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Military strategies used by the usa and the vietcong in vietnam between 1966 to 1973
Tactics used by the u.s. military against the vietcong
Historians on vietnams guerrilla tactics
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Tactics in Vietnam were an important factor in the victory of the Vietcong over the U.S. There were fundamental differences in their fighting methods, which the Vietcong were able to take full advantage of. The Vietcong used Guerrilla warfare, this meant that they used their knowledge of the area they were fighting in to hinder the U.S. The U.S army had been used to conventional warfare, in the form of bouts of fighting. Guerrilla warfare meant that they had to be constantly alert and Booby traps meant that many soldiers died and witnessed horrific deaths. This was naturally unnerving for the soldiers concerned, particularly so because many of the soldiers were young and inexperienced.
The technology of the U.S was far superior to that of the Vietcong and yet it was ultimately ineffectual. One weapon, which the U.S thought would be important, was Bombs. At first the U.S bombed specific targets. When they realized that had little effect, they began blanket bombing, this was known as ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’. Massive amounts of explosives were dropped on Vietnam, three times as much explosives was dropped than on Germany and Japan put together during World War 2. However, the Vietcong countered this with anti-aircraft guns, surface to air missiles, aid from soviet planes, and a network of tunnels. The U.S believed these to be simply to take cover from the bombing, in-fact they were also effectively used to ambush the U.S. Bombing had very little effect on the Vietcong ...
The Americans were inexperienced with the terrain and tactics used in Vietnam. Their inability to adapt could have easily lead to their downfall. As described by a Vietnamese soldier (Source F) the Americans were “well armed but slow and clumsy …they were elephants“ in an environment where such things as traps and ambushes were utilised against them and their unfamiliarity led to many
The Vietnam War was, mentally and physically, one of the most brutal the United States has ever participated in. Our soldiers had to undergo daily miseries and sufferings which wore on them in body and mind. Dysentery was a common cause of physical wasting. Other diseases combined with the continuous rain and mud caused flesh to rot and made daily life that much more insufferable. Long periods of boredom would be broken by unexpected guerilla attacks or booby traps. The enemy rarely materialized long enough to be actively fought or even identified. Equally uncertain as who they were fighting was the answer to the question of what purpose they were fighting and dying for.
In conclusion, I think that the United States became increasingly involved in the Vietnamese War because of the policies they had made as a promise to fight communism, and because they had sorely underestimated Vietcong’s ability to fight back using Guerrilla warfare. They refused to pull out of the war in fear of losing face before the world, but this pride factor scored them massive losses in the war. In the end, with both side sustaining heavy losses, the US were still seen as mutilators in the war, with advanced showing what their intervention had costed, and Vietnam was still fully taken over by Communism – they had achieved nothing and lost a lot.
With th... ... middle of paper ... ..., the Vietnamese also differed from the Koreans in the sense that most of the South Vietnamese utilized "strategic hamlet" in order to round up people who might be opposers to the regime. By doing this, any uprisings were stopped and effectively neutralized. Both the Korean and the Vietnamese wars had several things in common in terms of the practices and strategies used during these conflicts as well as some aspects which were distinct. The two communist foes in the wars developed guerrilla type warfare and utilized it in a very effective matter against their enemy which lead to even more pressure from both sides of the conflict.
The Vietnam War was the longest war in America's history of involvement. Twenty years of hell, land mines, cross-fire, and death. Vietnam was divided by the Geneva Accord. The north being communist run by Ho Chi Minh. The south being anti-Communist run by Ngo Dinh Diem. Before Vietnam was separated, it was run by France. France had ruled most of Indochina since the late 1800s. The Vietnamese were unhappy with the way the French were controlling, therefore, many of them took refuge in China. When in China, they began to follow the lead of Ho Chi Minh, who wanted to model the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence as that of the U.S. version. In the 1940s, Japan had taken over Vietnam which upset Ho Chi Minh and his revolutionaries when they had returned a year later.
It has been known that the Vietnam War affected many American soldiers who were involved in the war physically and psychologically. The Vietnam War was one of the most memorable wars in history. Many Americans’ lives lost for no objective at all. Chapter 10 informed us about how the Vietnam War started and what really happened during that time. It also gave us background information about Vietnam Veterans and nurses who were involved in the war and what they went through during the war. I had the opportunity to interview a Vietnam Veteran also.
The Vietnam War was one of the most prolonged wars in US history. Although there were no exact dates, it is believed that US involvement lasted for around 20 years. The US went into this war hoping they could stop the spread of communism and defeat the northern Vietnamese. The battles were like nothing they had seen before and it was very difficult for the soldiers to differentiate between the enemies and civilians. To make it even more difficult for the soldiers, their “information was based on faulty intelligence”. Võ Nguyên Giáp, a northern Vietnamese general, believed that the US and the southern Vietnamese had an unstable relationship. He hoped that through the Tet Offensive the US would believe they were no longer worth defending. Fighting was done using guerrilla warfare which blurred the lines of legitimate and illegitimate killings and this had effect of bringing peoples morales down. Support for the war had always been split but this battle caused even the government to reconsider their involvement. The Tet offensive changed the US's attitude towards the Vietnam war by leading to further anti-war protests, a credibility gap in America, and for President Johnson to negotiate peace and not seek reelection.
The Vietnam war has been referred to by many names, one of the longer ones was 'the cornerstone of the free world southeast Asia'. It was called that by John F. Kennedy. He was talking about Vietnam being and essential country in a non-communist world. He believed that if Vietnam became a communist country, all of the surrounding countries would also become communists. This is the main reason America was involved in the Vietnam war. Another reason was that America wanted to spread their “political ideas around the globe”. They wanted to do this so that their anti-communism stance was clear. The public also wanted to keep communism from spreading. To soldiers, the war was like a crusade, a great journey to purge the communists from Vietnam. Sadly, this is not what happened. The Viet Cong (VC) had far better tactics than the US. The VC was told to 'nibble at the enemy' so that he could 'neither eat or sleep'. This worked very well. Another demoralizing tactic the VC used was their landmines; they were designed to blow the limbs off the soldiers without killing them. This tied up hospital beds and meant the soldiers had to carry the wounded back to the base.
After Vietnam erupted into civil war, both sides started employing clever tactics and new t...
In retrospect, it’s clear that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese ability to combine both methods of warfare played a major role their victory. Their strategy provided them the tools they needed to win. In the end, they recognized that each type of warfare complimented the other to achieve their strategic goals.
Guerrilla warfare spread as Vietminh soldiers who were trained and armed in the north - the Vietcong, returned to their homes in the South to assassinate, ambush and sabotage. Unlike Usual wars in which the Americans may have fought, the war in Vietnam had no defined front lines. Much of the fighting consisted of hit and run attacks, with the guerrillas striking at government outposts and then retreating into the jungles. This left the entire American troops on the edge of their nerves; they were getting frustrated with fear and were left feeling guiltier when striking the innocent.
The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States approached military action and helped establish the role of the United States within the new world order.
Throughout history the United States has fought in many wars. Whether the fighting took place in Europe such as WWI or in our own land like the civil war. The one war many people seem to forget is the Korean War. The Korean War also known as the “forgotten war” was a war between North Korea, South Korea and the US together with the South Koreans to help. The Korean War was fought on sea, land, and in the air over and near the Korean peninsula (Brown, p.2). On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans rumbled across the thirty-eighth parallel. The invasion was successful because the south was not expecting or even prepare for a war. The invasion was so successful that they pushed the south to a tiny defensive area around Pusan. That’s when President Truman steps in real quick to halt the invasion of the North Koreans. Truman ordered American armed forces under General Douglas MacArthur to support South Korea. The Korean War was a clash between Communist forces and Free World (Brown, p.2).
Settled in the end of the fifth century, two groups established themselves in what is now present day Cambodia. The Champa controlled the central and southern part of Vietnam and the Funan is the southernmost part Vietnam and present-day Cambodia. Influences from both China and India were obvious as dance and music spread throughout the area. Ruling on its own till 1864 when the French absorbed it into French Indochina Along with Laos and Vietnam. For nearly a century, the French exploited Cambodia commercially, and demanded power over politics, economics, and social life. It was not until a leader Norodom Sihanouk proclaimed Cambodia's independence in 1949 which was later granted in 1953. Cambodia fell into chaos during the 1970’s as General Lon Nol and his connections to the Khmer Rouge brought Cambodia into a genocidal age. For a decade Cambodia was surrounded by despair and carnage until the reign of the Khmer Rouge ended in 1979. Slowly rebuilding of the nation began as outside countries and organization such as the United Nation helped to get Cambodia back on its feet. Plans were made for general elections by 1993 which lead to the constitutional monarchy that the country has today. With its cyclical and oppressive history, Cambodia future is optimistic with the economy growing rapidly due to industries such as tourism, textiles, oil and the traditional farming. Slowly the nation reaches to find its place among the other powerhouses in Southeast Asia and around the world.
The topic that I will be discussing is Thai culture. In this, it will include areas that influence this culture. First, I will give you the geographical information of the country of Thailand. The second area that I will look at will be language. Language is an extremely important part of culture and some say that one cannot be found without the other. After that I will inform you about customs, traditions and taboos in Thai culture. This is a very important part of culture and is what shows the differences between cultures. Then I briefly tell you about the government and some national symbols, such as the flag, the symbol, colors, anthem, dress, and national day. Next, I will explain about religion in Thailand. In most cultures there is religion, but in Thailand it is interwoven into its whole culture and it is hard to separate the two. One other thing that I will include in this paper is a link to a page with pictures from my trip to Thailand.