On this day - December 31st 1960 – An estimated 4,500 former - TopicsExpress

On this day - December 31st 1960 – An estimated 4,500 former South Vietnamese living in the North have infiltrated back to the South during the year. US forces in Vietnam now number 900. 1961 – According to the Military Advisory Assistance Group, US military forces in South Vietnam have reached 3,200. the number of US servicemen in November was 948. Total insurgent forces are estimated at 26,700. Fourteen Americans have been killed or wounded in combat. To Army helicopter units are flying combat missions. ‘Jungle Jim’ air commandos are instructing the South Vietnamese Air Force. US Navy Mine Division 73, a tender and five sweepers, is sailing from Thailand and Seventh Fleet carriers are flying surveillance and reconnaissance missions over Vietnam. Six C-123 aircraft have received ‘diplomatic clearance’ to enter South Vietnam. $65 million in US military equipment and $136 million in economic aid have been delivered to South Vietnam during 1961. 1964 – By year’s end, U.S. troop levels reach 23,310 in Vietnam (including 1,300 Green Berets). 1966 – By year’s end, U.S. troop levels reach 389,000 with 5,008 combat deaths and 30,093 wounded. Over half of the American casualties are caused by snipers and small arms fire during Viet Cong ambushes, along with handmade booby traps and mines planted everywhere in the countryside by Viet Cong. American Allies fighting in Vietnam include 45,000 soldiers from South Korea and 7,000 Australians. An estimated 89,000 soldiers from North Vietnam infiltrated the South via the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1966. 1967 – By year’s end, U.S. troop levels reach 463,000 with 16,000 combat deaths to date. By this time, over a million America soldiers have rotated through Vietnam, with length of service for draftees being one year, and most Americans serving in support units. An estimated 90,000 soldiers from North Vietnam infiltrated into the South via the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1967. Overall Viet Cong/NVA troop strength throughout South Vietnam is now estimated up to 300,000 men. 1968 – Bloodiest year of the war ends. The bloodiest year of the war comes to an end. At years end, 536,040 American servicemen were stationed in Vietnam, an increase of over 50,000 from 1967. Estimates from Headquarters U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam indicated that 181,150 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese were killed during the year. However, Allied losses were also up: 27,915 South Vietnamese, 14,584 Americans (a 56 percent increase over 1967), and 979 South Koreans, Australians, New Zealanders, and Thais were reported killed during 1968. Since January 1961, more than 31,000 U.S. servicemen had been killed in Vietnam and over 200,000 U.S. personnel had been wounded. Contributing to the high casualty number was the Tet Offensive launched by the communists. Conducted in the early weeks of the year, it was a crushing military defeat for the communists, but the size and scope of the attacks caught the American and South Vietnamese allies completely by surprise. The early reporting by the news media of a smashing communist victory went largely uncorrected, and this led to a psychological victory for the communists. The heavy U.S. casualties incurred during the offensive coupled with the disillusionment over the earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war accelerated the growing disenchantment with President Johnsons conduct of the war. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the Democratic nomination for president. 1969 – By year’s end, America’s fighting strength in Vietnam has been reduced by 115,000 men. 40,024 Americans have now been killed in Vietnam. Over the next few years, the South Vietnamese Army will be boosted to over 500,000 men in accordance with “Vietnamization” of the war in which they will take over the fighting from Americans. 1970 – By year’s end, American troop levels drop to 280,000. 1971 – The gradual U.S. withdrawal from the conflict in Southeast Asia is reflected in reduced annual casualty figures. The number of Americans killed in action dropped to 1,386 from the previous year total of 4,204. South Vietnam losses for the year totalled 21,500 men, while the combined Viet Cong and North Vietnamese total was estimated at 97,000 killed in action. After 10 years of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, a total of 45,627 American soldiers had been killed. The U.S. troop levels, which started the year at 280,000, were down to 159,000. This troop reduction was a direct result of the shifting American goal for the Vietnam War-no longer attempting a military victory, the U.S. was trying to gracefully extricate itself from the situation by transferring responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese. 1972 – With the end of Linebacker II, the most intense U.S. bombing operation of the Vietnam War, U.S. and communist negotiators prepare to return to the secret Paris peace talks scheduled to reconvene on January 2. In a statement issued in Paris, the Hanoi delegation to the public peace talks asserted that the U.S. bombing did not succeed in “subjugating the Vietnamese people,” and called attention to the losses of U.S. planes and the unfavorable world reaction to the raids. Despite the public denial that the Linebacker II raids forced them back, the communists returned to the negotiating table. When the negotiators met in January, the talks moved along quickly and on January 23, 1973, the United States, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and the Viet Cong signed a cease-fire agreement that took effect five days later. In 1972, the American troop level in South Vietnam was reduced from 159,000 to only 24,000. Under the terms of the Paris Peace Accords, all of the personnel would be withdrawn by March 1973. 1977 – Cambodia drops diplomatic relations with Vietnam.