1965 in the Vietnam War - wikipedia 1965 in the Vietnam War 1965 in the Vietnam War ← 1964 1966 → US Army soldiers disembarking from helicopters in the Ia Drang Valley Date MIA Location Indochina Belligerents Anti-Communist forces : South Vietnam United States South Korea Australia New Zealand Kingdom of Laos Republic of China Communist forces : North Vietnam Viet Cong Pathet Lao People 's Republic of China Soviet Union North Korea Strength US : 184,314 South Vietnam : 514,000 ( including militia ) Casualties and losses US : 1,928 killed South Vietnam : 11,242 killed. North Vietnam : unknown Military engagements during the Vietnam War Guerrilla phase Laos Chopper Sunrise Palace Bombing 1st Ap Bac Go Cong Hiep Hoa 34A Long Dinh Kien Long Quyet Thang 202 USNS Card Nam Dong An Lao Binh Gia Camp Holloway Qui Nhơn Sông Bé Ba Gia Dong Xoai American intervention 1965 Starlite Piranha An Ninh Plei Me Hump Gang Toi 1st Bau Bang Bushmaster II Ia Drang Harvest Moon 1966 Marauder Crimp Van Buren Masher / White Wing Bong Son Double Eagle Mastiff Suoi Bong Trang New York Harrison Cocoa Beach Utah Silver City A Sau Oregon Texas Lincoln Fillmore Jackstay Buddhist Uprising Xa Cam My Georgia Birmingham Davy Crockett Austin IV Paul Revere Crazy Horse El Paso Hardihood Wahiawa Hawthorne Hill 488 Nathan Hale Jay Macon Hastings Minh Thanh Road John Paul Jones Seward Colorado Duc Co Long Tan Amarillo Thayer, Irving and Thayer II Attleboro Deckhouse IV Tan Son Nhut airbase Lam Son II Byrd SS Baton Rouge Victory Sunset Beach Shenandoah Paul Revere IV Geronimo Fairfax 1967 Deckhouse V Cedar Falls Desoto Firebase Bird Sam Houston Enterprise Tra Binh Dong Gadsden Pershing Bribie Junction City ( 1st Prek Klok 2nd Prek Klok Ap Gu Suoi Tre 2nd Bàu Bàng ) Lejeune Francis Marion Manhattan Beaver Cage Union The Hill Fights Con Thien / DMZ Hickory Prairie Prairie II Prairie III Buffalo Kentucky Kingfisher Malheur I and Malheur II Union II Dragnet Akron Billings Concordia Hong Kil Dong Diamond Head Hood River Suoi Chau Pha Benton Swift Dragon Fire Wheeler / Wallowa Kunia Bolling Medina Shenandoah II Ong Thanh 1st Loc Ninh Osceola Lancaster Napoleon Operation Coronado II IV V IX XI Neosho Dak To Santa Fe Phoenix Kien Giang 9 - 1 Manchester Yellowstone Auburn Tet Offensive and aftermath New Year 's Day Battle of 1968 Khe Sanh Ban Houei Sane Lang Vei Phase One Offensive Saigon US Embassy Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack Tan Son Nhut Air Base Joint General Staff Compound Bien Hoa and Long Binh Hue Quảng Trị Coburg Lo Giang Hop Tac I Patrick Truong Cong Dinh Lima Site 85 Quyet Thang My Lai Massacre Carentan Pegasus Toan Thang I Burlington Trail Scotland II Delaware Allen Brook May Offensive Landing Zone Center An Bao Kham Duc Coral -- Balmoral Mameluke Thrust Robin Thor Pocahontas Forest Somerset Plain Phase III Offensive Duc Lap Vinh Loc Maui Peak Meade River Hat Dich Speedy Express Vietnamization 1969 -- 71 Bold Mariner Dewey Canyon Taylor Common 2nd Tet Purple Martin Maine Crag Montana Mauler Oklahoma Hills Virginia Ridge Apache Snow Hamburger Hill Pipestone Canyon Binh Ba Utah Mesa Idaho Canyon LZ Kate Texas Star FSB Ripcord 1st Cambodia Kompong Speu Prey Veng 2nd Cambodia Pickens Forest Imperial Lake Tailwind Jefferson Glenn Snuol Lam Son 719 Son Tay Raid Cambodian Counteroffensive Chenla I Chenla II FSB Mary Ann Long Khánh Nui Le Easter Offensive 2nd Quang Trị 3rd Quang Trị 2nd Loc Ninh An Lộc Kontum Thunderhead Post-Paris Peace Accords ( 1973 -- 1974 ) Cửa Việt Sa Huỳnh Ap Da Bien Svay Rieng Iron Triangle Thượng Đức Spring ' 75 Phuoc Long Ban Me Thuot Hue -- Da Nang Phan Rang Xuân Lộc 2nd Saigon Air operations Farm Gate Chopper Ranch Hand Pierce Arrow Barrel Roll Pony Express Flaming Dart Iron Hand Rolling Thunder Steel Tiger Arc Light Tiger Hound Shed Light Thanh Hoa Bolo Popeye Yen Vien Niagara Igloo White Giant Lance Commando Hunt Menu Patio Freedom Deal Linebacker I Enhance Plus Linebacker II Homecoming Tan Son Nhut Air Base Babylift New Life Eagle Pull Frequent Wind Naval operations Yankee & Dixie stations Gulf of Tonkin Market Time Vung Ro Bay Game Warden Double Eagle PIRAZ Sea Dragon Deckhouse Five Bo De River, Nha Trang, Tha Cau River Sealords Đồng Hới Pocket Money Custom Tailor End Sweep Paracel Islands East Sea Mayaguez incident A map of South Vietnam showing provincial boundaries and names and military zones : 1, II, III, and IV Corps. In 1965, the United States rapidly increased its military forces in South Vietnam, prompted by the realization that the South Vietnamese government was losing the Vietnam War as the communist - dominated Viet Cong gained influence over much of the population in rural areas of the country. North Vietnam also rapidly increased its infiltration of men and supplies to combat South Vietnam and the U.S.. The objective of the U.S. and South Vietnam was to prevent a communist take - over. North Vietnam and the insurgent Viet Cong sought to unite the two sections of the country. Political instability and internal dissent continued to plague the government of South Vietnam, although in June General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and Air Marshall Nguyễn Cao Kỳ took control of the country and remained in power for the remainder of the year. In the United States, a majority of Congress and the people supported U.S. participation in the war, although protests against the war became larger and more frequent, especially among college students. The U.S. began bombing North Vietnam in March, in Operation Rolling Thunder. The U.S. Army and Marines began ground operations to ferret out and defeat the communist forces. General William Westmoreland commanded U.S. forces in South Vietnam. Westmoreland 's strategy was attrition, employing U.S. superiority in firepower, technology, and mobility. The usual military tactic of the United States was search and destroy operations in which large U.S. and South Vietnamese units, supported by air and artillery, swept through an area to attempt to engage the communists in battle. North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, by contrast, relied on hit - and - run operations and ambushes, avoiding set - piece battles except at their own initiative. In November, the U.S. and North Vietnamese armies met head - on for the first time in the Battle of Ia Drang. Both sides claimed victory. The U.S. inflicted heavy casualties on the North Vietnamese, but the battle vindicated the conviction by North Vietnam that its military could slowly grind down the U.S. 's commitment to the war. South Korea contributed an army division to South Vietnam, while Australia, New Zealand and other countries provided smaller numbers of soldiers. North Vietnam received military aid from the Soviet Union and China. At year 's end, President Lyndon Johnson declared a temporary halt to the bombing of North Vietnam and undertook a diplomatic initiative to seek negotiations with North Vietnam. North Vietnam, on its part, aimed to achieve a decisive military victory, but prepared also for an expanded war if the U.S. continued to escalate its involvement. Most of the reports and conversations mentioned below were secret and not made public for many years. They reflect the ongoing debate among American officials, military leaders, and the American people about the scope and character of American intervention in the Vietnam War. Contents 1 January 2 February 3 March 4 April 5 May 6 June 7 July 8 August 9 September 10 October 11 November 12 December 13 Year in numbers 14 Notes 15 References January 1 January The South Vietnamese security forces, including regulars, part - time militia, Montagnard irregulars, and National Police totaled 567,246 personnel. 23,310 U.S. military personnel were in South Vietnam. The number of Viet Cong guerrillas and North Vietnamese regulars in South Vietnam was a matter of much debate. One U.S. government estimate was that the Viet Cong army consisted of 40,000 full - time fighters and 80,000 to 100,000 part - time guerrillas. The Department of Defense 's fact book estimated that the Viet Cong numbered less than 200,000 plus 39,175 political cadre. These numbers presumably included thousands of fighters and cadre infiltrated from North Vietnam during the previous five years. The first North Vietnamese army units dispatched to South Vietnam, consisting of three regiments ( about 5,000 men ), had arrived in South Vietnam in late 1964. A junior - level CIA analyst, Samuel A. Adams, had just begun work estimating Viet Cong numbers ; he would later conclude the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam ( MACV ) underestimated Viet Cong strength by about one - half. Both North Vietnam and the United States would rapidly increase the number of their troops in South Vietnam during 1965. 2 January The Battle of Binh Gia concluded. The Viet Cong withdrew from the battlefield. In six days of fighting, the Viet Cong had killed 201 of South Vietnam 's best soldiers and five American advisers. 3 January Senator Mike Mansfield, considered the U.S. Congress 's most knowledgeable person about Vietnam, appeared on television and said that neutralization of South Vietnam through an agreement reached by negotiations between the U.S. and the communist powers might be the best solution to the Vietnam War. Mansfield was one of several senators who had doubts about the course of U.S. policy in South Vietnam. 6 January The U.S. Ambassador in South Vietnam General Maxwell Taylor summed up the situation in a telegram to the U.S. government in Washington. `` We are faced here with a seriously deteriorating situation characterized by continued political turmoil, irresponsibility and division within the armed forces, lethargy in the pacification program, some anti-US feeling which could grow, signs of mounting terrorism by VC directly at US personnel and deepening discouragement and loss of morale throughout SVN. Unless these conditions are somehow changed and trends reversed, we are likely soon to face a number of unpleasant developments ranging from anti-American demonstrations, further civil disorders, and even political assassinations to the ultimate installation of a hostile govt which will ask us to leave while it seeks accommodation with the National Liberation Front and Hanoi. '' Taylor opposed the introduction of U.S. ground units to help fight the Viet Cong ( as proposed in frustration by President Johnson a few days earlier ), endorsing instead a U.S. policy of graduated air attacks against the Ho Chi Minh trail, the supply line for the Viet Cong, and North Vietnam itself. South Vietnamese military strength : January 1, 1965 Regulars ( Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps ) 246,284 Regional Force ( RF ) 96,049 Popular Force ( PF ) 168, 317 National Police 31,395 Civilian Irregular Defense Group 21,454 Coastal Force 3,747 Total 567,246 20 January While Buddhist protests against the government and the United States intensified, including the burning of a United States Information Service library, Ambassador Taylor met with a Buddhist leader. He said the Buddhists wanted peace and told Taylor that the leaders of South Vietnam were only interested in the benefits they could derive personally from American aid and would otherwise capitulate to the Viet Cong. The Buddhists had been protesting against the government of South Vietnam for the previous two years. 26 January In a speech, former Vice President Richard Nixon argued the U.S. military effort should be escalated to destroy communist supply lines and staging areas in Laos and North Vietnam. He said the U.S. must `` either get out, surrender on the installment plan through neutralization, or... find a way to win. '' 27 January Amidst continuing political chaos in South Vietnam, General Nguyễn Khánh and the Armed Forces Council overthrew the civilian government of Trần Văn Hương in a bloodless coup, replacing Houng with civilian Nguyễn Xuân Oánh. Khánh, who had been Prime Minister during most of 1964, had been hovering in the background for some time, so the coup d'état was not a great surprise. Ambassador Taylor cabled Washington that Khánh had an alliance with the Buddhist Institute headed by Thích Trí Quang. Taylor said, `` The most sinister aspect of this affair is the obvious danger that the Buddhist victory may be an important step toward the formation of a government which will eventually lead the country into negotiations with Hanoi and the National Liberation Front. '' In response to the coup, National Security Council director McGeorge Bundy and Secretary of State Robert McNamara wrote a memo to President Johnson. They gave the President two options : use American military power to defeat the insurgency, or negotiate thus attempting to `` salvage what little can be preserved. '' McBundy and McNamara favored the first option ; Secretary of State Dean Rusk disagreed. Johnson accepted the military option and sent a telegram to Ambassador Taylor in Saigon saying `` the U.S. will spare no effort and no sacrifice in doing its full part to turn back the Communists in Vietnam. '' President Johnson had crossed the Rubicon. February 7 February The Viet Cong attacked Pleiku airbase ( aka Camp Holloway Airfield ). Viet Cong demolition teams infiltrated the compound where American advisers were living and, supported by mortar fire, killed eight Americans, wounded 128, and damaged or destroyed 24 American aircraft. McGeorge Bundy ( visiting in Vietnam ) and General William Westmoreland ( commander of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam, or MACV ) visited Pleiku that day. Bundy strongly recommended a reprisal attack against North Vietnam. Bundy reported to Johnson `` The situation in Vietnam is deteriorating and without new U.S. action defeat appears inevitable -- probably not in a matter of weeks or perhaps even months, but within the next year or so... There is still time to turn it around, but not much. '' In retaliation, President Johnson ordered Operation Flaming Dart : forty - nine retaliatory sorties by American and South Vietnamese pilots targeted North Vietnamese army bases near Đồng Hới ; a second wave targeted Viet Cong logistics and communications near the DMZ. Among the pilots was Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, a member of Vietnam 's ruling Armed Forces Council. Poor weather limited the damage caused by the strikes. One plane and its pilot were lost. The Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union, Alexei Kosygin, was visiting Hanoi during the bombing. The Soviets were furious that an American attack was carried out while Kosygin was present and motivated to provide additional assistance to North Vietnam. White House National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy sent a memorandum to President Johnson advocating `` a new US action '' without which `` defeat seems inevitable. '' McBundy said that `` any negotiated US withdrawal today would mean surrender on the installment plan. '' 10 February Viet Cong sappers blew up a hotel used as an enlisted men 's barracks in Qui Nhơn, a coastal city of South Vietnam, killing 23 American soldiers. In response, President Johnson ordered Flaming Dart 2 : 155 sorties and air strikes in North Vietnam by American and South Vietnamese pilots. In Hanoi, Soviet Premier Kosygin announced the Soviet Union had agree to assist North Vietnam to defend itself from air attacks, by providing surface - to - air missiles ( SAMs ), jet fighter planes, technical support and advisers. 13 February President Johnson approved Operation Rolling Thunder, the Joint Chiefs of Staff plan for the sustained bombing of North Vietnam. Over an 8 - week period, U.S. warplanes planned to bomb fixed targets and interdict military traffic along roads in southern North Vietnam. Johnson did not immediately launch Rolling Thunder. 16 February In the Vung Ro Bay Incident, an American pilot spotted a 100 - ton North Vietnamese naval trawler unloading munitions on a beach at a remote bay on the coast of central South Vietnam. South Vietnamese aircraft sank the ship and the defenders and crew were later killed or captured after a firefight with South Vietnamese naval commandos. The incident spurred further U.S. Navy involvement in the Vietnam War. The Armed Forces Council of South Vietnam appointed medical doctor Phan Huy Quát as Prime Minister. 17 February On the United States Senate floor, Senator Frank Church said `` The Saigon government is losing its war, not for lack of equipment, but for lack of internal cohesion '' and the best solution would be the negotiation of a neutral South Vietnam. Church 's speech was supported by several other prominent Democratic Party Senators, including George McGovern. Church 's call for a neutral South Vietnam echoed similar statements by French President Charles de Gaulle, the Pope, and the Secretary General of the United Nations. Former President Eisenhower and several Republicans supported Johnson 's policy. Eisenhower advised Johnson not to negotiate from weakness. 18 February Influential columnist Walter Lippman in the Washington Post said escalation of the Vietnam War would be a disaster. `` For this country to involve itself in such a war in Asia would be an act of supreme folly. '' 19 February General Phạm Ngọc Thảo mounted a coup d'état to overthrow General Khánh, head of the Armed Forces Council. The coup failed. North Vietnam later revealed that Thao was a communist agent. 22 February General William Westmoreland, commander of MACV, requested that two battalions of United States Marines be assigned to protect the airbase at Da Nang from the increasing threat of attacks by the Viet Cong. 25 February General Khánh departed South Vietnam. He was persuaded to leave by his fellow generals and by Colonel Wilson of MACV. Air Marshall Nguyễn Cao Kỳ became the de facto leader of South Vietnam. 26 February The first South Korean troops arrived in South Vietnam. The number of South Korean troops in South Vietnam would total 49,755 by 1969. The U.S. paid most of the cost of the deployment of the Koreans and provided economic incentives to South Korea for its support of South Vietnam. March 1 March Ambassador Taylor met with generals Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and Trần Văn Minh in Saigon to request permission for the assignment of the Marines to Da Nang airbase. The generals raised no objections, but asked that the Marines arrive `` in the most inconspicuous way feasible. '' 2 March Operation Rolling Thunder was launched. 104 U.S. fighter - bombers and 19 South Vietnamese aircraft hit targets in the largest U.S. bombing raid to date against North Vietnam. Five U.S. planes and one South Vietnamese plane were shot down. The operation was meant to last eight weeks, but instead lasted more than three years. Previously, North Vietnam and its allies China and the Soviet Union had indicated a willingness for negotiations leading to the neutralization of South Vietnam and the withdrawal of the U.S. The bombing resulted in a hardened and less flexible communist position. North Vietnam shut down channels it had with Canada and France for exploring negotiations. 6 March McGeorge Bundy wrote a memo to President Johnson saying : `` Last night, Bob McNamara said for the first time what many others have thought for a long time -- that the Pentagon and the military have been going at this thing the wrong way round from the very beginning : they have been concentrating on military results against guerrillas in the field, when they should have been concentrating on intense police control from the individual villager on up. '' 8 March Two battalions of U.S. Marines began to land on beaches near Da Nang. The arrival of the Marines heralded the direct involvement of American combat units in the Vietnam War. The Marines had the responsibility of guarding the Da Nang airbase but were ordered to `` not, repeat not, engage in day - to - day actions against the Viet Cong. '' By the end of March the Marines at Da Nang numbered almost 5,000 10 March In Washington, Assistant Secretary of Defense John McNaughton sent a memo to National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy outlining the U.S. objectives in South Vietnam in percentage terms : `` 70 % -- to avoid a humiliating US defeat... ; 20 % -- to keep SVN ( South Vietnam )... territory from Chinese hands ; 10 % -- to permit the people of SVN to enjoy a better, freer way of life. 12 March Vice President of the United States Hubert Humphrey had dinner with the Ambassador of the Soviet Union Anatoly Dobrynin in Washington. Dobrynin asked why the U.S. bombed North Vietnam while the Premier of the USSR, Alexei Kosygin was visiting Hanoi. The USSR, said Dobrynin, was now committed to the support of North Vietnam. He said, `` We ca n't be a leader and stand by and ignore the bombing of the North Vietnamese. '' 17 March The CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency issued an estimate of military strength in South Vietnam. The armed forces of South Vietnam numbered 567,000, of which 245,000 belonged to the regular army ( ARVN ) and the remainder to the Regional and Popular militia forces. The Viet Cong was estimated to number between 50,000 and 60,000 regulars and 100,000 militia. 24 -- 25 March The first Teach - in to protest the Vietnam War was held at the University of Michigan. 3,500 people attended. 25 March China announced that it was ready to `` send its personnel to fight together with the Vietnamese people to annihilate the American aggressors. '' 26 March The commander of MACV, General Westmoreland, said in a report to Washington that the South Vietnamese armed forces had `` begun to show evidence of fragmentation and there is no longer an effective chain of command. '' 29 March In the face of disagreement among U.S. military leaders about where and how many U.S. combat troops should be stationed in Vietnam, Secretary McNamara, MACV commander Westmoreland, Ambassador Taylor, and the Joint chiefs met in Washington. The Chiefs and Westmoreland wanted two U.S. combat divisions sent to Vietnam along with one combat division from the Republic of Korea. Taylor disagreed. McNamara did n't take a position. In meetings the next day, President Johnson agreed only to the assignment of two additional U.S. combat battalions to South Vietnam, but he approved an expansion and extension of the bombing of North Vietnam under operation Rolling Thunder. 30 March Terrorists exploded a car bomb in front of the American Embassy in Saigon killing 22 people, including 2 Americans. April In North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh decreed a new military service law. Enlistments were extended indefinitely for soldiers, previously discharged soldiers were recalled, and an increased number of young people were inducted into military service. During 1965, North Vietnam expanded the size of its army by 290,000 personnel and its self - defense militia from 1.4 million to 2.0 million. 7 April President Johnson made a major televised speech at Johns Hopkins University. Johnson described the Vietnam War as an attack by North Vietnam on South Vietnam. He proposed `` unconditional discussions '' to exchange views with interested parties in search of a peaceful solution, but offered no concessions. Johnson also proposed a massive program to develop the Mekong River basin which could include North Vietnam among the recipients of the Tennessee Valley Authority - type project. Ho Chi Minh responded that the United States must withdraw from South Vietnam as a condition for a peace agreement. The Johns Hopkins speech marked a change in American policy. Formerly, over a period of several years of escalating warfare in South Vietnam, the U.S. had refused to consider talking to the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese until the U.S. and South Vietnam had gained a military advantage. 8 April North Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng responded to President Johnson 's proposal for peace negotiations by announcing North Vietnam 's Four Points peace formula : withdrawal of all U.S. forces from South Vietnam, neutralization of both Vietnams pending reunification, adoption of the program of the National Liberation Front ( Viet Cong ) for internal affairs, and reunification without foreign interference. 9 April At a CINCPAC meeting in Hawaii, the planners recommended the deployment of two brigades to South Vietnam. One would be stationed at Biên Hòa near Saigon to protect the airfield there ; the other would go to Nha Trang to prepare for the introduction of a full division of American troops. Ambassador Taylor had not been present at the meeting and he protested that `` Recent actions relating to the introduction of U.S. ground forces have tended to create an eagerness in some quarters to deploy forces into SVN ( South Vietnam ) which I find difficult to understand. '' Taylor opposed the introduction of American ground troops for offensive operations, believing they should be restricted to coastal `` enclaves. '' General Westmoreland disagreed, believing that enclaves were `` an inglorious, static use of U.S. forces... that would leave the decision of when and where to strike to the enemy. '' 17 April In Washington, D.C. about 20,000 people gathered to protest the Vietnam War. This was the first large protest against the war in the United States. China rescinded the order to its air force to not attack American war planes violating Chinese air space. Over the next three years, 12 American war planes and several reconnaissance planes were shot down over China. 20 April In a meeting in Hawaii, Ambassador Taylor finally agreed to the introduction of U.S. combat ground forces into South Vietnam. In a memo to the President the next day, Secretary of Defense McNamara described the military consensus that `` it would take more than six months, perhaps a year or two to... break the will of the DRV / VC ( North Vietnam and the Viet Cong ) by denying them victory. '' On this date the U.S. had 33,000 U.S. military personnel in Vietnam and another 20,000 scheduled to be there. 23 April Ambassador Taylor reported to Washington that Prime Minister Quat was reluctant to accept the assignment of more U.S. soldiers to South Vietnam. 30 April The CIA warned in a memorandum that the introduction of U.S. ground forces into Vietnam might result in `` constant danger that the war weary people of South Vietnam will let the U.S. assume an even greater share of the fighting. Late April The U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Harold K. Johnson lunched with Vietnam expert and author Bernard Fall in Washington. Johnson said that, `` As a result of my discussions with Dr. Fall, I conclude that I am the victim of appreciable misinformation concerning cliques, claques, and the variety of outlooks and objectives of the diverse elements that comprise the population of Vietnam. '' In his search for more reliable information about Vietnam, in June, Johnson appointed a team of military officers to develop `` new sources of action to be taken in South Vietnam by the United States and its allies, which, will, in conjunction with current actions, lead in due time to successful accomplishment of US aims and objectives. '' What came to be called `` A Program for the Pacification and Long - Term Development of South Vietnam '' ( PROVN ) would be completed on 1 March 1966. May 4 May President Johnson requested an additional appropriation of $700 million for the Vietnam War during the remainder of the fiscal year. The request was approved by Congress 2 days later. Johnson indicated that he might have to request additional funds. 5 May Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade arrived in Vietnam. The brigade would be responsible for providing security to the airbase at Biên Hòa and the port of Vũng Tàu, both near Saigon. This was the first combat unit from the U.S. Army to arrive in Vietnam. 6 May The Armed Forces Council of South Vietnam under General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu dissolved itself leaving in nominal control of the country the civilian Prime Minister Quat. 10 -- 15 May In the Battle of Song Be the Viet Cong overran the capital city of Phước Long Province, about 60 miles north of Saigon. The town was recaptured by the ARVN with U.S. air support but the Viet Cong withdrew in good order and evaded pursuit by the ARVN. 13 -- 18 May President Johnson halted the bombing of North Vietnam under Operation Rolling Thunder in an attempt to induce the North Vietnamese to negotiate a peace agreement. North Vietnam instead said the bombing halt was only `` an effort to camouflage American intensification of the war. '' 16 May North Vietnam 's leader Ho Chi Minh met with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in China. Ho said that North Vietnam would `` take the main burden of the war by themselves '' but requested additional Chinese economic and military support. Mao agreed and they set the ground rules for Chinese assistance : North Vietnamese soldiers would fight the war with Chinese logistical help, but the Chinese would not intervene militarily unless the United States invaded North Vietnam. Chinese assistance to North Vietnam took three forms : engineers and laborers to build and maintain defense works, airfields and roads, anti-aircraft personnel to defend North Vietnam from air attacks, and military equipment. The total number of Chinese stationed in North Vietnam and dedicated to these tasks was about 160,000 with the first tranche arriving in May 1965. Twenty - seven American soldiers and four Vietnamese were killed in an accidental explosion at Bien Hoa Airbase. More than 40 airplanes were destroyed. 17 May Presidential adviser and future Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford in a letter to President Johnson said, `` I believe our ground forces in South Vietnam should be kept to a minimum, consistent with the protection of our installations and property in that country... This could be a quagmire. It could turn into an open end commitment on our part that would take more and more ground troops, without a realistic hope of ultimate victory. '' `` Quagmire '' would later become a common word use to describe U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. 26 May Eight hundred soldiers of the Australian Defence Force departed Australia to be deployed to Biên Hòa, a few miles north - east of Saigon. New Zealand announced that it would also send a battalion of soldiers. 28 May - 1 June The Battle of Ba Gia or Bãi Xoan in Quảng Ngãi Province began when the Viet Cong ambushed an ARVN battalion. Several hundred soldiers on both sides were killed. The battle highlighted the vulnerability of the ARVN as a military force against the flexible VC. June The III Corps tactical area, including Saigon, Biên Hòa, Zone D, and other sites of importance in the Vietnam War. 7 June General Westmoreland reported to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the Viet Cong were stronger than ever and that ARVN was taking heavy casualties and suffering from a high rate of desertions and an unwillingness to take the offensive. Westmoreland said, `` I see no course of action open to us except to reinforce our efforts in SVN South Vietnam with additional U.S. or third country forces as rapidly as is practical. '' He identified U.S. units that could be assigned to South Vietnam that would bring U.S. military strength in the country up to 44 combat battalions. 9 -- 13 June In the Battle of Đồng Xoài, in Phước Long Province about 60 miles northeast of Saigon, the Viet Cong overran the district capital, then withdrew following air strikes and South Vietnamese army reinforcements brought in by U.S. helicopters. ARVN suffered more than 800 casualties including dead, wounded, and missing. The U.S. had 7 killed, 12 missing and presumed dead, and 15 wounded. The Viet Cong lost an estimated 350 men in the ground combat, and more in the air bombardment. 11 June Air Marshall Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu took power in South Vietnam, deposing the government of Prime Minister Quat. 12 June MACV Commander General Westmoreland asked the U.S. Department of Defense for increased authority to undertake offensive operations. He said, `` We have reached the point in Vietnam where we can not avoid the commitment to combat of U.S. ground troops. '' The Pentagon endorsed Westmoreland 's request for additional soldiers which would bring the total of American military personnel in Vietnam up to 117,000, plus 20,000 third - country troops, by November 1. 14 June General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was appointed by the military junta as President of South Vietnam. 16 June Senator J. William Fulbright, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said on national television that the U.S. should negotiate directly with North Vietnam and make `` major concessions '' to end the Vietnam War. Fulbright 's statement was criticized by prominent Republicans ; former Vice President Richard Nixon said that negotiations `` would be surrender on the installment plan. '' 18 June Under Secretary of State George Ball wrote a memo to President Johnson stating, `` Ever since 1961 -- the beginning of our deep involvement in Vietnam -- we have met successive disappointments. We have tended to underestimate the strength and staying power of the enemy. We have tended to overestimate the effectiveness of our sophisticated weapons under jungle conditions. We have watched the progressive loss of territory to Viet Cong control. We have been unable to bring about the creation of a stable political base in Saigon. '' Ball advised caution in expanding the U.S. military commitment to South Vietnam. The B - 52 bomber was first used in Vietnam in June 1965. Under Operation Arc Light, B - 52 aircraft were used for the first time in the Vietnam War. Flying out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 27 B - 52s dropped 750 - and 1,000 - pound bombs on a Viet Cong stronghold. Two B - 52s were lost in a mid-air collision. An after - action survey found little evidence of Viet Cong casualties. 19 June Air Marshall Nguyễn Cao Kỳ was appointed by the military junta as Prime Minister. With Thiệu as President and Kỳ as Prime Minister the revolving door of rulers that had prevailed in South Vietnam since the overthrow of Ngô Đình Diệm in November 1963 ended. 20 June After being ambushed while in support of a rescue operation, Douglas A-1 Skyraider pilots Clinton Johnson and Charles Hartman shoot down a North Vietnamese MiG - 17 with their 20 mm M3 cannons. This is the first air - to - air gun kill of the Vietnam War. 24 June General Westmoreland advised Washington that he needed more American soldiers than those previously approved and proposed that the U.S. bomb the railroad from North Vietnam to China, mine Haiphong harbor, and carry out B - 52 strikes. 28 -- 30 June A battalion of the 173rd Airborne brigade undertook the first major U.S. - led search and destroy mission of the Vietnam War. ARVN and Australian soldiers also participated in the sweep through part of Zone D, about 40 miles northeast of Saigon. The assault began with an artillery barrage ; it located very few Viet Cong. An observation of an Australian on the operation was : `` Our patrols do not fire off ammo or shoot up flares like the Yanks -- they listen and move quietly, we have n't fired a shot or sent up a flare yet. The Americans think we are mad. It seems to me though, that all they 're doing is letting the Viet Cong know where they are. I guess we have a bit to teach them. '' The Australians had experience in jungle warfare in the Malayan Emergency. July 1 July Undersecretary of State George Ball dissented from the buildup of American forces in South Vietnam. He wrote President Johnson that `` The Viet Cong -- while supported and guided from the North -- is largely an indigenous movement '' and that `` although we have emphasized its Cold War aspects, the conflict in South Vietnam is essentially a civil war within that country. '' Ball 's view conflicted with the official view that the insurgency in South Vietnam had been created and was sustained by North Vietnam. 6 -- 9 July After B - 52 strikes, the U.S. 173rd Airborne began another sweep through Zone D with 2,500 men and ARVN and Australian participation. The allies claimed to have inflicted 100 Viet Cong casualties. 8 July Maxwell Taylor resigned as U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam. Taylor had earlier been opposed to the introduction of U.S. ground troops into South Vietnam, proposing instead an intensified air campaign against North Vietnam. Taylor would be replaced by Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., who returned to Saigon for his second stint as ambassador. 10 July The New York Times reported that the 173rd Airborne suffered 10 killed and 42 wounded on its sweep through Zone D, and that its estimates of Viet Cong casualties were inflated. The newspaper reported that the U.S. had begun `` to accept aerial estimates of enemy casualties. The command has also begun to calculate probable damage inflicted on the Viet Cong despite the absence of bodies or weapons. '' 12 July The 2nd Brigade of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division began to arrive in South Vietnam. The brigade was initially responsible for providing security for Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. 16 July Secretary of Defense McNamara, visiting South Vietnam, was briefed by MACV commander General Westmoreland. Westmoreland said that U.S. airstrikes had not succeeded in halting the flow of military supplies down the Ho Chi Minh trail. To defeat the Viet Cong, now reinforced by the North Vietnamese Army, would require another large influx of U.S. soldiers amounting to 57 battalions plus helicopter companies and support units. Westmoreland said he planned to reverse the deteriorating military situation by the end of 1965, take the offensive in 1966, and destroy the Viet Cong and capture their strongholds by the end of 1967. 20 July McNamara returned to Washington and recommended to President Johnson that the number of U.S. troops in South Vietnam be increased to 175,000. He recommended also that 235,000 soldiers in the Reserve and National Guard be activated and that the number of U.S. military personnel be increased by 375,000. He recommended also that air strikes against North Vietnam be increased from 2,500 to 4,000 per month. On the 11th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Accords ending the First Indochina War, North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh said that the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong will fight for 20 years or more to achieve victory and unification of the two Vietnams. 21 July Members of the New Zealand armed forces were deployed to South Vietnam. 22 July President Johnson met with his top military advisers. In the course of the discussion, General Wallace M. Greene, Jr. estimated that winning the Vietnam War would take 5 years and 500,000 American soldiers. He said that he believed the American people would back such a commitment. Johnson was skeptical that Americans would support such a large commitment and opted instead for a gradual buildup of American forces and escalation of the war as recommended by General Westmoreland, the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. 24 July The first surface - to - air missile ( SAM ) fired by North Vietnam brought down a U.S. F - 4C Phantom jet. The SAM site that fired the missile was one of five ringing Hanoi at a distance of about 20 miles ( 32 km ). 27 July In a meeting with President Johnson most Congressional leaders of both parties agreed with his plan to increase U.S. military forces in South Vietnam. The exception was Senator Mike Mansfield, while publicly supporting the President said at the meeting, said, `` we are going deeper into a war in which even a total victory would, in the end, be a loss to the nation. '' Mansfield proposed negotiations to end the war. 28 July President Johnson ordered an increase in the number of U.S. troops in South Vietnam to 125,000 and an increase in the draft of young Americans into the military from 17,000 to 35,000 per month, but he declined to activate the Reserve and National Guard. Johnson 's announcement represented a quantum leap in the American commitment and was followed quickly by massive increases in the number of U.S. troops deployed to South Vietnam. 29 July A brigade of the 101st Airborne Division arrived at Cam Rahn Bay and set up its base camp there. August The first U.S. Marines to arrive in South Vietnam in 1965 were based in I Corps at Da Nang. Their biggest battle in 1965, Operation Starlite, took place a few miles south of the city of Chu Lai. Sixty - one percent of Americans responded `` no '' to the following question by the Gallup Poll, `` Do you think the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to fight in Vietnam ? '' U.S. Marines from H Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines on patrol near Da Nang in 1965. 3 August A company - sized U.S. Marine sweep through the village of Cam Ne was publicized in the U.S.. A Marine was shown on television lighting an old woman 's house while she pleaded for him to stop. The Marines said that the village had been fortified by the Viet Cong. 5 August The Viet Cong attacked a petroleum storage facility near Da Nang, destroying 40 percent of the facility and almost 2 million gallons of fuel. Former General and Ambassador Maxwell Taylor, now an adviser to President Johnson, told the President : `` By the end of 1965, the North Vietnamese offensive will be bloodied and defeated without having achieved major gains. '' North Vietnam would be forced to change its strategy. 6 August Air Force Colonel Robert Sexton confided to his diary : `` The V.C. are hurting but they still control things because we are afraid to get out of our forts on other than temporary patrols or sweeps. We need to devote fully 50 % of our effort to psychological operations and civic action. '' 10 -- 17 August The U.S. Special Forces Civilian Irregular Defense Group ( CIDG ) camp at Duc Co, 45 kilometres ( 28 mi ) southwest of Pleiku had been under siege by the Viet Cong since June. Attempts by ARVN to lift the siege had failed. General Westmoreland sent the 173rd Airborne brigade to Pleiku and the brigade opened the highway from Pleiku to Duc Co. The Viet Cong ( possibly reinforced by a North Vietnamese unit ) withdrew. 17 -- 24 August Operation Starlite was the first offensive military action conducted by the U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War and the first purely American operation. Lieutenant General Lewis W. Walt with 5,500 Marines launched a preemptive strike against 1,500 Viet Cong to nullify a threat on the Chu Lai base, 60 miles ( 97 km ) south of Da Nang. The Marines claimed to have killed more than 600 Viet Cong at a loss to themselves of more than 50 dead. General William E. DePuy at an later briefing said that the Viet Cong `` maneuvered in the jungle, maintained tactical integrity, withdrew their wounded, lost practically no weapons, and did a first class job '' and that `` we 'd be proud of American troops... who did as well. '' September 6 September The New York Times reported that ex-Vice President Richard Nixon said at a press conference that 125,000 American troops and an expanded bombing campaign would be sufficient to achieve victory in South Vietnam. 11 September The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division ( Airmobile ) began to arrive in South Vietnam at Qui Nhơn. The division was the first full U.S. Army division to be deployed to South Vietnam. 1st Cavalry relied on helicopters to transport its combat units to and from operational areas. 13 September Columnist Joseph Alsop said in the Washington Post said that, with the U.S. military build - up in South Vietnam, `` at last there is light at the end of the tunnel. '' 18 September In Operation Gibraltar, 224 soldiers of the First Brigade of the 101st Airborne landed by helicopter near An Khê, in the Central Highlands area where 2 Viet Cong battalions were located. The Viet Cong attacked and killed 13 Americans. Air strikes forced the Viet Cong to retreat, with losses estimated by the U.S. at between 226 and 257. General Westmoreland called the operation `` a great victory. '' Others, including Col. David H. Hackworth, considered the battle `` not... a great victory. '' 20 September Seven U.S. warplanes were shot down over North and South Vietnam. 22 September General Westmoreland requested 35,000 additional American troops, which would bring the total military personnel authorized in South Vietnam to 210,000. President Johnson and Secretary of Defense McNamara set a limit of the total number of U.S. soldiers of 195,000. October The Plei Me Special Forces camp in 1965. 15 October David Miller became the first American to burn his draft card as a protest against the Vietnam War. He was arrested by the FBI and later served 22 months in prison. 16 October Protests against the U.S. participation in the Vietnam War took place in Europe and in about 40 U.S. cities. The organization coordinating the U.S. demonstrations was called the National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam. 19 -- 25 October The Siege of Plei Me was a series of assaults by the North Vietnamese army on a CIDG camp manned by U.S. and ARVN special forces and rangers and 400 Montagnard allies. U.S. airstrikes and a relief force lifted the siege. The siege led up to the Battle of Ia Drang. 27 October A CIA intelligence estimate said that `` Hanoi continues to asset its determination to press on with the war in South Vietnam despite the continuing attrition of the air war and the increase of US troops in the South. '' November 2 November To protest the Vietnam War, a Quaker named Norman Morrison doused himself in kerosene and set himself on fire in front of The Pentagon. Morrison died. 3 November In a memorandum to President Johnson, Secretary McNamara estimated total communist forces in South Vietnam as having increased to 230,000, including 71,000 Viet Cong main force, 40,000 political cadre, 110,000 guerrillas, and 20,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. McNamara anticipated that these totals would increase. 5 -- 8 November Operation Hump was a search and destroy operation by the 173rd Airborne Brigade, in an area about 17.5 miles north of Biên Hòa. The 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, deployed south of the Đồng Nai River while the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, conducted a helicopter assault on an LZ northwest of the Đồng Nai and Song Be rivers. 8 November The Battle of Gang Toi was fought between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle was one of the first engagements between the two forces during the war and occurred when the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment ( 1RAR ) found a Viet Cong bunker system in the Gang Toi Hills, in northern Biên Hòa Province. A Republic of Korea army division completed its landing in South Vietnam to participate in the Vietnam War. The Korean Division was stationed at Qui Nhơn in Bình Định Province on the central coast of South Vietnam. With the Koreans in Qui Nhơn, a brigade of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division moved inland to protect Highway 19, which led to Pleiku in the Central Highlands. A South Korean Marine Brigade was stationed at the port city of Nha Trang. 14 -- 18 November The Battle of Ia Drang was one of the most consequential battles of the Vietnam War. For the first time, the United States Army and the People 's Army of Vietnam ( the North Vietnamese Army ) met head - on in a major engagement, with the South Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong playing only minor roles. Casualties were heavy on both sides, with some 250 U.S. and at least 1,200 North Vietnamese dead. For General Westmoreland, the battle was a victory for U.S. firepower and mobility in a war of attrition in which the U.S. attempted to kill more communist troops than could be replaced. However, in the words of Joe Galloway, a journalist awarded a Bronze Star for his participation in the battle, Ia Drang was `` the battle that convinced Ho Chi Minh he could win. '' The communists would `` grind down the Americans '' as they had the French in the 1940s and early ' 50s in the First Vietnam War. 30 November In the aftermath of the Battle of Ia Drang and after meeting with General Westmoreland in South Vietnam, Secretary of Defense McNamara recommended in a memorandum to President Johnson that the number of U.S. troops in South Vietnam should be increased to about 400,000 in 1966 and possibly by an additional 200,000 in 1967. McNamara estimated that 1,000 Americans per month would die in the war and that `` the odds are even '' that the U.S. would prevail. McNamara recommended a pause in bombing North Vietnam of 3 to 4 weeks duration to try to find a way to end the war before undertaking the military buildup. Ambassador Lodge, General Westmoreland, and CINCPAC opposed the bombing halt. December In an article in Reader 's Digest, former Vice President Richard Nixon opposed negotiations to end the Vietnam War. `` There can be no substitute for victory when the objective is the defeat of communist aggression '', he said. 18 December Operation Game Warden ( Task force 116 ) began. It was a U.S. and South Vietnamese Navy operation in the Mekong Delta and near Saigon to patrol the rivers and coastal waters of South Vietnam, prevent the infiltration of soldiers and supplies from North Vietnam, and deny the Viet Cong access to the waterways. ca. 18 December After a visit to South Vietnam, Marine Corps General Victor Krulak wrote a report expressing disagreement with General Westmoreland 's strategy of attrition. It was `` wasteful of American lives, promising a protracted, strength - sapping battle with small likelihood of a successful outcome. '' Krulak proposed instead a focus on a pacification program to provide village security plus increased air strikes. 24 December President Johnson announced a halt in the bombing of North Vietnam and initiated a worldwide diplomatic effort to persuade North Vietnam to negotiate an end to the war. The Department of Defense opposed the bombing halt. 27 December North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh addressed the Communist Party Central Committee in Hanoi. Ho said that `` politics '' was the weak point of the American and South Vietnamese enemy, and the domestic situation of the United States will not permit the U.S. to utilize its military and economic power in South Vietnam. The Committee decided that the communist forces in South Vietnam should seek a `` decisive victory within a relatively short period of time '', but must prepare to defend itself if the U.S. expands its war effort. 31 December U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam now totaled 184,314, compared to 23,310 a year earlier. U.S. casualties in 1965 totaled 1,928 dead, compared to 216 in the 1964. South Vietnamese military forces totaled 514,000, including the Army and the Popular Force and Regional Force militias. The South Vietnamese armed forces suffered 11,242 killed in action, a five-fold increase in battle deaths since 1960. 93,000 persons deserted from the South Vietnam 's armed forces in 1965. At year 's end, the North Vietnamese army numbered 400,000, compared to 195,000 a year earlier. Air force and air defense capabilities were greatly expanded. 50,000 North Vietnamese cadre and soldiers infiltrated South Vietnam during 1965, equal to the total number infiltrated from 1959 through 1964. Group 559, charged with transporting supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to supply communist troops in both South Vietnam and Laos, was expanded to 24,400 personnel and moved almost as much tonnage south in 1965 as it had in the preceding six years. Conscription ( draft ) into the United States armed forces in 1965 was 230,991 men, compared to 112,386 in 1964. Year in numbers Armed Force Strength KIA Reference Military costs -- 1965 Military costs -- 2018 Reference South Vietnam ARVN 514,000 11,242 United States US Forces 184, 314 1,928 US $20 billion US $ 155,311,510,000 South Korea 20,620 Thailand 20 Australia 1560 Philippines 70 New Zealand 120 Vietnam Viet Cong and North Vietnam 220,000 Notes ^ Jump up to : Heinemann 2006, p. 65 Jump up ^ Clarke, p. 275 Jump up ^ Clarke, p. 20 Jump up ^ `` Timeline, 1963 -- 1964, http://www.vietnamgear.com/war1963.aspx, accessed 8 Sep 2014 Jump up ^ Clarke, p. 19 Jump up ^ Adams, p. 34 Jump up ^ Asselin, Pierre ( 2013 ), Hanoi 's Road to the Vietnam War, 1954 -- 1965, Berkeley : University of California Press, p. 200 Jump up ^ Clarke, p. 20 ; Adams, p. 84 Jump up ^ Logevall, pp. 302 - 303 Jump up ^ Logevall, pp. 305 - 306 Jump up ^ FRUS, Document 9 Jump up ^ Logevall, p. 212 Jump up ^ Johns, Andrew L. ( June 1999 ), `` A Voice from the Wilderness : Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War, 1964 -- 1966 '', Presidential Study Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 2, p, 321. Downloaded from JSTOR. Jump up ^ Logevall, p. 316 Jump up ^ Logevall, pp. 317 - 319 Jump up ^ McMaster, p. 215 Jump up ^ Garland, p. 14 Jump up ^ Clodfelter, p. 58 ; McMaster, p. 218 - 219 Jump up ^ Gardner, Lloyd C. `` Lyndon Johnson and the Bombing of Vietnam : Politics and Military Choices '' in The Columbia History of the Vietnam War ( 2011 ), New York : Columbia University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 231 - 13480 - 4. 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Brueker Remco ( 2009 ), `` Korea 's Forgotten War '' Korean Histories, pp. 40 - 42, www.koreanhistories.org/files/KH1_1 % 20Breuker - Korea % 27s % 20Forgotten % 20War. pdf, accessed 29 Apr 2015 Jump up ^ Shulimson and Johnson, p. 9 Jump up ^ Mann, p. 408 ; McMaster, p. 234 Jump up ^ Logevall, pp. 366 - 367 Jump up ^ Kaiser, pp. 413 - 414 Jump up ^ Shulimson and Johnson, pp. 11 - 16 Jump up ^ McMaster, pp. 236 - 237 Jump up ^ FRUS, January -- June 1965, Document 195 Jump up ^ Krepinevich, Jr., p. 143 Jump up ^ Olson, James Stuart ( 1999 ). Historical dictionary of the 1960s. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 26. ISBN 0 - 313 - 29271 - X. Jump up ^ Anderson, David L. ( 2000 ). The human tradition in the Vietnam era. Rowman & Littlefield,. p. 183. ISBN 0 - 8420 - 2763 - 7. Jump up ^ Chen Jian ( June 1995 ), `` China 's Involvement in the Vietnam War '', The China Quarterly, No. 142, p. 366. Downloaded from JSTOR. Jump up ^ Moyar, Michael ( Oct 2004 ), `` Political Monks : The Militant Buddhist Movement during the Vietnam War '', Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 38, No. 4, p. 778 Jump up ^ Krepinevich, Jr., pp. 145 - 146 Jump up ^ Bowman, p. 110 Jump up ^ Military History Institute of Vietnam, p. 164 Jump up ^ Kaiser, pp. 423 - 426 Jump up ^ Kaiser, p. 421 Jump up ^ Qiang Zhai, p 25 Jump up ^ Krepinevich, Jr., pp. 140 - 141, 146 - 149 Jump up ^ Barringer, Mark `` The Anti-War Movement in the United States '' http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/antiwar.html, accessed 13 Oct 2014 Jump up ^ Chen Jian, p. 377 Jump up ^ Buzzanco, p. 211 Jump up ^ Buzzanco, p. 213 Jump up ^ Krepinevich, Jr., p. 150 Jump up ^ Sorley, Lewis ( 2008 ), `` To Change a War : General Harold K. Johnson and the PROVN study '', http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Articles/98spring/sorley.htm, accessed 19 Oct 2015 Jump up ^ Birtle, Andrew ( October 2008 ) `` PROVN, Westmoreland, and the Historians : A Reappraisal ' The Journal of Military History, Vol. 72, p. 1213 -- 1214 Jump up ^ FRUS, Documents 283 Jump up ^ Krepinevich, Jr., pp. 147, 151 Jump up ^ Bowman, p. 114 ^ Jump up to : Bowman, p. 115 Jump up ^ Chen Jian, pp. 369 - 374 Jump up ^ FRUS, 1 ` 964 - 1968, Vol II, Vietnam January -- June 1963, Document 307. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v02/d307, accessed 19 Oct 2015 Jump up ^ Australia 2010, p. 5 ; Bowman, p. 116 Jump up ^ Bowman, p. 116 Jump up ^ Kaiser, pp. 440 - 442 Jump up ^ Bowman, p. 118 Jump up ^ Kaiser, pp. 445 - 446 Jump up ^ Kaiser, p. 445 - 446 Jump up ^ Mann 445 - 446 Jump up ^ Kaiser, pp. 448 - 449 Jump up ^ `` Operation Arc Light '' Air Force Historical Studies Office http://www.afhso.af.mil/topics/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15262, accessed 2 Oct 2014 Jump up ^ Kaiser, pp 451 - 452 Jump up ^ Kaiser, p. 454 Jump up ^ Garland, pp. 26 - 27 Jump up ^ Gilbert, Marc Jason ( 2002 ) `` The Cost of Losing the ' Other War ' '' in Why the North Won the Vietnam War,, New York : Palgrave, p. 167 Jump up ^ Bowman, p. 120 Jump up ^ Bowman, p. 120 ; Mann, p. 395 Jump up ^ Kaiser, pp 454 - 455 Jump up ^ Garland, pp 33 - 34 Jump up ^ Buzzanco, p. 220 - 221 Jump up ^ Buzzanco, p. 221 Jump up ^ Bowman p. 121 Jump up ^ Jessup 1998, p. 523 Jump up ^ Gilbert, p. 167 Jump up ^ Van Staaveren, p. 163 Jump up ^ Mann, p 455 - 457 Jump up ^ Buzzanco, p. 22 ; Mann, p. 458 Jump up ^ Lunch and Sperlich, p. 25 Jump up ^ Shulimson and Johnson, p. 64 Jump up ^ Bowman, p. 124 Jump up ^ Mann, p. 464 Jump up ^ Gilbert, p. 193 Jump up ^ Garland, pp. 30 - 31 Jump up ^ Lehrack, Otto J. `` Operation Starlite : The First Battle of the Vietnam War Leatherneck, http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Leatherneck_050815_Starlite,00.html, accessed 5 Oct 2014 Jump up ^ Buzzanco, p. 234 Jump up ^ Johns, p. 323 Jump up ^ `` 1st Cavalry Division Arrives in Country '' http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/1st-cavalry-division-arrives-in-country Jump up ^ Adams, pp. 32 - 33 Jump up ^ Garland, pp 42 - 43 Jump up ^ Bowman, p. 126 ^ Jump up to : Mann, p. 468 Jump up ^ Miller, David, `` Memoirs of a Draft Card Burner '', http://www.reclaimingquarterly.org/82/rq-82-draftcard.html, accessed 13 Oct 2014 ^ Jump up to : Bowman, p. 127 Jump up ^ `` The Pacifists '' Time Magazine. 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Accessed 11 Oct. 2014. < http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=1070608001 >, accessed 11 Oct 2014 Jump up ^ Buzzanco, pp. 249 - 250 Jump up ^ Mann, pp. 476 -- 477 Jump up ^ Military History of Vietnam, pp 171 - 172 Jump up ^ `` Vietnam War Timeline : 1965 '' http://www.vietnamgear.com/war1965.aspx, accessed 11 Oct 2014 Jump up ^ `` Statistical Information about Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War '' https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics.html, accessed 11 Oct 2014 Jump up ^ Summers, Jr., p. 36 Jump up ^ Clarke, Jeffrey J. ( 1988 ), United States Army in Vietnam : Advice and Support : The Final Years, 1965 -- 1973, Washington, D.C : Center of Military History, United States Army, p. 275 Jump up ^ Fall ( 1966 ), p 13. Downloaded from JSTOR. Jump up ^ Military History of Vietnam, pp. 164 - 171 Jump up ^ `` Selective Service System : Induction Statistics '' `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2009 - 05 - 07. Retrieved 2005 - 12 - 27., accessed 12 Oct 2014 ^ Jump up to : War Remnants Museum Data hide Armed Force 1910 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 South Vietnam ARVN 514,000 643,000 735,900 798,800 820,000 897,000 968,000 1,046,250 1,048,000 United States 23,310 180,000 385,300 485,600 549,500 549,500 335,790 158,120 24,000 South Korea 200 20,620 25,570 47,830 50,000 48,870 48,540 45,700 36,790 Australia 200 1560 4530 6820 7660 7670 6800 2000 130 Thailand 0 20 240 2220 6000 11,570 11,570 6000 40 Philippines 20 70 2060 2020 1580 190 70 50 50 New Zealand 30 120 160 530 520 550 440 100 50 Jump up ^ United States 2010 References Adams, Sam ( 1994 ), War of Numbers : An Intelligence Memoir South Royalton, Vermont. : Steerforth Press. Australia, Australian Defence Force ( 2010 ). `` Australia in Vietnam '' ( PDF ). Australian Defence Force. Retrieved March 29, 2010. Bowman, John S., ed. ( 1985 ), The World Almanac of the Vietnam War, New York : Bison Books. ISBN 0 - 88687 - 272 - 3. Buzzanco, Robert ( 1996 ), Masters of War : Military Dissent and Politics in the Vietnam Era, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 - 521 - 48046 - 9. Clarke, Jeffrey J. ( 1988 ), The United States Army in Vietnam : Advice and Support : The Final Years, 1965 -- 1973, Washington, D.C. : Center of Military History, United States Army. Clodfelter, Michael ( 1995 ), Vietnam in Military Statistics : A History of the Indochina Wars, 1772 -- 1991. McFarland & Company, 1995. ISBN 0786400277, 9780786400270 Fall, Bernard ( 1966 ), `` Viet Nam in the Balance '', The Australian Quarterly, Vol 38, No. 4, p. 13 FRUS. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964 -- 1968, Vol II, Vietnam, January -- June 1965, United States Department of State, http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v02 FRUS Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964 -- 1968, Vol III, Vietnam, June -- December 1965, United States Department of State, http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v03 Garland, John M. ( 2000 ), Combat Operations : Stemming the Tide, May 1965 to October 1966, Washington, D.C. : Center of Military History, United States Army. Heinemann, Larry ( 2006 ). Black Virgin Mountain : A Return to Vietnam ( 2006 ed. ). Vintage Books. ISBN 1 - 4000 - 7689 - 7. - Total pages : 243 Jessup, John E. ( 1998 ). An encyclopedic dictionary of conflict and conflict resolution, 1945 - 1996 ( 1998 ed. ). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0 - 313 - 28112 - 2. - Total pages : 887 Kaiser, David ( 2000 ), American Tragedy : Kennedy, Johnson, and the Origins of the Vietnam War, Cambridge : Harvard University Press. ISBN 0 - 674 - 00225 - 3. Krepinevich, Jr., Andrew F. ( 1986 ), The Army and Vietnam, Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0 - 8018 - 2863 - 5. Li, Xiaobing ( 2007 ). A history of the modern Chinese Army ( 2007 ed. ). University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0 - 8131 - 2438 - 7. - Total pages : 413 Logevall, Frederik ( 1999 ), Choosing War : The Lost Chance for Peace and the Escalation of War in Vietnam Berkeley : University of California Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 52022 - 919 - 8. Lunch, William L. and Sperlich, Peter W. ( 1979 ), `` American Public Opinion and the War in Vietnam '' The Western Political Quarterly, Vol 32, No. 1, pp. 231 -- 44. Downloaded from JSTOR. McMaster, H.R. ( 1997 ), Dereliction of Duty : Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam, New York : Harper Perennial. ISBN 0 - 06 - 018795 - 6. Mann, Robert ( 2001 ), A Grand Delusion : America 's Descent into Vietnam, New York : Basic Books. ISBN 0 - 465 - 04369 - 0. The Military History Institute of Vietnam ( 2002 ) Victory in Vietnam : The Official History of the People 's Army of Vietnam, 1954 -- 1975 Lawrence : University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0 - 7006 - 1175 - 4. Moyar, Mark ( 2006 ), Triumph Forsaken : The Vietnam War, 1954 -- 1965. New York : Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 86911 - 9. Qiang Zhai ( 1999 ), `` Opposing Negotiations : China and the Vietnam Peace Talks, 1965 -- 1968 '', Pacific Historical Review, Vol 68, No. 1. Downloaded from JSTOR. Shulimson, Jack and Johnson, Major Charles M. ( 1978 ), U.S. Marines in Vietnam : The Landing and Building, 1965, Washington : Government Printing Office. Summers, Jr., Harry G. ( 1985 ), Vietnam War Almanac, New York : Facts on File Publications. ISBN 0 - 8160 - 1017 - X. Tucker, Spencer C., ed. ( 2000 ), Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War : A Political, Social and Military History, Santa Barbara, California : ABC - CLIO. ISBN 978 - 1 - 57607 - 040 - 6. United States, Government ( 2010 ). `` Statistical information about casualties of the Vietnam War ''. National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010. Van Staaveren, Jacob ( 2002 ), Gradual Failure : The Air War Over North Vietnam 1965 -- 1966, Washington : Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force. show Vietnam War timeline ↓ Battle of Saigon ↓ ARVN Formed ↓ Hòa Hảo defeated ↓ HCM trail established ↓ Laos Invasion ↓ NLF Formed ↓ 1960 Coup Attempt ↓ US Role Expanded ↓ Palace Bombing ↓ Buddhist Crisis ↓ 1963 Coup ↓ Gulf of Tonkin Incident ↓ Laos Bombing Begin ↓ US Forces Deployed ↓ Buddhist Uprising ↓ Sihanouk Trail Created ↓ Tet Offensive ↓ US Begins Withdrawal ↓ PRG Formed ↓ Cambodian Campaign ↓ Lam Son 719 ↓ Easter Offensive ↓ Paris Accords ↓ Spring Offensive ↓ Fall of Saigon ↓ Cambodian War Widens ↓ Christmas Bombings U.S President : Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon G. Ford RVN Presidents : Ngô Đình Diệm Instability Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Trần Văn Hương DRV General Secretary : Lê Duẩn / President : Ho Chi Minh General Secretary : Lê Duẩn / President : Tôn Đức Thắng NLF Chairman : Nguyễn Hữu Thọ PRG President : Nguyễn Hữu Thọ │ 1955 │ 1956 │ 1957 │ 1958 │ 1959 │ 1960 │ 1961 │ 1962 │ 1963 │ 1964 │ 1965 │ 1966 │ 1967 │ 1968 │ 1969 │ 1970 │ 1971 │ 1972 │ 1973 │ │ Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1965_in_the_Vietnam_War&oldid=853815900 '' Categories : Years in the Vietnam War 1965 in Vietnam Conflicts in 1965 United States history timelines Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 7 August 2018, at 03 : 51 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how many u.s. troops were stationed in vietnam by the end of 1965
Answer: 184,314