1
When was the first attack of a US ship?
2nd August 1964
When was the second attack on US ships?
4th August 1964
What was the name of the first US ship attacked?
US Maddox
What was the name of the second US ship attacked?
US Turner Joy
Where did 'the incident' take place? (Include country)
Gulf of Tonkin, North Vietnam
When had early preparations began for a resolution to allow America to go to War with Vientam?
Early June 1964
What was the name of the 1964 US and South Vietnam secret operation preceding the attacks?
OPLAN 34A
What immediately preceded the August attacks? (Include date)
The 30th July attack by South Vietnamese patrol boats off the NorthVietnamese coast
What was were the US Ships doing in the Gulf of Tonkin at the time of the Incident?
Reconnaissance/intelligence gathering mission - Surveillance, surveying, observing - on North Vietnam's defence system
True or False. By 1964 the US govt believed it had done everything it could, with the exception of fully deploying the military, to stop South Vietnam becoming communist.
True
What did the South Vietnamese patrol boats target in their attack off the North Vietname coast?
Radar station
How many North Vietnamese boats were involved in the first attack? What happened to them?
3 - one was sunk by the Maddox and 2 were damaged
How many American bombers were sent to bomb North Vietnam after the second August attack?
64 American bombers
What were the type of US ships involved in the August attacks?
Destroyers
What date was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution drawn up?
10th August 1964
What is the controversy surrounding the second August attack? Be specific
Both US ships reported being fired upon but this was during a thunderstorm. Later they announced they may have been mistaken. Pilots flying overhead did not see anything. North Vietnam insisted there was no second attack. In 1995 Robert McNamara (US Secretary of Defense) accepted North Vietnam's explanation.
What was President Johnson's immediate response after the second August attack?
To send American bombers to bomb North Vietnam on the same evening, 10.30pm.
Describe the two American military actions taken by Johnson after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed
Johnson launched the bombing campaign Operation Rolling Thunder (to crack morale of North Vietnamese leaders and cut flow of troops and supplies) followed by the deployment of the first US combat troops to South Vietnam on 8th March 1965.
What was 'desoto'?
The code name for the Maddox patrol on Aug 2 1964
Explain in-depth, what was the state of South Vietnam in the lead up to the GoT Incident and how did it make America feel that it needed to intervene militarily - i.e. send in combat troops.
1. Diem’s leadership had actually strengthened the support and control of the Viet Cong who had control of 80% of the countryside, Diem’s death had resulted in a lot of political instability with 8 coups between 1963-64, and there were almost 170,000 NVA (Viet Cong) troops in the south by the end of 1964). This signalled to America that the South Vietnam ‘domino’ was about to fall over to communism and that direct US military intervention was needed. However, there needed to be provocation and more of a justified reason to go to war…
Explain, why does it seem likely that President Johnson used the 'probable but not certain' second attack to justify sending in US combat troops?
Because it would have become apparent to President Johnson and the US Government that South Vietnam was losing the fight against communism and that America needed to intervene militarily. However, the US needed more of a reason to send in troops - they needed to show they'd been provoked. The second attack was useful in showing continued North Vietnamese aggression and provocation - which would make it quicker and easier for Johnson to get the GoT Resolution passed through Congress so that he could deploy US troops.
Explain in-depth the link between the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and the March 8th 1965 Deployment of US troops
The incident was the final cause as Johnson portrayed the Incident as communist aggression by North Vietnam and an attack on the US and South Vietnam. The Incident provided Johnson with the pretext [excuse] he needed to justify committing the US military to Vietnam. Johnson used the incident to get US Congress to pass a resolution - the 'Gulf of Tonkin Resolution' - giving him wide powers to take any necessary steps he needed against North Vietnam. Johnson used the power granted in the resolution to deploy the first US combat troops to Vietnam on 8th March 1965.
Quote Johnson on how he described the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. No errors allowed.
"like Grandma's nightshirt - it covered everything"
What power did the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution specifically give to President Johnson? Try and quote from the Resolution
"To take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression, including the use of armed force". It essentially gave Johnson the power to escalate American involvement in any way he saw fit, including deploying military troops.
What does the word 'pretext' mean? How was the Gulf of Tonkin Incident a pretext to send US troops and go to war?
A pretext is an excuse, usually a made up one - (Google def: a reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason). The GoT Incident was used by Johnson as a pretext because he used it to argue that America had been attacked and therefore to justify the use of military troops in response, to stop the North Vietnamese aggression.