Title: 1966 - Escalation in Vietnam War

 

About: Hundreds of thousands more American troops began to arrive in Vietnam, although it was becoming clear that US strategy was not suited to fighting this war.

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1966 was a reality check, the year when Americans and their own government began to realize just what they faced in Vietnam — a resourceful and tenacious enemy, quarrelsome allies and an Asian society whose complexity they could barely understand. Back home the US administration struggled to sell the war as a noble and necessary sacrifice to stop global communism and save a weak, backward people from an evil aggressor seeking to enslave them.

 

By the end of the year, a vigorous anti-war movement was emerging on American university campuses. Prominent voices for and against the war were openly questioning President Johnson’s strategy.

 

Despite US military superiority, it was the North Vietnamese were able to control the tempo - fighting aggressively where they thought they could win and disappearing into the jungles when they decided they could not. The Communists also exploited deep divisions within South Vietnamese society, making it difficult for the U.S. to capitalize its huge military superiority. 

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By the end of 1966, U.S. troop strength in South Vietnam had risen to more than 385,000 — more than double the number when the year began. More than 5,000 U.S. service members had been killed, while more than 30,000 had been wounded. To meet the demands for more troops, 382,000 men were drafted in 1966, compared to only 82,000 four years before. The dramatic increase prompted even more Americans to begin questioning the war. 

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Decade: 1960s

Year: 1966

Region: Asia
Country: Vietnam + USA

Conflict: Cold War

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Type: Historical Event

Impact: 6

Artist: Jaroslaw Marcinek

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Group: Genesis

Number: 66/100

Price: 0.5 ETH

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