Essay About The Vietnam War

During class, the Vietnam War was discussed. The biggest impression I had of the war was the number of casualties on both sides. Based on our study, the two lessons that could be learned were that strategies were more important than the size of the army and that a government should never lie to its people. North Vietnamese and the Vietcong were winning mostly throughout the Vietnam War because of their efficient operational plans. In fact, the North Vietnamese army had fewer and less powerful weapons. However, they utilized their strengths such as their understanding of the terrain and defeated the American army many times. In addition, the North Vietnamese army learned to use close-in fight to neutralize American firepower after the Battle of la Drang Valley (Doyle). To sum up, even though the size of the army was smaller, the North Vietnamese army maximized their strengths which brought them to a winning position.
Apart from the unexpected losses in Vietnam, the US government was also concerned about its relationship with the people.
In order to gain American citizens’ support, most battle reports were positive and optimistic though they were untruthful. Therefore, the credibility gap between the government and the American people was developed when the people later learned about the truth; the majority of the American people no longer trusted in their government (Danzer et al, 734-735). By and large, a government should not lie to its people as it would lose their support. In summary, the Vietnam War caused many deaths to both American and Vietnamese soldiers. In my opinion, the North Vietnamese army succeeded with their effective tactics. On the other hand, the United States not only did not win the war, but also lost the trust of the people. In conclusion, the Vietnam War taught two important lessons: it was the strategies that determined an army’s power, and being dishonest to the people would eventually damage their faith in the
government.