What was Operation Plan 34A?

• A. Bombing campaigns against Hanoi
• B. Deployment of US troops to Cambodia
• C. Economic aid program to Saigon
• D. An American-designed operation involving South Vietnamese PT boats raiding North Vietnamese coastal installations

Answer: (D)

Operation Plan 34A is an example of a limited, covert approach to increasing pressure on North Vietnam without deploying large numbers of American troops. The plan was designed to have South Vietnamese PT boats conduct raids on North Vietnamese coastal installations, with American planning and support guiding the operation. The idea was to strike at targets along the coast to disrupt, intimidate, or signal resolve to Hanoi while keeping the U.S. out of a full-scale ground or air war.

This fits the concept of using small, targeted actions rather than broad bombing campaigns or major troop deployments. The other options describe different kinds of actions—widespread bombing of Hanoi, U.S. troop deployments to Cambodia, or purely economic aid—none of which capture the specific military design of Plan 34A involving South Vietnamese fast boats raiding coastal targets.