Was the Vietnam War Winnable
Was the Vietnam War Winnable?
The war in Vietnam waged by America was unwinnable through the type of warfare that was used by the US . If they had concentrated on certain key aspects they may have prevented the spread of communism to South Vietnam and achieved their ultimate goal. Americas inability to obtain the “Hearts and Minds “of the Vietnamese led to a continual supply of fighters. The US was unable to fight against an ever-increasing civilian army. In Vietnam the US relied tremendously on their advanced and superior firepower to defeat the Vietcong and the ARVN. There technology and training was inadequate in the foreign Vietnamese terrain. The Vietnamese were allied to other communist nations, if their defeat was too humiliating they may have escalated the cold war to a hot war.
America was not supported by the people of Vietnam in their efforts to rid South Vietnam of “evil’ communism, even before the war began. This is one vital area the Americans failed. Their “Hearts and Minds” operation that begun years before the official beginning, of the war, was short-lived. The People of Vietnam considered “U.S.-Diem is using fascist violence to provoke war, contrary to the will of the people and therefore must certainly be defeated” ( Le Duan, 1956).
The hatred Vietnam had of outsiders trying to control them was spurred by years of colonisation by the French before the War started. This became a major setback as it was not corrected before the US attacked the communists. The angered civilians refused to cooperate with the Americans and this was one of their largest setbacks during the war. American soldiers entered Vietnam believing themselves to be fighting for the Vietnamese people protecting them from the “evils” of communism.the Vietnamese resisted the Americans believing them to be disrupting their peace. This infuriated the solders causing them to lash out at the locals. They had “raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable
The war in Vietnam waged by America was unwinnable through the type of warfare that was used by the US . If they had concentrated on certain key aspects they may have prevented the spread of communism to South Vietnam and achieved their ultimate goal. Americas inability to obtain the “Hearts and Minds “of the Vietnamese led to a continual supply of fighters. The US was unable to fight against an ever-increasing civilian army. In Vietnam the US relied tremendously on their advanced and superior firepower to defeat the Vietcong and the ARVN. There technology and training was inadequate in the foreign Vietnamese terrain. The Vietnamese were allied to other communist nations, if their defeat was too humiliating they may have escalated the cold war to a hot war.
America was not supported by the people of Vietnam in their efforts to rid South Vietnam of “evil’ communism, even before the war began. This is one vital area the Americans failed. Their “Hearts and Minds” operation that begun years before the official beginning, of the war, was short-lived. The People of Vietnam considered “U.S.-Diem is using fascist violence to provoke war, contrary to the will of the people and therefore must certainly be defeated” ( Le Duan, 1956).
The hatred Vietnam had of outsiders trying to control them was spurred by years of colonisation by the French before the War started. This became a major setback as it was not corrected before the US attacked the communists. The angered civilians refused to cooperate with the Americans and this was one of their largest setbacks during the war. American soldiers entered Vietnam believing themselves to be fighting for the Vietnamese people protecting them from the “evils” of communism.the Vietnamese resisted the Americans believing them to be disrupting their peace. This infuriated the solders causing them to lash out at the locals. They had “raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable