attacked 36 cities and towns on January 30th, 1968. They reasoned that the US, with more weapons and soldiers, would be difficult to overthrow. However, they could defeat them with the element of surprise. Unfortunately for the North, this plan did not go as smoothly as they had hoped. Although shocked by the sudden attacks, the US and the South were able to quickly fight back,; the communists could barely survive for a couple days.
Another significant figure in the war was an American WWII and Korean War veteran named Westmoreland. He eventually became a general who ordered troops on ground attacks in the South. By doing so, he focused more on hurting the enemy rather than protecting territory. Many American citizens were shocked by his reasoning, considering he had ordered another 200,000 soldiers to arrive in Vietnam. Simultaneously, the public was angry with President Lyndon B. Johnson for also contributing to the war, despite anti-war efforts increasing. Johnson chose to focus on making peace with North Vietnam rather than run for reelection again, yet the bombing continued in the South. Ordering for Vietnamization as soon as he took office, Richard Nixon was elected the 37th president in 1968. Vietnamization included withdrawing US troops, increased bombing, and training South Vietnamese soldiers to fight on ground battles. President Nixon simply ignored the anti-war movement and peace talks that were beginning to take place. He instead added more fuel to the fire by contributing to the war efforts.
A couple months after Nixon took office, on March 16th, a shocking incident took place in the small village of My Lai. American soldiers had invaded the town and brutally killed most of its inhabitants with a total of 400 people dead. Some of the young girls and women were raped before being murdered as well. Attempting to hide the incident from the public, the massacre was kept a secret for over a year before being revealed. The public was outraged, and more protests flared up. The leader of the raid, Lieutenant William L. Calley Jr. was sentenced to life in prison soon after but was released in 1974 when a federal court overturned the accusations. No other soldiers were found guilty or punished for their crime.
Finally, troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, though those who remained felt the withdraws were discriminatory and biased. This created problems with leadership among the troops as well as with their overall confidence. Tens of thousands were deserted and half a million from 1965 to 1973 tried to avoid the drafting in general. Known as the “draft dodgers”, many men fled to Canada. Men were required to enlist in the military, leaving no escape other than to leave the country entirely. American and South Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia during that time. The South attempted to enter Laos independently but were thrown out by the North. Once again, both attacks were to cut off supplies along the Ho Chi Minh trail. President Nixon finally made enrollment voluntary in 1972, ending mandatory enlistment once and for all.
In June of that year, the North created a peace agreement to be signed by early fall after a failed attack, though the South refused to accept. Instead, Nixon had sent more bombs that December to the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong called Christmas bombings. Eventually, the North signed a peace agreement with the US in January 1973.
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