by Alex Barker
I became interested in this particular period of the Vietnam War while travelling through Laos during December 2018. I visited a remote cave in the jungle, where a whole village hid from the intense carpet bombing which occurred throughout Laos and Cambodia, where the Ho Chi Minh trail passed through. By torch light I saw a huge cave where they had slept, ate and hid, food was also prepared on the valley floor so that the fires would not give their position away.
A brief explanation if you don't know exactly how the Vietnam war occurred was that the US started to fear that communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia. This fear evolved into the “domino effect” theory; if one country fell to communism, its neighbors would soon fall like a row of dominoes. Because of this “domino effect” America realised that if South Vietnam fell Burma and Laos would also fall and South Vietnamese troops could not resist invasion by the Viet Cong without help.
In this article I will mainly focus on the jungle war which approximately lasted from early 1965 to
late 1968 and gathering a detailed chronological timeline of the events during this fascinating
period. Also in true Mr Murray (Head of Classics) fashion I will not comment on whether I
personally support the Vietnam War or not.
In February 1965 Viet Cong troops attacked a US military compound in Pleiku, and killed
several US soldiers. A day later, President Johnson said that he had enough of this and approved Operation ‘Flaming Dart’ which was the bombing of a North Vietnamese camp. Johnson didn’t
make a public statement about it.
* March 2 1965 - Operation ‘Rolling Thunder’ and 100 American fighter planes were sent
to bomb various targets in North Vietnam and include the first bombing of the infamous
Ho Chi Minh Trail which led from North to South Vietnam. During the entire war the US
dropped nearly 8 million tons of bombs, quadruple of what was dropped in WW2, to this
day it is the largest display of firepower in the history of warfare.
* March 8 1965 - The US sent 3,500 marines into Vietnam who joined the 23,000
American military advisors who were already stationed in the country.
* March 9 1965 - President Johnson gave the go-ahead to the use of devastating napalm
bombs which let out hundreds of explosive pellets on impact, this caused many
devastating effects after the war to people and crops, even to this day.
* April 17 1965 - Back in Washington approximately 15,000 students gathered together to
protest against the Vietnam war and conscription.
* May 13th 1965 - Operation ‘Rolling Thunder’ was temporarily paused in the hope that
Hanoi would negotiate, however North Vietnam ignored this and sent more troops to
infiltrate South Vietnam and supplies via the Ho Chi Minh trail and also repaired air
defences. The bombing then resumed on May 13th 1965.
* 17 Aug 1965 - Operation ‘Starlite’ began which was the first major ground operation in
Vietnam, 45 US marines and 614 Viet Cong were killed, this decisive victory boosted the
morale of the US troops.
* 25 December 1965 - the second pause of the Intense bombing in Vietnam occurs and
lasts for 37 days while the US tries to negotiate with North Vietnam and their leader, Ho
Chi Minh.
* 28 January 1966 - Operation ‘Masher’ also known as ‘White Wing’ began. This was a
large search and destroy mission solely based in South Vietnam against the Viet Cong.
The term ‘search and destroy’ has been connected with graphic and famous images
which you may have seen of American troops burning down small villages and have
often been used in mainstream media almost as propaganda to portray the Vietnam War
as a slaughter and a pointless waste of life.
* April 12 1966 - the US first used the now infamous B-52 bombers which were large and
could carry up to 100 bombs, their main targets were places such as enemy defense
fortifications, transportation routes and war support facilities.
* August 9 1966 - the US accidentally bombed a South Vietnamese village by mistake and
killed 63 civilians, this contributes to the strong campaign against the Vietnam War.
* September 12 1966 - the largest air-raid in the Vietnam War occurs which involves 500
US jets targeting NVA supply routes and coastal targets.
* October 3 1966 - The tides suddenly turn when the Soviet Union announces that they
will be cooperating with the NVA and Viet Cong by supplying them with weapons and
various supplies. But most importantly they stated that they would support them
economically.
* An increasing number of Journalists start to end their support of the Vietnam War
because of the multitudes of civilian casualties.
* By the end of 1966 the US announced that more than 5,000 US personnel had been
killed and many more had been wounded.
* January 8 1967 - Operation ‘Cedar Falls’ began which was the largest combined
offensive to date which involved 16,000 American and 14,000 South Vietnamese troops
pushing the Viet Cong out of the iron triangle which was only a mere 25 miles away from
the main stronghold for the South Vietnemese, Saigon. The Viet Cong decided not to
fight and retreated back into the jungle. Also for the first time the US uncovered a vast
network of tunnels which were used by the Viet Cong to secretly enter South Vietnam
unnoticed and blend in with the innocent civilians.
* February 22 1967 - the largest US military offensive of the war began called Operation
‘Junction’ which involved US and South Vietnamese troops attempting to eliminate the
NVA headquarters in South Vietnam, the operation ended with nearly 3000 Viet Cong
casualties and almost 300 US casualties. This operation lasted almost 3 months.
* March 8 1967 - US Congress authorizes the use of $4.5 billion to fund war efforts in
Vietnam
* Approximately 8 months later in November fighting occurs throughout the mountainous
regions of Cambodia and Laos, during the fighting massive air strikes take place
destroying most of the landscape in these countries and accidentally killing civilians.
* November 11 1967 - President Johnson attempts to issue another peace treaty to North
Vietnam and to bring an end to the bloodshed, but is soon rejected by Hanoi.
* By the end of 1967 it is estimated that 90,000 North Vietnamese troops have secretly
infiltrated the South via the Ho Chi Minh trail and various tunnels.
* January 30 1968 - the tables turned again when 84,000 Viet Cong guerrillas supported
by NVA troops launched the famous Tet offensive, this offensive surprised the US,
American TV reporters filmed the fighting and gave US citizens a front seat viewing of
what was happening to their friends and family members ten thousand miles away in a
distant and unfamiliar war-torn country.
* By the end January 31st - March 2: NVA troops stormed the Historical city of Hue and
captured 3000 who they labelled as “enemies of the people” this included South
Vietnamese troops, officials and also Catholic priests, and began horrific executions.
* February 2 - Tet offensive is being called a ‘complete failure’ by President Johnson. US
morale begins to plummet.
* Shortly after controversy occurs when an NBC cameraman films a NVA officer being
shot in the head point blank which is later described as haunting, this image then
appears, on the front of many American newspapers the next morning.
* Also an American officer makes a very controversial statement which was ‘we had to
destroy it, in order to save it’ which caused outrage in America.
* February 8 1968 - the Tet Offensive came to an end and was a miserable failure from a
political and and a military point of view for the NVA and Ho Chi Minh as the ignition of a
South Vietnamese uprising in Saigon never materialised. The only good thing that the
Tet offensive archived was that it convinced Congress to stop officially funding the war
and marking the end of the period of the ‘Jungle War’.
But the Vietnam War continued and was prolonged for another 7 years until 1975; this
was mainly as a secret war occurring in Laos and Cambodia which was rarely talked
about and didn’t have the attention of mainstream media at the time. The caves I visited
were where local people lived during this Secret War.
Bibliography:
https://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1965.html (for a more detailed
timeline)
A brief explanation if you don't know exactly how the Vietnam war occurred was that the US started to fear that communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia. This fear evolved into the “domino effect” theory; if one country fell to communism, its neighbors would soon fall like a row of dominoes. Because of this “domino effect” America realised that if South Vietnam fell Burma and Laos would also fall and South Vietnamese troops could not resist invasion by the Viet Cong without help.
In this article I will mainly focus on the jungle war which approximately lasted from early 1965 to
late 1968 and gathering a detailed chronological timeline of the events during this fascinating
period. Also in true Mr Murray (Head of Classics) fashion I will not comment on whether I
personally support the Vietnam War or not.
In February 1965 Viet Cong troops attacked a US military compound in Pleiku, and killed
several US soldiers. A day later, President Johnson said that he had enough of this and approved Operation ‘Flaming Dart’ which was the bombing of a North Vietnamese camp. Johnson didn’t
make a public statement about it.
* March 2 1965 - Operation ‘Rolling Thunder’ and 100 American fighter planes were sent
to bomb various targets in North Vietnam and include the first bombing of the infamous
Ho Chi Minh Trail which led from North to South Vietnam. During the entire war the US
dropped nearly 8 million tons of bombs, quadruple of what was dropped in WW2, to this
day it is the largest display of firepower in the history of warfare.
* March 8 1965 - The US sent 3,500 marines into Vietnam who joined the 23,000
American military advisors who were already stationed in the country.
* March 9 1965 - President Johnson gave the go-ahead to the use of devastating napalm
bombs which let out hundreds of explosive pellets on impact, this caused many
devastating effects after the war to people and crops, even to this day.
* April 17 1965 - Back in Washington approximately 15,000 students gathered together to
protest against the Vietnam war and conscription.
* May 13th 1965 - Operation ‘Rolling Thunder’ was temporarily paused in the hope that
Hanoi would negotiate, however North Vietnam ignored this and sent more troops to
infiltrate South Vietnam and supplies via the Ho Chi Minh trail and also repaired air
defences. The bombing then resumed on May 13th 1965.
* 17 Aug 1965 - Operation ‘Starlite’ began which was the first major ground operation in
Vietnam, 45 US marines and 614 Viet Cong were killed, this decisive victory boosted the
morale of the US troops.
* 25 December 1965 - the second pause of the Intense bombing in Vietnam occurs and
lasts for 37 days while the US tries to negotiate with North Vietnam and their leader, Ho
Chi Minh.
* 28 January 1966 - Operation ‘Masher’ also known as ‘White Wing’ began. This was a
large search and destroy mission solely based in South Vietnam against the Viet Cong.
The term ‘search and destroy’ has been connected with graphic and famous images
which you may have seen of American troops burning down small villages and have
often been used in mainstream media almost as propaganda to portray the Vietnam War
as a slaughter and a pointless waste of life.
* April 12 1966 - the US first used the now infamous B-52 bombers which were large and
could carry up to 100 bombs, their main targets were places such as enemy defense
fortifications, transportation routes and war support facilities.
* August 9 1966 - the US accidentally bombed a South Vietnamese village by mistake and
killed 63 civilians, this contributes to the strong campaign against the Vietnam War.
* September 12 1966 - the largest air-raid in the Vietnam War occurs which involves 500
US jets targeting NVA supply routes and coastal targets.
* October 3 1966 - The tides suddenly turn when the Soviet Union announces that they
will be cooperating with the NVA and Viet Cong by supplying them with weapons and
various supplies. But most importantly they stated that they would support them
economically.
* An increasing number of Journalists start to end their support of the Vietnam War
because of the multitudes of civilian casualties.
* By the end of 1966 the US announced that more than 5,000 US personnel had been
killed and many more had been wounded.
* January 8 1967 - Operation ‘Cedar Falls’ began which was the largest combined
offensive to date which involved 16,000 American and 14,000 South Vietnamese troops
pushing the Viet Cong out of the iron triangle which was only a mere 25 miles away from
the main stronghold for the South Vietnemese, Saigon. The Viet Cong decided not to
fight and retreated back into the jungle. Also for the first time the US uncovered a vast
network of tunnels which were used by the Viet Cong to secretly enter South Vietnam
unnoticed and blend in with the innocent civilians.
* February 22 1967 - the largest US military offensive of the war began called Operation
‘Junction’ which involved US and South Vietnamese troops attempting to eliminate the
NVA headquarters in South Vietnam, the operation ended with nearly 3000 Viet Cong
casualties and almost 300 US casualties. This operation lasted almost 3 months.
* March 8 1967 - US Congress authorizes the use of $4.5 billion to fund war efforts in
Vietnam
* Approximately 8 months later in November fighting occurs throughout the mountainous
regions of Cambodia and Laos, during the fighting massive air strikes take place
destroying most of the landscape in these countries and accidentally killing civilians.
* November 11 1967 - President Johnson attempts to issue another peace treaty to North
Vietnam and to bring an end to the bloodshed, but is soon rejected by Hanoi.
* By the end of 1967 it is estimated that 90,000 North Vietnamese troops have secretly
infiltrated the South via the Ho Chi Minh trail and various tunnels.
* January 30 1968 - the tables turned again when 84,000 Viet Cong guerrillas supported
by NVA troops launched the famous Tet offensive, this offensive surprised the US,
American TV reporters filmed the fighting and gave US citizens a front seat viewing of
what was happening to their friends and family members ten thousand miles away in a
distant and unfamiliar war-torn country.
* By the end January 31st - March 2: NVA troops stormed the Historical city of Hue and
captured 3000 who they labelled as “enemies of the people” this included South
Vietnamese troops, officials and also Catholic priests, and began horrific executions.
* February 2 - Tet offensive is being called a ‘complete failure’ by President Johnson. US
morale begins to plummet.
* Shortly after controversy occurs when an NBC cameraman films a NVA officer being
shot in the head point blank which is later described as haunting, this image then
appears, on the front of many American newspapers the next morning.
* Also an American officer makes a very controversial statement which was ‘we had to
destroy it, in order to save it’ which caused outrage in America.
* February 8 1968 - the Tet Offensive came to an end and was a miserable failure from a
political and and a military point of view for the NVA and Ho Chi Minh as the ignition of a
South Vietnamese uprising in Saigon never materialised. The only good thing that the
Tet offensive archived was that it convinced Congress to stop officially funding the war
and marking the end of the period of the ‘Jungle War’.
But the Vietnam War continued and was prolonged for another 7 years until 1975; this
was mainly as a secret war occurring in Laos and Cambodia which was rarely talked
about and didn’t have the attention of mainstream media at the time. The caves I visited
were where local people lived during this Secret War.
Bibliography:
https://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1965.html (for a more detailed
timeline)
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