US Ground Combat in Vietnam

Setting the scene

U.S. ground combat troops entered Vietnam on March 8, 1965, when 3,500 Marines landed at Da Nang to protect the airbase, marking the beginning of large-scale American ground war. The U.S. had been advising South Vietnam since the 1950s, with 23,000 advisors by 1964. After the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, President Johnson gained congressional authorization for war. In February 1965, the U.S. began Operation Rolling Thunder, bombing North Vietnam.

What happened

The March 8 landing was initially described as defensive, but by July 1965, Johnson approved sending 125,000 troops, with General William Westmoreland requesting 175,000. By the end of 1965, 184,000 U.S. troops were in Vietnam. The war escalated through 1968 to a peak of 536,000 troops. The U.S. strategy was attrition—killing more enemy than they could replace—but North Vietnam matched escalation.

Why it still matters

The 1965 troop commitment marked the point of no return in Vietnam. It began a war that would last 10 years, kill 58,000 Americans and 2 million Vietnamese, and divide American society. The decision was based on the domino theory and containment, but underestimated Vietnamese nationalism and the difficulty of guerrilla war. March 8, 1965, began America's longest war to that point and a trauma that shaped U.S. foreign policy for decades, creating the 'Vietnam syndrome' against intervention.

Background

Draft calls and protests divided America.