WI: Direct Intervention in Vietnam Limited to Air and Sea Power

Delta Force

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What if the United States had limited its direct intervention in Vietnam to air and sea power, rather than sending in ground troops? What impact would it have on the course of the conflict and future military interventions by the United States?
 
Are there strict limits on this intervention, or because there are no ground troops at risk are the planes and ships free to go berserk?
 
It depends on what restrictions you have on the bombing campaign? If this is the Air Force and Navy gets a blank check other then using atomics then it could be effective in 1962-64 if you don't kill Diem. It would be quite effective if they are willing to mine the North's harbor and hit their supply lines in a way they weren't able to under Johnson.
 

Delta Force

Banned
Are there strict limits on this intervention, or because there are no ground troops at risk are the planes and ships free to go berserk?

It depends on what restrictions you have on the bombing campaign? If this is the Air Force and Navy gets a blank check other then using atomics then it could be effective in 1962-64 if you don't kill Diem. It would be quite effective if they are willing to mine the North's harbor and hit their supply lines in a way they weren't able to under Johnson.

The intervention would probably be limited to the Republic of Vietnam, but if/when things escalate operations could move North to the DRV.
 
If the war goes north it has to go balls deep, none of this limited, sending a message crap. IIRC there was a list of 94 targets in Nth Vietnam that were to be bombed and apparently all of them were between 1965 and 68, but never all at once in order to develop the synergistic effects of infrastructure collapse. That would be the aim when the air/sea war goes north.

Do the USMC count as naval forces, could amphibious raids be laid on?
 
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