villages, and swamps of Vietnam. Of these 536,000, over 58,000 men would never return. Despite air superiority, artillery, and the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world, the United States slumped to defeat by the hands of both their enemy and themselves. Unpreventably so, the United States of America was defeated in Vietnam due egregious errors in political and military judgment, lack of popular support and an extreme unpreparedness to fight the Vietcong and North Vietnamese in a guerilla
The North Vietnamese Communist leadership's ability to reassess and adapt during the Vietnam War was reflected in how well they combined guerilla and conventional operations to achieve their strategic goal of unifying Vietnam under communist rule. Throughout the conflict, the Viet Cong (VC) were employed to conduct guerilla operations while North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and VC "main force" units were used to transition to conventional operations. Guerilla operations enabled Hanoi to inflict a steady
In North Vietnam in 1970 several soldiers, sailors and airman were killed, beaten, starved and confined in solitary confinement causing severe mental issues in prisons in North Vietnam. Many of the American Prisoners were pilots for the Army and Air Force shot down during the heavy bombing raids ordered by President Johnson in 1964. 1 For nearly 2,000 days, or six plus years many of these Americans imprisoned in Son Tay about 23 miles west of Hanoi in North Vietnam. After several reports to the
OPERATION LINEBACKER II 1. What do you think of when you drive by that big B-52 at the museum? Being the history buff that I am, I think about Vietnam, where that old “Buff” was used the most. “Why should I care about Vietnam?” you ask yourself. Well, last time I checked there’s a history section in the PFE guide, so there might be a test later! The intent of this paper is to inform you about Operation Linebacker II. I’ll explain the events leading up to the operation, discuss the strategy, and
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution vs. the War on Iraq In August of 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the closest thing there was to declaring war on Vietnam. A war that resulted in millions of people dying, and the loss of liberties for a large number of people. The Resolution was passed because the government (and the American people) believed that the Vietnamese had fired torpedoes at a US destroyer on routine patrol in the Tonkin Gulf on August 2, 1964. It was also reported
only the Vietnam War was the United States’ very participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change with prior wars that it bears study as to why it happened, and better yet, should have it happened. This paper will discuss the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, by asking the simple question, Should have the Untied States’ gotten involved into the first place. This paper will prove that in fact, America should have not gotten involved with the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War took
and is always is affected by outside factor. The Vietnam War was no exception; in fact, the result was especially influenced by the environment in which this death game was played out. Terrain, weather, and vegetation were all essential elements in the conflict. The United States got involved in Vietnam primarily due to the Geneva Accord in 1954 that split Vietnam into two territories at the 17th parallel. Although in 1956 both North and South Vietnam had agreed to create a single standing Vietnamese
Themes of a Soldier’s War The Vietnam War was hard for the country to handle, let alone a single soldier. Many soldiers dealt with different personal and physiological effects of this war. This war in Vietnam was different than any of the other wars. This war was unconventional, when we first entered it was more about the fight against the spread of communism then slowly changed over the years. Going into Vietnam was different in all senses from battle conditions, weather, and heavy jungle environment
Particularly speaking, Vietnam has affected a majority of the world in ways that are both positive and negative. Based on this knowledge, a person can infer that Vietnam has influenced the modern world greatly due to its prominent culture, religion, government, and scientific discoveries. In Vietnam, the term “culture” is understood in an extremely broad sense about human life and civilization.
would with drawl from Vietnam. Even though this ended many years of warfare, the "Vietnam War badly burdened the American economy" (Bondi 125). Turning away from the problem of increased debt, America saw technology at its best. On November 16, 1973 NASA gave us Skylab, our country’s first space station: "Skylab offered is an opportunity to do what none had done before – to study the Sun from space" (Eddy xiii). Despite the happenings of Watergate and the weight of the Vietnam War, this ground- breaking
significant role in Vietnam War and helped the North Vietnam with the war against South Vietnam. The construction of trails started when North Vietnam wanted paths to travel to South Vietnam. United States tried many ways to block and destroy the trail to stop the travel of supplies from North to South. Ho Chi Minh trail was very dangerous since it went through jungles and mountains. The trail was used to transport supplies from North by foot until roads were improved for transportation. Vietnam government
heating up in Vietnam. Revolution was in the air and was being led by the communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh’s declaration of independence of Vietnam from French rule on September 2nd, 1945 was the first step in securing a Vietnam free from colonization and a Vietnam of complete independence. Ho Chi Minh’s education in communist teachings pulled him to align with the French Communists which helped thrust him into his future role as leader of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Without Ho Chi
Vietnam Controversy It’s January 27th, 1973 and the Vietnam War is over. Peace agreements were signed in Paris by the South Vietnam Communist forces, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the United States. The meeting lasted for several hours and in that time they agreed on many objectives, including: that U.S. troops would gradually withdraw from Vietnam and all prisoners of war would be released, South Vietnam had the right to choose their own future (whether or not to unite with North Vietnam), and
Based on the debate of the statement “The Vietnam War was an immoral and unnecessary act of colonial repression and opposition to it by almost any means necessary was justified and patriotic” I would agree with the conservative point of view. In other words, I agree that the United States had a reason to be in Vietnam and the people (mostly college students) at home protesting the war were unpatriotic. The Vietnam War was only a small part of a much bigger conflict involving the United States, The
The turning point in history for Vietnam all began in Geneva, Switzerland during the year 1954 in the Geneva Conference. The Geneva Accords both put an end to the Indochina War and set in motion the divide of territory in Vietnam. The Geneva Accord was an obligatory agreement stating Vietnam was to be separated at the 17th parallel, a line of separation, into two distinct territories. Vietnam was now separated into North and South Vietnam, the communist north and the south, which was anti-communist
Utilize Air Power in Vietnam Major Ted Tolman’s F-105 Thud fighter/bomber streaked through the air at just under the speed of sound. His aircraft performed modestly at best, struggling to maintain its speed and altitude under the heavy load of ordinance and fuel it carried under its wings (Patrick). Tolman, and his wingman Major Lonnie Ferguson, were en route to a rail line that served to distribute supplies from Cam Pha Harbor to enemy troops throughout North Vietnam. The harbor itself
ultimately leading to the collapse of a president, and the division of a nation. The Vietnam War was a military struggle fought in Vietnam and neighboring countries from 1959-1975 involving the North Vietnamese and NLF (National Liberation Front) versus the United States and the South Vietnamese ("The Vietnam..."). In 1969, newly elected President Richard M. Nixon, aiming to achieve "peace with honor" in Vietnam, began to put his "Vietnamization" policy into place -- removing the number of American
involvement in the Vietnam War impacted Vietnam in various significant ways. The Vietnam War was a very crucial war in Vietnamese history and changed Vietnamese society. The war was enduring and lasted for twenty-one years. It began in 1954 and ended in 1975. The war commenced due to disagreement of communism in Vietnam. The war was between North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and The United States. North Vietnam supported and encouraged communism in Vietnam. On the other hand, South Vietnam and The Untied
The Vietnam War was a war that changed America forever. It was a long, costly war between Communist North Vietnam, with the aid of the Viet Cong, and Capitalist South Vietnam, aided by the United States. It was a controversial war at the time, but today, it remains embedded in America's history as a war to be remembered. The reasons for the Vietnam War took place long before the war even began. For years, the Vietnamese had been under French colonial rule. But, when Communist revolutionary Ho
The Vietnam War was a brutal war for everyone involved. There were many American and Vietnam deaths alike. The U.S went into Vietnam with the goal of preventing the spread of communism. The authors of the secondary sources in Thinking Through the Past, George Herring and Loren Baritz argue why the U.S failed in Vietnam. According to those two articles, there were many causes for why the U.S failed in the Vietnam War, including our lack of plan, our over confidence in our capabilities, and fighting