The Vietnam War, Why Escalate?
Abstract
The United States involvement in Vietnam began in 1950 when President Truman provided aid to the French military in Indochina and deployed 35 American advisors. By 1969 the United States had 543,000 troops in Vietnam engaged in a war to thwart communist expansion in the region and stabilize the fledgling South Vietnamese Government. The most dramatic increases occurred between 1965 and 1968 following the initial deployment of U.S. ground combat troops. The chain of events that forced President Johnson and his advisors to choose this course of action have been the topic of debate for 35 years, with conclusions ranging from benign criticism to charges of criminal misconduct. This paper will document the incremental increases of U.S. involvement in the war effort and explore the rational for each specific escalation decision. The escalation of the War in Vietnam was a direct result of the inability of the U.S. to make a firm commitment during the early stages of the conflict. Had we had a better understanding of the situation early in the game, we may have known that an early and strong commitment of U.S. forces could have forced Hanoi to accept the South Vietnamese Government and the partitioning of the country.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 10, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA378200
Entities
People
- William H. Pritz Jr
Organizations
- United States Army War College