Escalation of the Conflict
During 1964 pressure built up in the United States for an extension of the war to the Vietcong supply bases in North Vietnam. In August of that year, it was alleged that two U.S. warships had been attacked by North Vietnamese boats in the Gulf of Tonkin (off the coast of North Vietnam). The incident was the signal for the initiation of heavy daily American bombing raids on North Vietnamese installations. In March of 1965, the first American combat unit landed in South Vietnam, sent by U.S. President, Lyndon B. Johnson. More and more heavy military operations were conducted by American regular troops. American troops in South Vietnam reached a peak of 545,000 by the end of 1968, against an estimated Vietcong and North Vietnam force of 240,000.
