Vietnam War

By the mid-1960s ever-larger numbers of US troops poured into South Vietnam. Until this time American involvement was dominated by US air power which struck at North Vietnam. However, after several attacks on US airbases it was decided that more protection was required. It seemed that the South Vietnamese were incapable of providing adequate security. March 1965 saw the beginning of the American ground war when 3,500 Marines were dispatched to South Vietnam.

The Vietnam War constitutes a defining moment in modern history. Starting from a time soon after the Japanese surrender in 1945, at the end of the Second World War, and lasting to the North Vietnamese conquest of South Vietnam in 1975 to re-create a unified Vietnamese state, the war pitted the Communists of Vietnam, against a number of opponents. Those included first the French and second the South Vietnamese and Americans, the latter supported by a number of allies.

The "Linebacker" strategic bombing offensive finally drove the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table and an accord was reached for the departure of the US forces. The USA was mightily relieved to be free of this commitment, but its failure in the Vietnam War was a body blow to US cohesion and belief in itself.

The U.S. population was becoming increasingly disaffected by the rising casualty rate of their own forces, and the growing "credibility gap" between what they were being told by their government and what the media was reporting from South Vietnam.

"The anti-Communist government of South Vietnam sought American aid, and this grew steadily from technical support, weapons, and equipment, to the initial limited involvement of US forces to protect American interests. This opened the floodgates, and by the mid-1960s ever-larger numbers of US troops poured into South Vietnam as US air power struck at North Vietnam"--Back cover.