The Vietnam War

Question 1

Key reasons for Us failure in Vietnam

Answer 1

• Military strategy
• Military Tactics
• Hearts and Minds
• Weakness of South Vietnam
• Communist Strengths
• US Media and Protests

Question 2

Evidence that military strategy was responsible for US failure

Answer 2

• Operation Rolling Thunder(March1965) didn’t have intended threatening effect, especially to Vietnam’s agricultural economy + failed to close Ho Chi Minh Trail - every dollar spent on bombing did 10 cents of damage
• Destruction of NFL + NVA - relied on cross over point but 200000 NV came of draft age annually and no. of communist troops in South actually rose by 40000 by 67 + war of attrition - managed to get 10:1 kill ratio but American people only cared about the 1 + attrition = failure to control territory - VC would just reoccupy
• Draft + US Manpower - 1 year draft = removed as they became experienced in jungle + 730 fraggings from 69-71 + draft disproportionately affected working class + minorities - African Americans = 13% of US troops but 28% of front line units

Question 3

Evidence that military strategy wasn’t responsible for Us failure

Answer 3

• bombing - 66 Johnson approved bombing of NV oil facilities = 70% destroyed + constant presence of US bombers = moving supplies into SV dangerous for VC
• destruction of NLF + NVA - US had tech + firepower advantages + consistently inflicted higher casualties - Ia Drang(14th - 16th Nov 1965) - cavalry of 450 men + artillery + air support inflicted 1200 enemy casualties
• draft + US manpower - Westmoreland thought 1 year draft would reduce chance of “hue and cry to bring the boys home”

Question 4

Evidence that military tactics were responsible for Us failure

Answer 4

• Search and destroy - Binh Dinh = 100000 peasants homeless - 17 sweeps later = 3 million displaced + Operation Speedy Express(Dec 68) = free fire zone - claimed kill ratio of 45:1 but around half civilians
• Body count - unreliable - officers inflated kills and counted civilian deaths + US troops frustrated at fighting guerrilla war + coming to see Vietnamese as hostile
• Tech war - helicopters = loud + altered VC to US presence + increased isolation of peasantry, air strikes often disproportionate to Vc attacks + destroyed villages, friendly fire inevitable(Battle for Hill 875 = 42 Americans killed by US bomb), unexplored bombs became raw materials for VC + chemical defoliants destroyed livelihoods of peasants

Question 5

Evidence that military tactics were not responsible for US failure

Answer 5

• search and destroy - Binh Dinh = 2389 of enemy dead + bases constructed around the country gave artillery support to patrols
• tech war - helicopters= could get in and out fast + re supply troops, evacuate casualties + limit Us deaths
• aerial bombing = kill enemy with minimal risk to US troops

Question 6

Evidence that failure to win hearts and minds was responsible for US failure

Answer 6

• attitudes towards Vietnamese - US troops looked down of Vietnamese farming way of life (no running water/electricity) - led them to support measures such as Diem’s strategic hamlets + displace millions
• efforts at winning hearts and minds - RD struggled with lack of manpower + inadequate funding, ARVN often exploitative + damaged peasant relations, RD work often undone - facilities targets for VC and food went to guerrillas + 3000 RD workers killed/kidnapped in 7 months
• undermining pacification - poor coordinations between RD + military planners = RD hamlets bombed, American distortion of Saigon economy confirmed Communist propaganda = 170% inflation from 65-67

Question 7

Evidence that failure to win hearts and minds was not responsible for US failure

Answer 7

• efforts at winning hearts and minds - 1966 Revolutionary Development Programme = $400 mil of locally directed aid
• Creighton Adams replaced Westmoreland and increased efforts(village elections restored, local militia responsibilities given to elders, support in road construction and self defence) = peoples self defence front grew to >3 mil by 1972
• 1990 study of Hua Nghia province = more effort in pacification = no perceptible improvement to support

Question 8

Evidence that the weakness of South Vietnam was responsible for US failure

Answer 8

• democracy - rivalry between Ky and Thieu hindered gov., 1967 elections - Johnson wanted them to give regime credibility but Thieu had prevented rivals from standing and still only got 35% of vote + 2nd place(17%) campaigned on opening negotiations with NLF
• corruption - US aid often pocketed by military + gov. elites + their families, black market cost US $2 bil annually - supplies stolen from depots
• ARVN - Saigon gov. keen to avoid loss - Feb 71 = invaded Laos but told to retreat if deaths over 10%, meant they got halfway + fell back, senior officers appointed for political not military reasons, 80% of army but only 5% of leadership Buddhist, low wages = lost 1/3 of soldiers annually to desertion
• regime detained 200,000 of its own citizens without trial

Question 9

Evidence that the weakness of South Vietnam was not responsible for US failure

Answer 9

• democracy - new April 1967 constitution + elections = some resemblance of democracy
• ARVN - suffered 200,000 combat deaths + fought effectively during Tet, suggests claims it avoided conflict were untrue + communists had expected far more widespread defections + incompetence

Question 10

Evidence that communist effectiveness was responsible for US failure

Answer 10

• effectiveness of guerrilla warfare - appealed to population = promised land reform, resented Thieu regime + hated foreigners, 240 km tunnel network(defence against search and destroy + allowed calculated withdrawal), initiated 90% of small engagements with enemy = mastery of terrain, made efforts to engage enemy at close range - US can’t risk friendly fire with aerial attacks
• resilience - over 1 mil citizens involved in repairing bomb damage
• HCM Trail - more than 12,000 miles of roads and paths, access to every Southern province, up to 230,000 people working to keep route open(1/2 women)
• foreign assistance - Mao saw NV as buffer + sent 320,000 engineers + artillery men = US wary to attack this supply line, USSR = 1216 mil rumbles of aid in 2 years

Question 11

Evidence that communist strength was not responsible for US failure

Answer 11

• HCM Trail - US dropped >3 mil tonnes of bombs on Laos section alone = over 20,000 engineers, soldiers + truck drivers killed

Question 12

Evidence that the homefront was responsible for US failure

Answer 12

• the press - 65 introduction of ground troops = first fully televised war - exposed brutalities, loss of McNamara in Feb 1968
• Tet Offensive 1968 - Jan, Hanoi launched unprecedented attack, 10,000s attacked + US/SV troops distracted by Tet Festival + Battle of Khe Sanh, shocked that VC could move so freely throughout SV - Walter Cronkite - supportive until Feb 68 visit, Johnson’s approval ratings dropped from 48 to 36%
• protests - many unis held anti war debates + lectures, Johnson had to limit public appearances from 1966 to avoid accusatory chants, African Americans resented disproportionate no. of black casualties + MLK publicly critical, draft cards openly burned

Question 13

Evidence that the homefront was not responsible for US failure

Answer 13

• protests - 1965 - 1000s of students signed pro-Johnson petitions, much of US middle class thought protestors treasonous, support often overshadowed by drama of protests, 1967 = time of many protests but senators were making a hearing pressurising Johnson to lift bombing restrictions - suggests gov. action not affected by protests at this point