Instead the Vietcong launched small, surprise attacks on single battalions of soldiers, often ambushing then during the night when they had the shield of the moonlight shadows to hide them, reducing their chance of being caught. They would cause destruction in one area, then as quickly as they had arrived, the Vietcong would disappear into the undergrowth, or sometimes find refuge and hide out in neighbouring villages.
The American soldiers did not know how to fight an army they couldn’t see. These Vietcong guerilla fighters were in peasant’s clothes, with basic weapons that could easily be disguised. This meant that they blended in easily into their surroundings. This aggravated the American soldiers who found it impossible to retaliate in any way, as no single open war took place.
A North Vietnamese poster from the time showed the problems faced by the Americans fighting a guerilla war. In a clearing, in the middle of the poster, are the American soldiers, all with guns, surrounded by jungle. Hidden within the jungle are the Vietcong, but from the clearing you cannot see them because they are so well hidden by the jungle. So dense and dark, you cannot see anything lurking within such an unfamiliar environment. This is what the US troops had to contend with when they were fighting in Vietnam and this is why they often lashed out and became easily angry.
By 1968 there were more than half a million American soldiers in Vietnam. In past years, a tradition had emerged of declaring a truce for a few days during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, to allow people on both sides to celebrate this important holiday with their families.
In 1968, Tet fell at the end of January. The Communists declared a truce, but despite this, on 30th January, in the early hours of the morning, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army launched a stunning offensive, attacking almost every single city in South Vietnam.
Shifting the war for the first time from its rural base into a new arena of South Vietnam’s supposedly impregnable urban areas. A campaign of, ‘enormous breadth, speed and scope,’ it shook US imperialism to its roots, as it was completely unexpected by the US. This attack targeted 13 out of the 16 major US cities such as Da Nang, Qui Nhon and Saigon, where the US Embassy was located. One communist unit even managed to penetrate the Embassy walls, a dramatic blow at the heart of America’s defences.
Giap, the General who organised the Tet Offensive, had set objectives that the communists needed to meet. As a minimum the Tet outbreak would force the halting of vast air bombardment of North Vietnam and force America into negotiations. As a maximum the offensive could drive America out of Vietnam all together.
Although not achieving their maximum objective, the Vietcong did shake America to its roots and make them realise just how badly the war was going for them. They had made no real progress since aid had first been sent to Vietnam, all those years ago. It was the first major sign that America could not win the war.
This setback hit the US troops hard as their morale dropped and the realisation kicked in. All these hundreds of soldiers had died and yet nothing had been achieved. This frustration by the young American soldiers angered them as they were not doing their job properly and were letting their country down. As their confidence was slowly shattered, US troops resorted to violent attacks on civilians as a way of relieving their anger. The most famous of these attacks was the My Lai Massacre, March 16th, 1968.
11th Brigade, American Division had been fighting in South Vietnam, in a district called Son My. From this brigade many soldiers had been badly killed or maimed from mines. Each guerilla attack launched on the brigade had gradually weakened them, with US troops unable for engagement with the elusive Vietcong.
Yet again there was no one to be seen. The soldiers could not differentiate between Vietcong soldiers and mere peasants, but still believed the Vietcong were hiding out there. On their superior officer’s command, “This is what you’ve been waiting for…search and destroy…and you’ve got it,” the soldiers opened fire.
It was said that there were in fact only peasants in the village, as a witness saw women, children and the elderly being lined up and shot. The only civilians carrying weapons were those men with bayonets trying to protect their families. In total over 300 innocent lives were wasted because of America’s frustration. Once the people had been rounded up and killed, torches set alight to their houses, in the hope of burning to death anyone whom still may have been hiding in the houses.
One of the most famous photographs of the time that depicted the atrocities committed by US bombing and their effect was a photograph of a naked Vietnamese girl running out of her village. Her skin is covered in the chemical bomb napalm, which is made of boiling petroleum jelly that has stuck to her skin. It is so hot that her skin is literally peeling off her body, as she runs for safety and comfort. Nearby news reporters were said to have gone to the girls aid as they thought it was a horrific sight.
The Vietnam war was the first major war where there was free photography and open media coverage. News reporters could access any city or weapons base and broadcast events live to the millions of people around the world, especially Americans. Nothing was censored.
Everyday there would be a 10-minute slot on American television to show the public the latest happenings in Vietnam and America’s progress. Millions of Americans tuned in to watch the soldiers that they knew so well, maybe a son or a brother, fighting on their behalf in Vietnam. The images they saw though were completely unexpected, as the brutal reality of war was slowly revealed. The public saw the harsh realities of dead Vietnamese civilians and the disastrous effects that the US bombing programme was causing.
Whenever US troops stormed a village to hunt down the Vietcong, only a few paces behind them were the cameras, risking their lives to inform the American public. Innocent lives were daily affected, as broadcasters did not hold back on any details, even showing live deaths as US soldiers lined up Vietcong fighters and shot each one in the head with a single bullet.
The American people were horrified. They had not known the full extent of war until they had seen these images. Images of dead civilians, burning villages and little success brought shame to the American public. They could not believe the appalling way US troops were treating fellow human beings and the inhuman ways of killing thousands.
Of course, the people had heard about the new, advanced weaponry that America possessed and that they had started to use it in Vietnam. The one thing they did not know, however, was the sheer strength of these weapons and the true extent of their destruction.
Agent Orange was a highly toxic defoliant that was sprayed using aeroplanes over the vast area of jungle in Vietnam. America did this in the hope that the Vietcong would run out of safe, jungle environment to take refuge in and would be easier to hunt down in the open air. What the people weren’t prepared for was the effects of toxins on the land. It decreased the yield of crops, making many of them too rotten to eat. Those that were edible were highly contaminated with toxins, which quickly found their way into the bloodstream. As the level of toxins rose inside the civilians it caused adverse effects such as abnormal childbirth. The newborn children had deformed limbs or could not see. The photograph of the naked Vietnamese girl covered in burning napalm was broadcast to thousands of Americans, just as were the harrowing images of Agent Orange.
People were also aware of the huge cost of the war, which took vital money away from much needed health and housing reforms. For what? On average 160 soldiers dies every week and it was estimated that it cost the US $400,000 to kill just 1 Vietcong. The figures spoke for themselves.
So the US public decided to do something bout this and express their anti-war feelings. As it was mainly affecting the young men of America, many of whom would have to fight in the war themselves soon enough, took their draft cards and burnt them. Their draft cards were enrolling cards that forced every young man to join the army and do a set amount of time, compulsory service.
Also sit-ins were organised at Universities to show their resistance to the war. One protest organised at a University was in Kent State, 1970. Thousands of American students came to voice their opinion of anti-war and try to have some influence over the Governments decision.
Although it was a peaceful demonstration the Governor of Ohio did not like this form of protest and so sent in the National Guard to put a stop it. Tear gas was thrown into the crowds in a hope to disperse the students, but the angered students merely threw them back. In retaliation the National Guard opened fire. Many shots were fired, resulting in the death of 4 people and the injury of many more.
It turned out that the people killed weren’t even involved in the protest, but just passers by getting on with their everyday lives. This harsh incident showed the true feelings of the American citizens; the Government had gone too far.
Even opinion polls taken during times in the Vietnam War showed America’s lagging commitment. In April 1968, in an American poll 61 % of the public voted that they were committed to continue the war. This majority was encouraging to the US Government, who responded by increasing aid, weapons and troops in Vietnam. Yet a poll taken just 9 months later, in January 1969 saw a complete turn around as this time it was 61 % that were opposed to war. This sudden shift of opinion in America showed just how strongly the public felt about the ongoing war, and that the recent events in Vietnam, the Tet Offensive and My Lai Massacre, were enough to trigger an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.
The feeling against war was so strong that even famous singers got involved with the anti-war campaign. Don McLean, a leading male vocalist of the time, released a song called, “The Grave,” in 1969 to show his support. From the lyrics you can see just how passionately he personally feels about the war. Lines such as, “and one after one his commrades were slaughtered,” refer to the distressing realities of the Vietnam War, as soldier after soldier died in battle. “The Grave” talks about how these troops fight on foreign soil for the good of mankind, making their mark with the constant bombing, yet it is these marks in the soil that become their graves. It is kind of ironic.
Popular singers saw that they had a great deal of influence over the public, especially young people and that they had to use this power to their advantage. Music is one of the most effective media as it subconsciously affects the listener, triggering a response of their side, for or against. Another artist who used music as a toll of opinion about Vietnam was the legend Bruce Springsteen, who after the war released “Born in the USA”, describing the prejudice towards the soldiers and how they had not come back heroes, but as hated killers.
In the midst of this all, President Johnson was the main target of all this anti-war rage. The public, who had voted him to power in 1963, had gradually turned against him, disagreeing with his harsh actions on war. The public opinion polls clearly showed this turn of support, yet Johnson did not back down. He kept up the intense pressure on the war, having at its peak 600,000 troops to Vietnam in 1968.
It wasn’t until the aftermath of the My Lai Massacre that Johnson realised he couldn't stand for re-election.
The new President, Richard Nixon, had pledged an immediate decrease in America’s involvement in Vietnam, as this had been the main feature of his campaign that had successfully got him elected to power. He claimed that his first priority was to pull America out of the one war they couldn’t win, but he would have to do it with dignity and save face.
America, the biggest ‘superpower’ in the world couldn’t even defeat a poor, farming country with an army a fraction of the size and no match of weapons supplies. It was a disgrace, and if America publicly admitted defeat then they would loose the respect of fellow countries. Nixon’s plan was Vietnamisation.
The South Vietnamese troops were to take on more of the responsibility of military actions while the US began to pull its military out of Vietnam in stages. America’s commitment was to continue to supply South Vietnam with vast weaponry supplies and even provide military training for them. Special army generals would be set aside to personally train the South Vietnamese troops and teach them how to use such advanced weaponry efficiently, with different tactics to employ. To show he was serious, Nixon even promised to pull 25,000 troops from Vietnam by August 1969. He did prove something, as by 1971 the number of troops had halved.
A year before, in 1970 though, actions forced a set back when Nixon ordered troops to invade Cambodia and Laos, to stop Vietcong attacking the south via the Ho Chi Mihn trail. The Ho Chi Mihn trail had been set up in Cambodia and Laos as a way of transporting thousands of Vietcong to the heart of the south and cause mass devastation with their guerilla style warfare. As Cambodia and Laos were neutral countries that were not part of the war, the USA had never taken action against it, trying to consolidate its forces solely on North Vietnam. The Ho Chi Mihn trail had also supplied hundred of Vietcong in hiding food and more munitions. There were also some of the biggest supply bases located along the trail that North Vietnam had built.
This action caused outrage in America though, a main reason for the Kent Sate University protest taking place in 1970. Nixon may have promised an end to war, but it did not seem it just yet. Another action that shocked the public was the vast bombing campaign of North Vietnam at Christmas 1972, when an all out air bombardment was launched on all major cities. More bombs were dropped during this time than in the whole of World War Two. It was said that the US dropped in excess of 100,000 bombs on Haiphong.
Nixon wanted a way out of war but he wanted ‘peace with honour’. The man to provide this for him was his foreign affairs adviser, Dr Henry Kissinger. He held secret talks with the North Vietnamese even while the bombing and fighting continued. Indeed, the bombing was partly to persuade Americans that North Vietnam was being forced to give up. According to Nixon it was the only way to force North Vietnam into peace talks, and it did actually work as it forced the Communists to the table, this time with real answers and compromises.
It did take four years for the two sides to agree, but after such a huge bombing campaign the North wanted America out and was prepared to sign an armistice in Paris in January 1973. It was agreed that the US would begin pulling its military out of the country if the North would halt its flow of men and supplies into the South.
It wasn’t until 6 months later, July 1973, until all of America’s troops had left Vietnam, including many South Vietnamese politicians who felt threatened by the threat of the north.
It may have been 4 years of talks and promises, but Nixon had finally succeeded and given the people what they wanted.
Although during the aftermath of Vietnam it had looked like America had pulled out because they were loosing and felt they could not win, recent historians have analysed new sources and are reaching new conclusions. Before it was thought that the Tet Offensive was a major loss for America, but today we now know that the North thought themselves it was a failure. They lost many of their key fighters during the campaign and had far superior losses than America.
Some historians also doubt whether public opinion really had an influence on America’s withdrawal. It is now thought that it was in fact the sheer cost of the war that forced America to reconsider and that most of the US public was actually pro the war, despite what old polls may suggest. We may never know the truth, but it has emerged that everything is not as clear-cut as it may have first seemed.
In conclusion I believe the American public did most likely have an effect of the decisions made by the Government, as it was such a power force that it must have had some influence. I do think, however, that it was not all bad for America. They did not loose the Tet Offensive, but neither did they win it. This lack of obvious progress was the key feature in the decisions of the Government, as I feel that no-one would want to fight a war they were getting nowhere in. I do agree, it must have cost them a great deal to get nowhere in the war, but it cannot have been purely due to monetary costs as America still supplied the south with weapons that must have cost vast quantities. We will never know, but what we do know is that it definitely made American history. Being the only war America has ever lost, it leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of those who fought.
