What Impact did South Vietnamese Citizens have on the Withdrawal of American Forces?
In a war for the land of the Vietnamese truly how important were the hearts of the Vietnamese, to the soldiers fighting for them? In The Americans soldiers claimed they came to Vietnam to save the people of south Vietnam from the horror of communism but as the war went on it was clear that the Americans were there for their own interests and enemies than the Vietnamese citizens, meaning that more and more citizens of South Vietnam lost support and faith in America and its soldiers. So we are left with the question what impact did South Vietnamese citizens have on the withdrawal of American forces. South Vietnamese citizens had an impact in the withdrawal of American troops but how much did this effect the US troops compared to other reasons such as the support of other communist countries in North Vietnam and guerilla tactics. Two reasons why South Vietnamese citizens might have had an effect of the extraction of American troops is that there was decrease of support in South Vietnamese citizens towards the American soldiers and that North Vietnamese militia were not allowed to harm any citizens as Ho Chi Minh knew the importance of the support of troops throughout this battle.
American troops constantly mistreated Vietnamese innocent citizens which meant less Vietnamese citizens wanted American troops in Vietnam and the American public was also weary of the ill treatment of the citizens in Vietnam causing protesting for the removal of these troops. One example of the ill treatment of Vietnamese citizens was the My Lai slaughter where a group of soldiers entitled the Charlie company attacked the Quang Ngai region destroying everything, nearly 400 ...
... middle of paper ...
... in Vietnam anymore, they had no choice but to leave. This might not have been the only reason to their withdrawal but after a long battle the lack of support in Vietnam citizens was the last step to the retreating of US troops.
Bibliography:
BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Vietcong and American tactics. 2014. BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Vietcong and American tactics. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/vietnam/thewarinvietnamrev2.shtml. [Accessed 27 March 2014].
Battlefield:Vietnam | Guerrilla Tactics. 2014. Battlefield:Vietnam | Guerrilla Tactics. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/guerrilla/index.html?pagewanted=all. [Accessed 27 March 2014].
Referenced by Harvard Referencing Generator: http://www.harvardgenerator.com/
Walsh, B., 1996. GCSE Modern World History. Second Edition. London:John Murray (publishers) Ltd.
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Fussell, Paul. "Vietnam." The Bloody Game: An Anthology of Modern War. Ed. Paul Fussell. London: Scribners, 1991. 651-6.
Another atrocity that occurred during this war was the My Lai Massacre. This was the mass murder of unarmed civilians in South Vietnam during March 16, 1968. Around November 1969, the world saw this and was outraged with the killings of innocent civilians prompting and giving the public more reasons to stop the war. Although the war was very unpopular, men and women were still fighting and dying for America. Heroes such as Captain John W, Ripley of Dong Ha, Medal of Honor recipients, and overall troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice were forgotten for a brief period.
Senior Leaders have analyzed wars for years in hopes of finding the most efficient way to conduct war. This paper explores the events of that took place during the Battle of Bien Hoa in 1968. Research was conducted through internet and non-internet sources to provide the most accurate facts concerning this battle. The 29th of January 1968 was the beginning of Battle of Bien Hoa when the Bien Hoa Air Base went under attack. On 31 January the first Tet Offensive began by the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam in order to shift the invading army and regain control by the Vietnamese. A total of 39 encounters were recorded in this battle fought by brave Soldiers from the 17th Calvary, the 11th Armored Calvary, the 101st Airborne Division, the 47th Infantry Division (Mechanized), the 199th Infantry Brigade, the Air Force, Marines, and the South Vietnamese Army, against enemy forces (North Vietnamese Army, and the Viet Cong). Pleiku, Phan Theit, Ban Me Thuot, Thu Duc, An My, and Kontum are some of the cities near the Saigon area where the encounters took place. (Starry, 1931) Before the battle begun there was a huge dilemma about engaging armored vehicles in Vietnam; however once fully engaged the results created an atmosphere of change, innovation, power, and confidence that changed the strategies of war forever.
Patrick M. Malone, the author of the his research book “The Skulking Way of War: Technology and Tactics among the New England Indians,” served as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War, where he experienced the opposition forces using guerrilla tactics, such as hiding and using the environment as their advantage and stealthy raid during night time when is completely dark in the jungles of Vietnam. Patrick M. Malone quoted about what Neil Sheehan said of the U.S. military advisors in Vietnam in 1962 all agree on one desire: “They hoped that the guerillas would one day be foolish enough to abandon their skulking ways and fight fairly in a stand-up battle” (Malone 6). The origin meaning of the term “skulking way of war” was primarily to describe
Pohl, James W. "The American Revolution and the Vietnamese War: Pertinent Military Analogies." The History Teacher 7.2 (1974): 255-65. JSTOR. Society for History Education. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. .
"Overview of the Vietnam War." Digital History. Digital History, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
Due to the volatile conditions of the Vietnam War, the protestors believed that they should not be involved in a war that they cared so little about. Public opinion heavily swayed during the war as only one senator dissented from the overwhelming opinion to fight the war (Amter 45). However, as President Johnson escalated the war and the Draft increased by 25% in 1968, those youths being conscripted were infuriated (Dougan 118). Not only this, the North Vietnamese began a ruthless offensive on American soldiers by merciless attacking our bases. This resulted in US victories, but also US casualties (Dougan 116). Also, the marines stationed at the bases began to use offensive attacks to deter Viet Cong assault against the wishes of General Taylor (Karnov 443). With these new less defensive strategy, Nixon announced plans to start operations in Cambodia, and to increase the bombings overall in Southeast Asia (Dougan 180). Some missions even began t...
"Vietnam War Facts - The Vietnam War." The Vietnam War. Web. 01 May 2014. .
The U.S. Public Opinion as a Major Factor in the Withdrawal of American Troops from Vietnam
The relationship between conventional and guerilla operations was a key element of the Vietnamese communists’ “Dau Tranh” strategy to fight and win the Vietnam War. A brief description of the Dua Tranh (meaning struggle) strategy is appropriate since it was the basis for North Vietnam’s success. The strategy consisted of an armed struggle and a political struggle. The armed struggle began with Stage One hit and run guerilla tactics to “decimate the enemy piecemeal and weaken then eliminate the government’s administrative control of the countryside...
There were many events that lead up the Vietnam War, it started in 1945 with the hostilities between the French and Vietminh. “Geopolitical Strategy, economics, domestic US politics, and cultural arrogance shaped the growing American involvement in Vietnam” (Anderson 1). As a matter of fact, the Vietnam War was several wars, but it was not until 1962 that America had their first combat mission, however, Americans were killed during ambushes by the Vietnamese before the first combat mission. There is much controversy over the reasons for the Vietnam War, supported by the several different books and articles written about the war. “The most famous atrocity occurred in a tiny hamlet called My Lai in March 1968” (Detzer 127). History shows that the reaction of many Americans to the attack by US soldiers on the village of My Lai during the Vietnam War was opposition, and the actions of the US soldiers during the My Lai Massacre will be forever remembered as a significant part of the Vietnam War and American History.
There are many reasons to the failure of the US in Vietnam. However the following text will focus on some of the most significant reasons to the failures of the US. One failure of the US in Vietnam is the use of chemical warfare. The purpose of using chemical weapons was to clear the forests and kill the VC. However the US were unsuccessful in killing the VC. They managed to clear off the forest with the use of 'Napalm and Agent Orange' however the main threat – the VC, was still there. This was quite significant in the failure of the US as they did not get rid of the enemy instead they poisoned their own men by the chemicals let off by 'Napalm' and 'Agent Orange'.
Going into the Vietnam War, America didn’t know much of anything about Vietnam, their culture, or their people. We didn’t even speak their language. We didn’t understand what exactly to do. We continued to increase the number of troops to send over, and we continued to get more casualties and fatalities. American methods including a hi-tech war, search and destroy, and strategic hamlets did nothing to help them; it only hurt them and help the Vietcong destroy them (“BBC- GCSE Bitesize: Vietcong and American tactics,” (n.d.). The American tactics were not effective at
As we got further and further into the Vietnam War, few lives were untouched by grief, anger and fear. The Vietnamese suffered the worst hardship; children lay dead in the street, villages remained nothing but charred ashes, and bombs destroyed thousands of innocent civilians. Soldiers were scarred emotionally as well as physically, as