In 1965, President Johnson of the USA took the advice of his generals. They said that if the US sent troops to help the South Vietnamese army and bombed the supply lines from North to South Vietnam, the superior technology of the USA would defeat the guerrilla warfare of the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong. In spite of massive bombing and half a million US troops in Vietnam, the North Vietnamese, led by Ho Chi Minh, refused to give in. By 1968, there was a very strong anti-war campaign in the USA and the US lost 36,000 soldiers that year. Johnson realised that the US could not win the war so he began the process of cutting back US involvement and negotiating peace. It took another five years before peace was finally agreed and the US pulled out of Vietnam in 1973. Within two years, North Vietnam had invaded South Vietnam and the country was united.
24 CHINA Hanoi NORTH VIETNAM LAOS
THAILAND
CAMBODIA SOUTH VIETNAM Saigon
North and South Vietnam
US bombers in action during the Vietnam War
Soldiers fighting in Vietnam War
How useful and reliable are photos as sources for historians?
