Highlands in early 1965." "The first step would be to seize territory in the border area." "At the same time the Vietcong would take over the coastal provinces of Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh." "The NVA would then advance along the line of highway 19 between Pleiku and Qui Nhon, splitting South Vietnam in two." "Meanwhile, the Vietcong would mount big attacks in the Mekong delta and around Saigon." "Victories there would open the way for a general offensive and trigger a popular uprising which would sweep away the Saigon Government." "While the North Vietnamese army prepared its divisions for infiltration into the South, the NLF stepped up their campaign." "One of their main aims now was to deter the United States from getting more deeply involved in the war." "With the U.S. presidential election coming up, reminding Americans that intervention had a price, just might pay dividends." "On November 1st 1964, only two days before the election, Ben Hua airbase near Saigon was blasted by Vietcong mortars." "Four Americans were killed and 76 wounded." "Five B57 bombers were destroyed and 15 damaged." "Although the attack seemed a blatant provocation, President Johnson was determined not to react in a way that might endanger his election chances." "This restraint seemed to have paid off handsomely when on November 3rd 1964 he resoundedly defeated his rival Barry Goldwater." "By now, Johnson's advisors feared that South Vietnam could be on the brink of collapse." "From January 1st 1965 through to February 7th 1965, the Vietcong mounted a series of coordinated attacks across the country." "They took and held the village of Binh Gia only 40 miles from Saigon, severely mauling government army units sent to the rescue." "Altogether 200 government troops were killed near Binh Gia along with 5 American advisors." "The Battle culminated in a devastating ambush that almost wiped out a relief column of elite South Vietnamese army rangers." "In Washington the pressure to do something to save South Vietnam was now intense." "Although Johnson doubted that bombing North Vietnam could dissuade it from supporting the Vietcong guerrillas, he agreed to let military planners prepare a major campaign." "Meanwhile a series of strikes would be launched as reprisals if there was any major attack by the Vietcong." "The provocation came on February 7th 1965." "A US helicopter base and advisory compound in the central highlands of South Vietnam was attacked by NLF commandos." "Nine Americans were killed and more than 76 were wounded." "Johnson ordered immediate retaliation and U.S. navy fighter-bombers were launched to attack military targets just inside North Vietnam." "Only three days after the U.S. raids, there was another attack by the Vietcong on Americans." "This time it was a bomb in a hotel at Qui Nhon which killed 23 U.S. servicemen." "More retaliation strikes were launched, and on February 13th 1965..." "President Johnson authorized a bigger campaign, codenamed Operation Rolling Thunder." "Rolling Thunder was to be a limited but long lasting offensive." "Its aim was to force North Vietnam to stop supporting the guerrillas in the South." "THE MARINES" "As Operation Rolling Thunder got underway the chief of U.S. Military Assistance Command in Saigon,..." "General William C. Westmoreland, grew increasingly worried about the security of bases involved in the campaign." "Da Nang, sited in a largely hostile area and guarded by a small Vietnamese army unit, was particularly vulnerable to Vietcong attack." "Westmoreland asked for two battalions of U.S. marines,... 3,500 men, to be deployed around the base." "On march 8th 1965, a battalion of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade went ashore at Da Nang." "The second battalion would arrive later by air." "The marines' mission was to be strictly confined to defending the Da Nang base." "However even as the troops were landing, General Harold K. Johnson,... the Army chief of staff, was already in Saigon to talk about much bigger deployments." "Gen. Johnson had been appointed by the president his special representative." "His mission was to prompt General Westmoreland and the U.S. ambassador Maxwell Taylor to say what troops they needed to win the war." "In fact, Gen. Johnson and his fellow commanders at the Joint Chiefs of Staff already had a clear idea of the forces they wanted for Vietnam." "The Joint Chiefs' wish was for three divisions, around 70,000 men." "That was the number called for in their defense plan for Southeast Asia, Operation Plan 32." "The plan had been designed to meet an invasion of South Vietnam from the North or China, something that no one now expected to happen." "However, as part of the plan, airfields, communications, and other facilities had already been put in place." "Now, large numbers of troops could be deployed as soon as the president gave the order." "VC OFFENSIVE" "It was American public opinion that most worried president Johnson." "He was determined to move slowly in sending more men to Vietnam." "He agreed to another 3,000 marines and 20,000 logistics and support troops to prepare for further deployments,  but for the moment that was as far as he would go." "On April 7th 1965, at Johns Hopkins University..." "President Johnson offered economic aid to North Vietnam in exchange for peace." "His offer was brusquely rejected by the North Vietnamese government." "Two weeks later Johnson agreed to raise U.S. combat strength in Vietnam to more than 60,000 troops." "Allied forces from Korea and Australia would be added as a sign of international support." "There were restrictions on how the U.S. commander in Vietnam, General Westmoreland, would be able to use the troops he had been given." "They were to operate only inside clearly defined enclaves around their bases." "To Westmoreland's dismay, all operations were to be strictly defensive." "The American policy of defending enclaves would soon be severely tested by the Vietcong." "The guerrillas were planning to unleash a massive offensive." "The campaign was designed to inflict the final blows on the tattering South Vietnamese state." "The storm broke on May 11th with a full scale assault by 2,500 Vietcong troops on Song Be, a provincial capital." "After fierce battles in and around the town the Vietcong withdrew but only after holding Song Be for nearly two days." "The Vietcong assault on Song Be was followed by a series of attacks to within a few miles of Saigon." "Meanwhile, in the Central Highlands, U.S. intelligence had detected all the elements of the North Vietnamese Army's 325th division and signs that the 304th was on its way." "There was intense Vietcong activity in all the central provinces, with a big Vietcong victory near Ba Gia." "On June 10th 1965 at Dong Xuai, a South Vietnamese district headquarters and US Special forces camp, was overrun by a full regiment." "It was abandoned only afte frantic American air attacks." "The sheer scale of the Vietcong's new offensive had far surpassed anything that either the South Vietnamese Army or the Americans had anticipated." "The government's best and most mobile battalions had been shattered." "The disaster was followed by political upheaval." "A faction of young military officers, installed air vice Marshall Ky as the prime minister and General Nguyen Van Thieu as president, openly restoring military government." "After the Vietcong's may offensive, it was plain to the Americans that enemy numbers were much higher than they had thought." "That meant much more U.S. troops would be needed to hold the line." "Estimates of just how many kept rising until on June 7th 1965 General Westmoreland asked Washington for 200,000 men." "While Westmoreland was waiting for the president's decision, he was given new powers to use the troops he already had, more aggressively." "He would no longer have to confine his men to defensive enclaves, but could go out and attack the enemy." "On June 27th 1965, General Westmoreland launched the first purely offensive operation by American ground forces in Vietnam." "It was a sweep into NLF territory just Northwest of Saigon." "A month after the start of offensive operations,..." "President Johnson announced that more troops would be sent to Vietnam." "He was still playing down the scale of the commitment but he had already decided to deploy the 200,000 men he'd been asked for." "The following day, the first troops of the big buildup arrived in Vietnam." "The men were a battalion of the 101st airborne division." "By this time there was no longer any doubt about just what their mission would be." "They were to find the main Vietcong's main force military units and destroy them on the battlefield." "OPERATION STARLITE" "As the buildup of American forces in Vietnam went on the chances they would be attacked grew by the day." "On August 5th NLF sappers penetrated an oil storage depot near Da Nang and blew up 2 million gallons of fuel." "There had been sniping and mortar attacks too, but the real fear was of a large scale infantry assault overrunning an American installation." "What the Americans needed was accurate and timely intelligence about what the enemy intended to do." "It came when a deserter from the 1st Vietcong regiment, a force nearly 2,000 strong told his captors that his unit was planning to hit the Marine base at Chu Lai." "The marines quickly planned a full scale operation to trap the Vietcong regiment in its assembly area." "The operation was planned in the strictest secrecy." "Codenamed Operation Starlite, and deploying 4,000 troops, it would be the first American regimental sized battle since the war in Korea." "The marine base at Chu Lai was 15 miles from the village complex of Van Tuong." "Between the Tra Bong river, the elevation known as Hill 43, and the Phouc Thuan peninsula there was a fortified Vietcong base area." "There the 1st Vietcong regiment, made up of the 60th and 80th battalions, had assembled for the attack on Chu Lai." "On August 17th 1965, company M of the 3rd battalion 3rd Marines took up a blocking position on the Tra Bong river." "Next morning, the rest of the battalion made an amphibious landing while three more companies were inserted at landing zones Red, White and Blue." "The marines pushed on from LZs Red and White but around hill 43, near LZ blue, the entire Vietcong's 60th battalion was dug in and there was a fierce battle before the hill was taken." "There was also heavy Vietcong resistance near the hamlet Americans called An Cuong 2." "But after reinforcement, the Marines succeeded in squeezing the Vietcong from three sides, trapping them with their backs to the sea." "In operation Starlite it was the early battles that proved the heaviest." "The first two companies in action took almost 1/3 casualties." "29 were dead and many wounded." "But the marines had claimed nearly 300 Vietcong killed." "The next 5 days involved only small scale actions." "As the marines advanced, the Vietcong, numbed by the shattering naval artillery and air bombardments fought delaying actions as they tried to disengage." "In support of the attacking infantry Marine guns of the Chu Lai base alone, fired over 3,000 rounds." "The ships fired another 1,500." "Marine air support was so effective that at times aircraft were dropping their bombs within 200 feet of their own troops." "At the end of the operation nearly 700 Vietcong were claimed as dead." "The marines had lost 45 dead and more than 200 wounded in the battle." "AFTERMATH" "For the United States marines, Operation Starlite had been a resounding victory." "In the first major battle of the war, the guerrillas had been defeated on their own territory and by inexperienced troops." "The classic U.S. military doctrine had worked exactly as it was supposed to." "The enemy had been found, fixed in position and then destroyed with massive firepower." "The Marines moved fast to take advantage of their victory in Operation Starlite." "They launched a series of attacks against NLF concentrations along the coast." "Meanwhile, General Westmoreland's attention shifted to the central highlands." "There, the threat was posed not by the Vietcong guerrillas but by the newly arrived troops of the North Vietnamese Army." "It was against these professional and highly trained regiments that the Americans would fight their next major battle." "Subtitling:" "DeStrangis."