http://www.vietnampix.com/intro.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl2.html#a

go to ask.com instead of google.

stay away from wikipedia, they have some bad info and some editorializing rather than facts

North Vietnam wished to unify North and South Vietnam through

military force. Since the United States feared the spread of communism

in Asia, John F. Kennedy provided economic and military aid to South

Vietman to prevent the takeover by North Vietnam. At this time, this

was still a civil war. The United States were not yet officially

involved.

The North Vietnamese resented the little intervention by the

United Sates and so, three Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on the

U.S. destroyer, ” Maddox ” on August 2nd, 1964. The ” Maddox ” had

been in the Gulf of Tonkin ( international waters ), thirty miles off

the coast of Vietnam. On August 3rd, 1964, Johnson gave the right ” to

attack with the objective of destroying attacking forces ” ( Pimlott

1982, 36 ). Retaliation air attacks began on August 3rd. Their aim was

to destroy North Vietnam’s gunboat capability. As two more United

States destroyers were supposedly sunk, more air and sea forces were

sent ( Wicker August 5, 1964, 1 ). Up until now, the U.S. had

refrained from direct combat. This is when the United States formally

entered the Vietman War. The U.S. did this for two reasons. We wished

to maintain the independence of South Vietnam and we had to prove to

allied nations that we would help them resist Communist overtaking. As

Congress was about to vote whether or not to allow the combat to move

into North Vietnam, the North Vietnamese attacked a major U.S. airbase

at Bein Hoa. On February 7th, 1965, Johnson ordered retaliation

bombing on North Vietnam. Rolling Thunder was the name of this

operation. It’s purpose was to put pressure on Hanoi and convince them

that Communism could not and would not win.

At the end of 1965, one hundred and eighty thousand Americans

were in South Vietnam under General William S. Westmoreland

(Encyclopedia Britannica, 12, 361 ). The U.S. mainly depended on

superior firepower and helicopters. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese

depended on surprise attack and concealment.