The rounds set some of the buildings ablaze, keeping the defenders off balance. Did Johnson learn something from the first experience? The captain of Maddox, Commander Herbert L. Ogier Jr., ordered his ship to battle stations shortly after 1500 hours. By then, early news accounts had already solidified some opinions, and the Johnson Administration had decided to launch retaliatory strikes. While many facts and details have emerged in the past 44 years to persuade most observers that some of the reported events in the Gulf never actually happened, key portions of the critical intelligence information remained classified until recently. I would not suggest that he learned from the Gulf of Tonkin incident so much as that he got from it exactly what he wanted, which was an enormous bump in approval ratings 30 percent overnight, says historian Chris Oppe. Declassified NSA documents show that US intelligence members concealed relevant reports from Congress to push the narrative of a second attack. Within days, Hanoi lodged a complaint with the International Control Commission (ICC), which had been established in 1954 to oversee the provisions of the Geneva Accords. The Dollar Bill . WebThe Gulf of Tonkin While Kennedy had at least the comforting illusion of progress in Vietnam (manufactured by Harkins and Diem), Johnson faced a starker picture of confusion, disunity, and muddle in Saigon and of a rapidly growing Viet Cong in the countryside. 17. Americas Vietnam War had begun in earnest. For some reason, however, the second Desoto Mission, to be conducted by Maddox, was not canceled, even though it was scheduled to start at the same time that a late July commando mission was being launched. A Senate investigation revealed that the Maddox had been on an intelligence . He reported those doubts in his after action report transmitted shortly after midnight his time on August 5, which was 1300 hours August 4 in Washington. These warning shots were fired and the P-4s launched a torpedo attack. Originally begun by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1961, 34A was a highly-classified program of covert operations against North Vietnam. Haiphong again repeated the recall order after the attack. He spoke out against banning girls education. The United States denied involvement. In truth, two of the torpedo boats were damaged, of which one could not make it back to port, while a single American aircraft sustained some wing damage. After several early failures, it was transferred to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group in 1964, at which time its focus shifted to maritime operations. By late July 1964, SOG had four Nasty-class patrol boats, designated. A North Vietnamese patrol boat also trailed the American ships, reporting on their movements to Haiphong. President, weve just had a report from the commander of that task force out there The report is that they have observed and we don't know by what means two unidentified vessels and three unidentified prop aircraft in the vicinity of the destroyers, McNamara told the president.
Gulf of Tonkin incident - Wikipedia LBJ was looking for a pretext to go to Congress to ask for a resolution that would give him the authority to do basically whatever the hell he wanted to do in Vietnam, without the intense public debate that a declaration of war would have required, says historian Chris Oppe. Senate investigations in 1968 and 1975 did little to clarify the events or the evidence, lending further credence to the various conspiracy theories. With this information, back in Washington President Johnson and his advisers considered their options. To increase the chances of success, SOG proposed increased raids along the coast, emphasizing offshore bombardment by the boats rather than inserting commandos. Gradually, the Navy broadened its role from supply/logistics to aid/advisory -- training Vietnamese and developing the South Vietnamese navy's famed "brown water force," those riverine units operating in the country's matrix of rivers and canals and through the coastal network of islands and archipelagos. In fact, the North Vietnamese were trying to avoid contact with U.S. forces on August 4, and they saw the departure of the Desoto patrol ships as a sign that they could proceed to recover their torpedo boats and tow them back to base. He readthe chiefs a cable from the captain of the Maddox. Along with other American warships, Maddox was steaming in international waters some 28 nautical miles off North Vietnams coast, gathering information on that countrys coastal radars. He has appeared on The History Channel as a featured expert. . Thus, the South Vietnamese raid on Hon Me Island, a major North Vietnamese infiltration staging point, became the tripwire that set off the August 2 confrontation in the Gulf of Tonkin. 13. At 1505, when the torpedo boats had closed within 10,000 yards, in accordance with Captain Herricks orders and as allowed under international law at that time, Maddox fired three warning shots. Johnsonasked for, and received, a resolution of war from the US Congress that led to further escalation in the conflict. https://www.historynet.com/case-closed-the-gulf-of-tonkin-incident/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Send the First Troops to Vietnam? We're going to retaliate and well make an announcement a little later in the evening, in the next hour or so and well ask Congress for a resolution of war the next day to support us, Johnson toldan old friend. The SIGINT intercepts also detected that the North Vietnamese coastal radar stations were tracking Maddox and reporting its movements to the outbound torpedo boats. Consequently, while Maddox was in the patrol area, a South Vietnamese commando raid was underway southwest of its position. The string of intelligence mistakes, mistranslations, misinterpretations and faulty decision making that occurred in the Tonkin Gulf in 1964 reveals how easily analysts and officials can jump to the wrong conclusions and lead a nation into war. Forced Government Indoctrination Camps . In this case, perception was much more important than reality.10. Like all intelligence, it must be analyzed and reported in context. NSA officials handed the key August SIGINT reports over to the JCS investigating team that examined the incident in September 1964. Here's why he couldn't walk away. The Gulf of Tonkin act became more controversial as opposition to the war mounted. This time, however, President Johnson reacted much more skeptically and ultimately decided to take no retaliatory action. CIA Director John McCone was convinced that Hanoi was reacting to the raids when it attacked the Maddox. Surprised by the North Vietnamese response, Johnson decided that the United States could not back away from the challenge and directed his commanders in the Pacific to continue with the Desoto missions. Typically, the missions were carried out by a destroyer specially outfitted with sensitive eavesdropping equipment. He then requested the passage of a resolution "expressing the unity and determination of the United States in supporting freedom and in protecting peace in Southeast Asia." As a result, the ships offshore were able to collect valuable information on North Vietnamese military capabilities. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) decided to resume Maddoxs Desoto patrol, but at a greater distance from the coast, accompanied by Turner Joy and supported by aircraft from Ticonderoga. NSA analysts from shore-based stations shared Herricks belief and transmitted an immediate warning to all major Pacific Theater commandsexcept to Herrick and Maddox. Top Essentials to Know About the Vietnam War, Timeline of the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War), Vietnam War: General William Westmoreland, M.S., Information and Library Science, Drexel University, B.A., History and Political Science, Pennsylvania State University. The battle was over in 22 minutes. Just after midnight on 31 July, PTF-2 and PTF-5, commanded by Lieutenant Huyet, arrived undetected at a position 800 yards northeast of the island. The stakes were high because Hanoi had beefed up its southern coastal defenses by adding four new Swatow gunboats at Quang Khe, a naval base 75 miles north of the DMZ, and ten more just to the south at Dong Hoi. . We still seek no wider war.. McNamara insisted that the evidence clearly indicated there was an attack on August 4, and he continued to maintain so in his book In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons From Vietnam. Unable to catch the fast South Vietnamese PTFs, the government in Hanoi elected to strike instead at USS Maddox. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/vietnam-war-gulf-of-tonkin-incident-2361345. Fluoride. In less than 25 minutes, the attack was over. American SIGINT analysts assessed the North Vietnamese reporting as probable preparations for further military operations against the Desoto patrol. Just before midnight, the four boats cut their engines. On the night of 4 August, both ships reported renewed attacks by North Vietnamese patrol boats. Despite Morses doubts, Senate reaction fell in behind the Johnson team, and the question of secret operations was overtaken by the issue of punishing Hanoi for its blatant attack on a U.S. warship in international waters.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - Definition, Cause & Significance The tug departed Haiphong at approximately 0100 hours on August 4, while the undamaged torpedo boat, T-146, was ordered to stay with the crippled boats and maintain an alert for enemy forces. At about 0600, the two U.S. destroyers resumed the Desoto patrol. The only solution was to get rid of the evidence. Telegram from the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam, 3 August 1964. The after-action reports from the participants in the Gulf arrived in Washington several hours after the report of the second incident. JCS, "34A Chronology of Events," (see Marolda and Fitzgerald, p. 424); Porter. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident and many more recent experiences only reinforce the need for intelligence analysts and decision makers to avoid relying exclusively on any single intelligence sourceeven SIGINTparticularly if other intelligence sources are available and the resulting decisions might cost lives. With a presidential election just three months away and Johnson positioning himself as the peace candidate, the administration spoke of American resolve not to react to provocation and to avoid escalation. We have no intention of yielding to pressure. Both of these messages reached Washington shortly after 1400 hours EDT. To have a Tonkin Gulf conspiracy means that the several hundred National Security Agency and naval communications cited have been doctored. In turn, that means a minimum of several hundred persons were party to a plot that has remained watertight in sieve-like Washington for two decades. . Moments later, one of the crewmen spotted a North Vietnamese Swatow patrol boat bearing down on them.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution This along with flawed signals intelligence from the National Security Agency led Johnson to order retaliatory airstrikes against North Vietnam. To have a Tonkin Gulf conspiracy means that the several hundred National Security Agency and naval communications cited have been doctored. Approved on Aug. 10, 1964, the Southeast Asia (Gulf of Tonkin) Resolution, gave Johnson the power to use military force in the region without requiring a declaration Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. Changing course in time to evade the torpedoes, the Maddox again was attacked, this time by a boat that fired another torpedo and 14.5-mm machine guns. The Gulf of Tonkin incident, like others in our nation's history, has become the center of considerable controversy and debate. Efforts to communicate with the torpedo boats failed, probably because of language and communications equipment incompatibility. The disclaimer is required, if for no other reason than because of Chapter 15, "The American Response to the Gulf of Tonkin Attacks," about which more later. 10. Vietnam is a very watery country. To subscribe to Vietnam Magazine, click here! Navy, Of course, none of this was known to Congress, which demanded an explanation for the goings-on in the Tonkin Gulf. ThoughtCo. Easily outdistancing the North Vietnamese boat, the commandos arrived back at Da Nang shortly after daybreak.8, North Vietnam immediately and publicly linked the 34A raids and the Desoto patrol, a move that threatened tentative peace feelers from Washington that were only just reaching Hanoi. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Telegram from Embassy in Vietnam to Department of State, 7 August 1964, FRUS 1964, vol. However, planes from the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga (CVA-14) crippled one of the boats and damaged the other two. Incidentally, the first volume, Setting the Stage: To 1959, contains one of the best brief summaries I've read of Vietnam history from the end of World War II through the 1954 Geneva Conference. LBJ knew the Vietnam War was a disaster in the making. This was the first of several carefully worded official statements aimed at separating 34A and Desoto and leaving the impression that the United States was not involved in the covert operations.9 The first such Desoto mission was conducted off the North Vietnamese coast in February 1964, followed by more through the spring.