Use Sources A,B and C and your own knowledge;
How far was the North Vietnamese government, in the years 1964 to 1968, responsible for the escalation of the war in Vietnam? (24marks)

Following the assassination of Kennedy and Diem in 1963, the Vietnam War began to escalate at a rapid rate. This escalation can be blamed on the North Vietnamese in Hanoi as they coordinated attacks and through use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail which had no limit on the expansion of the trails use. However the escalation cannot only be blamed on the North Vietnamese as at this time the situation in South Vietnam was very volatile and this caused the us officials to believe escalation was necessary to keep Vietnam under control.

The North Vietnamese Government were not responsible for the escalation of the Vietnam War in the years 1964-1968 as the threat from the North continued and the South remained weak especially due to its chaotic government in place at the time with corrupt military officers who were appointed for political rather than military reasons. The US believed that it ad to strengthen its resources there to be able to achieve success, in 1965 Johnson authorizes an additional 100,000 troops to be sent to Vietnam. Another reason explaining why the North Vietnamese weren’t responsible for the wars escalation was that Johnson believed that ground troops were key to the strategy and beating the North and the US would win as long as the US remained strong and to go back on this policy. Source B backs up this point as it states ‘if our gradual approach does not pay off, then the enemy must be regarded as the enemy and fought with all resources, with no mercy shown’ this shows that no matter what the US was committed and would continue to escalate by any means necessary to ensure the US’ victory in Vietnam. Johnson was also committed to containment and the conflict in Vietnam