Sea Power and Maritime Affairs

Lesson 5.14: The U.S. Navy, Vietnam and Limited War, 1963-1975

Enabling Objectives

• Know the role of the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

• Comprehend the impact of the Vietnam War on the U.S. Navy’s force structure under Admiral Elmo Zumwalt during the Richard Nixon administration.

• Recall the reasons for the relative decline in U.S. naval preeminence from 1962-1977.

• Comprehend the differing naval policies of the U.S. and the Soviet Union and how those differences affected their resulting force structure.

U. S. Involvement in Vietnam

Indochina

• 1945: Ho Chi Minh founds Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

– French forces reoccupy.

• 1947: Vietnamese war for independence begins.

– Rural population supports Vietminh communists. – French forces control cities.

• 1954: Dien Bien Phu – French surrender to Vietminh.

– Vietnam split into North and South at 17th parallel.

Early U.S. Involvement in Vietnam

• 1954-1963 – Part of U.S. Cold War “Containment” strategy.

– Opposition to communist incursions from the North.

– Gradual buildup of U.S. military / CIA advisors in South.

– JFK increases number of U.S. advisors to 17K by 1963.

– President Diem assassinated - military government installed.

Republic of Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam

JFK Assassinated – 22 Nov 1963

Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ)

• Succeeds Kennedy as President after his assassination. • 1964: Raises U.S. advisors in Vietnam to 23,000.

• Concerned with “Great Society” and domestic politics.

• Robert S. McNamara SECDEF • High level of restrictions put on military planners by his administration.

Tonkin Gulf Incident (1964)

• Destroyers USS

Maddox

USS

Turner Joy:

– Night attacks by North Vietnamese torpedo boats reported….

and • U.S. strikes ordered in retaliation.

• Tonkin Gulf Resolution: – Congressional approval for the President to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack” in Vietnam.

Policy – Strategy Mismatch

• 1965: MACV- Military Assistance Command Vietnam established.

• General Westmoreland: Commands U.S. Forces • Strategy: Search and destroy missions.

General Westmoreland and LBJ Cam Ranh Bay 23 DEC ‘67

1.

The U.S. Navy in Vietnam

ROLLING THUNDER TF 77 (CVs) North Vietnamese bombing campaign.

2. MARKET TIME/GAME WARDEN TF 115 and TF 116 (PBRs, PCFs, ATCs) Coastal and Mekong Delta Interdiction

1. “Rolling Thunder”, 1965-1968

• Theory: punish NV until it stops supporting Viet Cong in South.

• Reality: Very Costly – 304,000 fighter bombers and 2,380 B-52 sorties – 421 aircraft lost, 1965-1968 • 643K tons of bombs dropped (537K dropped in entire Pacific War.)

Rolling Thunder Evaluation

“Rolling Thunder must go down in the history of aerial warfare as the most ambitious, wasteful, and ineffective campaign ever mounted. While damage was . . . done to many targets in the North, no lasting objective was achieved. Hanoi emerged as the winner of Rolling Thunder.” (CIA analyst quoted by COL Harry Summers, USA, Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War, p. 96)

2. Operation Market Time, 1965-1972

• The Goal: – Deny use of Mekong River and tributaries – Interdiction of supplies.

• Highly Dangerous – Less effective and more costly than coastal interdiction • Specially Designed and Improvised Force – 50 FT, aluminum hull fast patrol craft (PCFs), .50 cal and 81-mm – 31 ft, fiberglass, river patrol boat. – Coast Guard Cutters

Market Time Evaluation

Outstanding Evaluation:

“From January to July 1967, Market Time forces . . . inspected or boarded more than 700,000 vessels in South Vietnamese waters. Except for five enemy ships [sighted during Tet] . . . no other enemy trawlers were spotted from July 1967 to August August 1969.” (COL Harry Summers, USA, Historical Atlas of of the Vietnam War, p. 150)

Cautious Evaluation:

“There are no statistics to show what MARKET TIME did not interdict. At the very least, MARKET TIME forced the enemy to be even more inventive and creative in bringing into the South the tools of war.” (Symonds, Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy, p. 210)

The Tet Offensive: The Turning Point

• WHEN: Jan, 1968 • WHO/WHAT: Combine attack by North Vietnamese and Vietcong.

– 80k N. Vietnamese troops strike more than 100 towns and cities simultaneously.

– Goal: cause a popular uprising (failed) • WHERE: – Struck at 36 of 44 provincial capital and military bases

• Hue City – Ancient capital of Vietnam.

– Held by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong for 26 days.

– Retaken by Marines and South Vietnamese forces.

• Street fighting from house to house.

• Khe Sanh – Important base in northern South Vietnam near DMZ.

– 6,000 Marines under siege by 20,000 North Vietnamese Army regular troops.

– Supplied by air drops and supported with air strikes.

– Eventually abandoned.

Results of the Tet Offensive

• Jan 1968 – No popular uprising – Outrage with war in U.S.

• Mar 1968 – LBJ renounces candidacy.

– McNamara forced to resign.

• Jun 1968 – General Westmoreland replaced by General Abrams.

• Sep 1968 – VADM Elmo Zumwalt appointed Commander, U.S. naval Forces.

-

“What the Hell’s Ho Chi Minh doing answering our Saigon Embassy phone?!?”

Paul Conrad, LA Times, 1968

1968 Nixon’s Back

•“The bastards have never been bombed like they’re going to be bombed this time.” - President Richard M. Nixon • Linebacker I (May 1972 - Oct 1972) - 40,000 sorties; 125,000 tons of bombs.

• Linebacker II (18-26 Dec. 1972) -742 B-52 -640 fighter-bomber sorties -15 B-52s lost!

The Endgame – Jan 1973

• Vietnamization – U.S. forces reduced from over 500,000 combat/support to a handful of advisors.

• Jan 1973: Hanoi signed Paris Accords calling for cease-fire throughout S. Vietnam and release of POWs.

– U.S. withdraws forces from South Vietnam.

– Cost to American people dramatic – 58,000 Americans died

Battle History Video

• Chapter 3 "Steel Walls of Freedom", Time 39:24 - 44:00.

Enabling Objectives

• Know the role of the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

• Comprehend the impact of the Vietnam War on the U.S. Navy’s force structure under Admiral Elmo Zumwalt during the Richard Nixon administration.

• Recall the reasons for the relative decline in U.S. naval preeminence from 1962-1977.

• Comprehend the differing naval policies of the U.S. and the Soviet Union and how those differences affected their resulting force structure.

Questions?

Next time: The Era of Retrenchment: Presidents Ford and Carter, 1974-1980