There are several different reasons to why Vietcong had gained support in South Vietnam, some of these reasons include; the attraction of Communism, winning the hearts and minds of the people, unpopularity of the Diem’s regime, Operation Phoenix and many more.
One of the key explanations as to why the Vietcong gained support was down to the attraction of Communism. The Vietnamese peasant’s lifestyle fitted with the concept of Communism. Communism was all about equality and fairer distribution, since majority of the Vietnamese population were farmers, harvesting was done communally. The people of South Vietnam could easily adapt to the principles of Communism therefore the support for Vietcong increased.
An alternative reason as to why the Vietcong gained support was because of the brutal and corrupt Diem regime. Diem was a Catholic but majority of the Vietnamese population was Buddhist. The Diem regime mistreated the Buddhist; they were not able to freely practice their religion. Many took part in protests and even died as martyrs. The unpopularity of the Diem regime resulted in many South Vietnamese resulting to Vietcong for help.
Another reason for why the Vietcong gained vast support in South Vietnam was due to Operation Phoenix, the CIA interrogated tens of thousands of VC. They used different methods of torture in the hope of neutralizing the NLF. This Operation was unsuccessful because the US was unable to differentiate a Vietcong with a normal Vietnamese civilian. This resulted in innocent Vietnamese suffering from suspicion and brutal torture. This attitude of the Americans led to more Vietcong sympathisers, gaining them support.
Additionally, another reason that gained Vietcong support was their behavior towards the Vietnamese peasants. They were respectful towards all of them and promised them an equal distribution of land. This was appealing to the South Vietnamese people and as a result they resorted towards Communism
Furthermore, another reason for why the Vietcong were successful in gaining the support from the South Vietnamese was because the U.S failed to win the hearts and minds of people. The US troops found it difficult to identify the difference between a Vietcong soldier and a normal civilian. As a result, they assumed everyone was their enemy; one suspicious villager led the US wanting to bomb the entire town. These tactics were greatly unpopular and again helped in South Vietnamese gaining support.
Overall, the Vietcong gained support not only for the appeal of Communism but for a whole range of factors which includes, the tactics of the U.S and their inability to win the hearts and minds of people, brutal methods of torture carried out by the CIA in Operation Phoenix and the Vietcong’s behavior towards the South Vietnamese.
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