1964 in the Vietnam War
| 1964 in the Vietnam War | |||
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← 1963
1965 →
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 A map of South Vietnam showing provincial boundaries and names and military zones: 1, II, III, and IV Corps. |
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| Belligerents | |||
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Anti-Communist forces:  South Vietnam United States Kingdom of Laos
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Communist forces:  North Vietnam Viet Cong Pathet Lao
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| Strength | |||
| US: 23,310 (31 Dec 1964) South Vietnam: 514,000 (includes militia) |
NVA/VC:100,000 | ||
| Casualties and losses | |||
| US: 216 killed South Vietnam: 7,457 killed |
North Vietnam: casualties | ||
Anti-Communist forces:
Communist forces:
South Vietnam was in political chaos during much of the year as generals competed for power and Buddhists protested against the government. The Viet Cong communist guerrillas expanded their operations and defeated the South Vietnamese army (ARVN) in many battles. North Vietnam made a definitive judgement in January to assist the Viet Cong insurgency with men and material. In November North Vietnam ordered the North Vietnamese Army to infiltrate units into South Vietnam and undertake joint military operations with the Viet Cong.
The new President of the United States, Lyndon Johnson, and his civilian and military advisers wrestled with the problem of a failing government in South Vietnam and military gains by the communists. In August, an attack on American navy vessels caused Johnson to seek and gain U.S. congressional approval of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution which authorized him to use military force if necessary to defend South Vietnam. Throughout the year there were calls from many quarters, American, foreign, and South Vietnamese, for the United States to seek a solution to the conflict by negotiating an agreement for the neutralization of South Vietnam. The U.S. refused to consider negotiations.
Many of President Johnson's advisers advocated an air war against North Vietnam and the introduction of U.S. combat troops into South Vietnam. By year's end, the 23,000 U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam were still technically "advisers" (although they participated in many air and ground operations with the ARVN), but Johnson was contemplating U.S. ground troops.
At the time, most of the reports and conversations mentioned below were secret; they were not made public for many years.
U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. reported to Washington that the new President of South Vietnam Dương Văn Minh told him that he opposed American soldiers going into villages and districts of rural Vietnam as they would be perceived as "more imperialistic than the French" and would give credence to communist propaganda that the Saigon government was a lackey of the United States.
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