The Vietcong had had years to perfect their tactics unlike the American soldiers in Vietnam had only had their basic training. The Vietcong used no tanks and mostly moved by foot. US troops responded with the use of helicopter gun ships and they tended to treat all civilians alike as potential enemy. Innocent civilians were killed by both sides. The Vietcong killed those villagers they believed were helping the Americans while US troops killed those who they believed were helping the Vietcong. The most famous case as I mentioned before was the My Lai massacre. The village of My Lai was considered friendly by US troops but 109 civilians were murdered here as the US troops thought they were Vietcong soldiers.
America had control of the air. Planes were used to give back-up troops on the ground using chemicals napalm. Defoliation chemicals were also used to destroy the jungle cover given to the Vietcong along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Agent Orange killed vegetation which covered the jungle disguising this trail but all the Vietcong did was move further inland or further into Laos meaning keeping away from the defoliated areas. To slow down the Americans even more the Vietcong blew up bridges, roads and destroyed canals. This made it hard to get supplies in and they still couldn’t see the Vietcong army.
American front line troops were nicknamed "grunts". This was because everytime they sat down, the straps on the heavy packs they were carrying tightened into their chests thus forcing out air in the lungs causing a sound like a grunt. The average age of a "grunt" was 19 and they knew that the land they operated in was full of with booby-traps. Anywhere they moved in the jungle or in the long grass South Vietnam could result in serious injury. This had a devastating psychological effect on the conscripts.
The Vietcong used mines called “bouncing bellies” - these were on springs and when tripped would spring up to about waist height and explode. They wouldn’t usually kill the person but would mean the person would need immediate medical aid and 3 to 4 men to look after him. The noise of the explosion would also attract the attention of the Vietcong so they could attack. “Punji” traps were also used by the Vietcong. These were big holes in the ground with spikes in them which were covered in grass and leaves soldier couldn’t see them. The tips of the spikes were usually covered in poison or dirt. “Punji” traps were also found in rivers and streams where troops had to make crossings. This made it hard for
Although the Vietcong never fought in a full scale battle, in January 1968, they changed tactics with the Tet Offensive. This was a huge attack by the North Vietnamese Army which took the Americans by surprise. All the major South Vietnamese cities were attacked as were all major US military bases. But the attack was never decisive and eventually the Americans forced the North Vietnamese back though both sides had suffered serious losses. 160,000 civilians were killed and 2 million were made homeless.
In 1969, the American president, Richard Nixon, agreed to reduce the number of American troops in South Vietnam. He pursued a policy called "Vietnamisation" whereby the South Vietnamese would be assisted in material matters by the Americans but the fighting would be done by the South Vietnamese Army. In December 1970, there were 350,000 American troops in South Vietnam. By September 1972, there were just 40,000. This was the start of the withdrawal of troops.
America's involvement in Vietnam ended in 1973. The war had cost her one billion dollars a day at its peak; she had dropped 7 million tons of bombs - more than the entire total of all participants in World War Two. The cost of the war in 1968 alone was $88,000 million while the combined spending on education, health and housing in that year was $24,000 million.
Before 1967 US involvement was limited although it had been growing since the Tonkin Incident of August 1964. Increasing US involvement saw increasing U.S casualties. Increased involvement required more troops and conscription, also known as the draft. Which young Americans, especially black men who had more of a chance of being drafted did not like this. Near the end of the war there were large protests against it by the young view on why should they fight in Vietnam.
As the war went on more of the war was being broadcasted on television. America saw what was involved in the war and they didn’t like what they saw. Especially the casualties and the brutalising effects of the war. They didn’t like the number of civilians being killed such at My Lai Massacre. They also saw the bombing of the north and the increasing use of drugs by soldiers which is why young people avoided the draft.
Also because there was more broadcasting the Vietcong allowed broadcasters to move into areas where innocent people injured which were then showed to the public. This made them very unhappy.
The war was also costing huge amounts of money which led to inflation and left the value of the dollar lower than it usually was.
The US public by now were wondering is the South Vietnamese government worth fighting for. This also led to large protests and marches.
Finally it became clear the US was finding it difficult to so in January 1968 the Vietcong launched devastating attacks in the south. In this Tet Offensive (it was called this because it took place during the Tet or lunar New Year holiday period). The Vietcong captured 75% of the main towns in the south including parts of Saigon. Eventually 750,000 South Vietnamese and 500,000 US servicemen were able to defeat the Vietcong but it took nearly two weeks to do it. After this America withdrew all their troops as they knew they were under attack by the Vietcong and the American public
