Was World War A Success Or A Failure Essay

Even though the US had more skilled soldiers and with more experience, they weren't matched for the Vietnamese guerilla warfare and their territory. This war was like the rich against the poor. The US troops had nothing to lose. However, the Vietnamese knew that they had everything to lose. The US soldiers were nothing new to the game. Even since the American Revolution, we have been at war. For example, World War 1. World War 1 was also known as “The Great War.” Over 70 million military troops were involved. World War 2 was also a war that made their even better at combat. Unlike the Vietnamese, who weren’t used to wars and weren’t as prepared. In addition, the US had recruited more young people to last longer, healthier, and stronger. Previous US soldiers from past wars would become Generals of the army to lead, which made them way better than the ones in Vietnam.
It wasn’t just the experience that made them better soldiers, but also
more skilled. What do I mean by more skilled? The US soldiers were more skilled because of all the training they would receive. All army recruits, whether volunteers or conscripts, were sent to one of several training camps in the U.S. “The training day was 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and since the training was arduous, most of us were sleep-deprived for the entire eight weeks,” (Warbird- Daniel Ford 2016). This shows how hard they worked to be in shape and ready for battle. In addition, from their uniforms to their equipment to their weapons were also a big part of their skill. “ It is a quick drying coat and trousers made of tightly woven, ripstop or twill cotton poplin fabric. It provided good protection from the sun, insects, and other tropical hazards. The loosely fitted garments provide ventilation and moisture dissipation. The coat is worn outside of the trousers and the trousers are placed into the boots. Jacket sleeves are rolled up or cut off,” said Graham Sherwood (Vietnam Database website). Their weapons way more advanced the Vietnamese such as the M16.
Although the US soldiers had the advantage and most likely the victory since the beginning, the Vietnamese had a trick up their sleeves. Vietnam’s guerilla warfare. Guerilla warfare is basically ambushed or surprised hit-and-run tactic. The US troops weren’t used to that type of technique. They were used to old fashion where one on one side and the rival of the other. In addition, Vietnam’s geography. Not only the distance where it was hard to bring supplies from the US, but because the mountains are covered with dense jungles. Its climate was also a huge challenge. It has very little seasonal temperature change which means it has a tropical, hot, and humid climate. Rainforest was Vietnam’s key to success. US troops weren’t ready for them to be coming out of trees, bushes, from the ground, or even in the water. So they weren’t just advantages, but also as you can see the disadvantages. Although all their advantages, at the end it was a victory for the US troop but also a failure.
They were the reason why they won the war and claimed victory. However, the soldiers had called a shoddy plan to end the war. It was to bomb most of North Vietnam “Operation Rolling Thunder..,” (History.com-2009) was what it was named. 643,000 tons of bombs were dropped during that operation, creating mass destruction across Vietnam ends what is called today the Vietnam War. In addition, that lead to many Vietnamese refugees migrated to the US because of loss of shelter, food, running water, and mass destructions. This was a lesson learned to the US soldiers and the Vietnamese as well. Even though the US soldiers may have all these advantages against the Vietnamese, they were still many deaths and losses that the US soldiers had. They may have had better equipment and weapons but not match for guerilla warfare and Vietnam’s geography. At the end, not only did the Vietnamese soldiers had something to lose but also the US
troops.