The Viet Nam War essays

The Viet Nam War essays The Viet Nam "War" was a long and disastrous event that went on for decades upon decades with numerous European countries, as well as America and the France, for example, colonized Viet Nam at the end of the 19th century, but lost control during World War II and the German Invasion. After once again trying to gain a foothold, France called an end to its involvement with the Asian country in 1954. As a result, the Geneva Accords stated that Vietnam was to become an independent nation divided into the The U.S., however, paid the Accords lip service and continued the battle where the French left off. Soon, the Tonkin Golf Resolution gave President Lyndon Johnson carte blanche to build the amount of U.S. troops as he saw fit. American military personnel reached 16,000 during 1963; they increased further still in 1964 as the U.S. tried to prop up the Saigon government. Ground troops were continually enlarged. By early 1968, there were more than 500,000 Americans in Viet Nam, and both troop and civilian deaths were skyrocketing. The U.S. began declaringmostly to combat negative P.R. back homethat the Communist forces were being weakened and the war would soon be won. Wishful thinking. On the night of January 31st 1968, 70,000 North Vietnamese soldiers launched the Tet offensive. It proved to be one of the greatest campaigns in military history, and a true turning point of the war. Vietcong guerrilla fighters violated the temporary truce they had pledged to observe around the lunar new year celebrations, and surged into more than one hundred towns and cities, including Saigonseizing the American Embassy. It may have been a huge loss of life for the North Vietnamese, but it was a media and public relations coup. Many Americans were becoming increasingly skeptical. Such atrocities as the infamous incident at Mylai in 1968, ...