The Vietcong (South Vietnam resistance) used guerrilla tactics to fight the war. This was because it was easier to defeat the enemy .The Vietcong’s tactics were simple, they used jungle traps, jungle traps were cheap to make, and this helped as the Vietcong could not afford high-tech equipment. The Vietcong wore no uniform as it was harder for the enemy to identify a soldier. The guerrilla war was very useful because the Vietcong could not afford to lose so many men and equipment in a full scale war.
The Vietcong tactics were better because they worked well on the American soldiers. The Vietcong took the fighting to the jungle. This made it very difficult for the American troops because they could not cope with the terrain and climate. The American troops lived in fear whilst fighting in the jungle. They feared ambush, death and worst of all, losing there genitals.
The American tactics were very different to the Vietcong. They used napalm, a substance which could burn skin, Blanket bombings and helicopters. These tactics were better suited to the American soldiers. These techniques show how advanced the technology was compared to the Vietcong. The main objective for an American soldier was to search and destroy ‘Charlie.’ ‘Charlie’ was the enemy. This was very psychological, it tells us that ‘Charlie’ was just a target, a nameless person; it made it easier for an American soldier to kill someone who was portrayed as useless/unknown but was still a threat.
The American tactics were clever and worked but did not cause enough damage because the U.S ‘lost’ the Vietnam War
The jungle made it hard to find ‘Charlie’ (enemy) as there was the risk of losing a body part or you’re life because of the booby traps set up. The Vietcong used small booby traps which could cause immense pain and infection, as they were covered in human/animal waste. The booby traps were cheap to make and could put two or more American soldiers out of action at a time. The Vietcong had similar tactics to the Americans in one way. The American soldiers were told to search and destroy. The Vietcong were told to hit and run.
The Vietcong tactics were very successful and played an important role for Vietnam’s success over America and its allies.
The V.C morale was very good because they knew they had a chance of winning. The Vietcong realized that there tactics were working well against the American troops. The Vietcong’s attitudes towards the war also signalled that the morale was good and although most of the Vietcong knew that they were going to die, they didn’t stop fighting. For example most of the Vietcong troops believed that they were born to fight and die, fighting for what they wanted in South Vietnam.
The Vietcong had the advantage of fighting in their homeland and knowing the areas well. The Vietcong had the disadvantage in weaponry as they could not afford the hi-tech weapons like the Americans had; but the determination of the Vietcong helped and improved their morale.
The public in America had turned against the war. Their opinion was so important because it was them who once held the support of the troops and the president. If the troops found out that the public were not in support then this would signify that there was nothing worth fighting for. Television coverage of the war did not help either; the American people did not like what they were seeing. Television pictures showed what war was really like and although the American media was bias, people became scared of what the ‘superpower’ was going to do next. After Nixon took over in 1961 (more detail later in essay), In 1970, 4 student protesters were shot dead at Kent state university by National Guard soldiers. This had huge effects on the American people and this sparked a massive outrage among the U.S citizens and 400 more protests/strikes took place across the United States and universities.
The public opinion of war became more intense on the president when many started to refuse to fight in Vietnam. This was because they had now changed their opinion on war in Vietnam due media coverage and killings of the innocent.
U.S public opinion changed dramatically because off recent events and it still played a very big part of the war.
Before the events in Kent State (1970) Johnson resigned and Nixon took over (1961). He realised that the war would cost him any chance of being re-elected. He knew that some would oppose him for not winning the war and some would oppose him for continuing it. Nixon took over and in 1970 he announced that the American troops had entered neutral Cambodia. Nixon said it was the only way to destroy communist bases used by the Vietcong. Many U.S citizens believed he was lying. Protests took place across the United States. In 1970 shootings took place at Kent State University, described in more detail in the paragraph above. This was proved to be the ‘first nail in the coffin’ off President Nixon’s resignation. In 1971, the pentagon papers were first published in the New York Times. The pentagon papers were top secret papers which were put together in 1967 by a pentagon employee, Daniel Ellsberg. The documents included the all the information on the Vietnam War and an analysis. The documents mentioned about how the U.S had lied and covered up incidents in Vietnam. The documents also showed that the U.S government had really failed to understand what they were getting involved in. In 1969 Ellsberg had become an opponent of the war for his own reasons. He started to secretly photocopy the document and then passed them along to the New York Times and they were published in 1971. After being unsure what to do, Nixon came to the conclusion that he would try and stop the papers being published and to prosecute Ellsberg for theft and conspiracy. However, the Supreme Court decided that it was not illegal to publish the papers and it could continue. Charges were dropped against Ellsberg in 1973. Nixon had used illegal methods to get evidence against Ellsberg, such as bugging his telephone line. This information given out to the public put pressure on Nixon and although the documents, being released at this time, had nothing to do with Nixon; the papers/documents proved harmful to him. Nixon used illegal methods to try and cover up leaks from the White House and increasing pressure upon him forced him to resign in 1974.
The resignation of Johnson led to the ‘farce’ of Nixons reign as president and it was during Nixon’s time as president the truth of the Vietnam War was told to the world.
In conclusion I think that the reason why America lost the Vietnam War was because of the U.S government itself, and although the troops, the fighting, the tactics and the morale of both sides in Vietnam played a big part, in my opinion it was how the U.S government handled the situations they got themselves into. I also think that it would have helped if the U.S government really knew what they were getting involved in. The politics of War, for example: the release of the Pentagon Papers, were also vital in the Americans loss as they included everything about the countries involvement and brought on pressure from the public themselves. With no public backing the American government secretly admitted to defeat.
