using the sources available, why did America loose to Vietnam?

Tom Mason 11E. Assignment Two I think that the sources that support the question I will be answering in this assignment are source E and source J, source g and source l. The other factors why America lost the war in Vietnam are also that the troops were not as committed to the war effort as the VC, they didn't see the point in going there, most of the soldiers didn't want to be there, the US troops didn't win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people, there was no American morale thanks to drug taking and fragging, the VC adopted guerrilla warfare tactics and the VC were given lots of weapons and missiles from the soviet union and china for use on the Americans. Also the South Vietnamese army were never a match for the VC and ARVN. It was all of these reasons why America failed to win the war in Vietnam but also it could have been because of television showing horrible pictures from the war like the My Lai massacre and these disgraceful acts that the American soldiers were committing on the peasants of Vietnam triggered anti-war movements all over America. This is why I am carrying out this assignment to see if this was the cause of the American failure in Vietnam. One of the sources that support the question is source E. This source is a picture that shows children running down a Vietnamese road. Two particular children in this image create a huge impact which would

  • Word count: 1376
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

The Vietnam War - why the USA became involved and how the media covered the war.

Vietnam Coursework Question 1 The Vietnam War lasted from August 1964 to April 1975. In 1964 the American President, Lyndon Baines Johnson used the Gulf of Tonkin incident to get Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This allowed him to wage all out war against North Vietnam without ever getting an official declaration of war. This signalled the beginning of American involvement in the war until 1973, when they ended the draft and began to pull out their troops. But why did they get involved in the first place? In 1947, President Harry Truman made a speech to Congress outlining his plans for the Cold War. He said "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." He was outlining the American foreign policy of containment. In Source A, President Johnson references the Truman Doctrine when he says "Since 1954 every American President has offered support to the people of South Vietnam" When he made the decision to expand American influence with Operation Rolling Thunder, his justification was the policy of containment. The attempt to halt the flow of communism that was spreading across the globe. This was America's Cold War aim and Vietnam was simply an extension of that aim. This is useful because it shows the public continuation of an existing

  • Word count: 2151
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam in the 1950's and 1960's?

GCSE History - Vietnam Coursework ) Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam in the 1950's and 1960's? The USA became involved in Vietnam in 1949, under fear of communism spreading further into South East Asia as Mao Ze Dong had won a communist victory in China in the same year. The USA and USSR were the two most powerful nations in the world at this time and were both involved in a Cold War with each other. Each had opposed the way in which the other country was run, with USA being Capitalist and USSR being Communist. When the USSR exploded its own atom bomb in 1949, it became clear to the US that they were on equal level with the Soviet Union, as it appeared that they were no longer the only country with nuclear power. Every time a nation fell towards communism, the USSR became stronger, weakening the USA and other capitalist nations. Vietnam at this time was a French colony, which was occupied by the Japanese during World War Two. The Vietminh, which was an anti-Japanese resistance lead by Ho Chi Minh, defeated the Japanese in 1945 and took over North Vietnam changing it into a communist state. This led to the return of the French at the end of World War Two and they tried to take Vietnam back. With China, who had just become communist, supporting the Vietminh, the USA felt they had to intervene and decided to support France with Financial aid in order to enforce the

  • Word count: 1109
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

Tactics used by both sides in the Vietnam War.

Tactics used by both sides in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was between the Vietcong: who came from the north, and the US and the South Vietnamese. Both sides in the war used different tactics to exploit their advantage and their opponent's disadvantages. The Vietcong used guerrilla tactics to exploit the difficult terrain, whereas the American used conventional warfare to take where their technological superiority gave the considerable advantage. The North Vietnamese army, known as the Vietcong, were badly trained and badly equipped. On the other hand they had a large number of troops and good knowledge of the terrain. The American army however were highly trained, used advanced technology, helicopters but limited knowledge of the terrain and more over were not used to fighting guerrilla warfare. The Vietcong chose to engage the US forces in a guerrilla war, this meant that they would launch small attacks against the US forces, then retreat into hiding. Because of there knowledge of the jungle terrain, they were able to escape quickly. The Ho Chi Mihn trail this enabled them to move quickly and move round the US forces. The Vietcong invented a trail that would allow them to get in South Vietnam with engaging the Americans on the way and to allow them to transport weapons and supplies. The trail was named the Ho Chi Mihn trail after the Vietcong leader. The trail

  • Word count: 1788
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

The USA should have been successful in Vietnam because of its technological and military supremacy/ however, the USA failed to use this supremacy effectively to defeat a smaller, less advanced enemy. Do you agree or disagree with the interpretat

History coursework question 2 'The USA should have been successful in Vietnam because of its technological and military supremacy/ however, the USA failed to use this supremacy effectively to defeat a smaller, less advanced enemy.' Do you agree or disagree with the interpretation? Explain your answer using sources D to K and knowledge from your studies. In the Vietnam War America failed to win the war even though they had loads of technology and a huge military supremacy because they failed to use this correct fully and didn't have any real tactics. America had many different types of weapons such as saturating bombing from their B-52 planes, which were the most highly advanced at the time of the war. Another example of things that were more advanced than the Vietcong army was chemical warfare, there were 3 types of this and they were Napalm, Agent Orange and agent blue. These all killed many innocent Vietnamese peasants which many American citizens disagreed with. The Vietcong fought against the American army by using things such as guerrilla warfare, the Ho Chi Minh trail and their tunnelling systems. In the end Vietcong won the Americans because they had outstanding knowledge of the surround land of where they were fighting such as the jungle areas, this benefited them as the Americans had better supremacy in both technology and military. The war that they were

  • Word count: 3004
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

Why was there opposition to the Vietnam war?

Why was there opposition to the Vietnam war? Kerrie Jordan 12C There were many different effects that created opposition for America duing the Vietnam war. The biggest effect was the intense media coverage of the war. The two main news channels in the US, NBC and CBS, sent reporters with the marines into the centre of the war, as this was the first war that reporters were actually allowed into the battlegrounds. They broadcast the full horror of what was going on in Vietnam, the footage was never censored. At the beginning of the war, the media fully supported the war, but as it progressed, they captured more and more footage of soldiers dying, villages being burnt to the ground and distressed peasants being tortured and killed, and they turned against the war. Americans developed napalm, a jelly bomb where the jelly would explode, stick to the victims skin and severely burn them. The media covered all of this, and all of the TetOffensive. The Tet is a religious time for the Vietnamese and during this time it was tradition not to fight, but the Vietnam surprised the Americans and fought them. As all of this was broadcast, it gave the people back in the US evidence that America was not winnning the war. This was emphasised when the media broadcast the My Lai massacre, when marines attcked a village on a destroying mission, and killed 400 eldery, women, and children, to then

  • Word count: 583
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

The difference of tactics in Vietnam played an important part in the victory of the Vietcong over the far superior United States.

The difference of tactics in Vietnam played an important part in the victory of the Vietcong over the far superior United States. The Vietcong used guerrilla warfare, a form of fighting with the aim to hinder the opposing force. This form of fighting dates back to Sun Tzu a Chinese military strategist who lived over 2000 years ago, he believed that all warfare involves the employing of ones strength to exploit the weaknesses of the enemy. Guerrilla warfare was also successfully adopted by Mao Zedong the leader of the communist's forces in China. The USA were used to conventional warfare, in the form of bouts of fighting, guerrilla warfare ment they had to be constantly alert, for which they were not adequately trained. The strategy and tactics used by the Vietcong were based on those used by Mao Zedong, One important feature was the use of small groups of soldiers called cells. The cells worked together but knowledge of other cells was kept to a minimum, to lower the damage done to the organisation as a whole if one soldier was captured and tortured. The US troops began to use the 'search and destroy tactic' from 1965 to try and find members of theses cells and kill them. This was made extremely difficult, as the Vietcong did not wear uniforms so they were hard to distinguish from the ordinary peasants. "You never know who the enemy was and who was the friend they all

  • Word count: 1274
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

What different tactics were used by both sides in an attempt to win the conflict in Vietnam between 1956 and 1968?

What different tactics were used by both sides in an attempt to win the conflict in Vietnam between 1956 and 1968? The Vietcong and the USA used very different tactics. This was mainly because of the difference in the way the two sides were equipped; the VC were a small poorly equipped group who had to use weapons they had acquired. The Americans were the most industrialized nation in the world and therefore had access to the most advanced weaponry of the time. While the Americans had the advantage of having the most advanced weaponry the VC had the advantage of knowing and being used to the area they were fighting in and whilst the Americans needed to win the war quickly the VC could go on fighting for as long as it took. The two sides did change their tactics throughout the war to adapt to what the other side was doing. Although the sides changed tactics their principal methods of engaging the enemy remained the same; the VC used guerrilla warfare and the Americans used open warfare. The concept of guerrilla warfare is to gradually wear down the enemy. The tactics included; retreating when the enemy attacks, raiding when the enemy camps, attacking when the enemy tires and pursuing when the enemy retreats. The VC used guerrilla tactics because they weren't strong enough to fight an open war against the Americans, Also the Americans were not used to guerrilla tactics, which

  • Word count: 1728
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

The Tactics of the USA were the main reason for its failure in Vietnam. How far do you agree with this statement?

The Tactics of the USA were the main reason for its failure in Vietnam. How far do you agree with this statement? The war in Vietnam was a horrendous failure for the USA, but this was not due to the tactics used by America. The main reasons for the US failure were, in fact, nothing to do with the US army, and were due to public support and more suited Guerrilla tactics used by the Vietcong. The US army, throughout the Vietnam War, used the tactics they had been trained in from the beginning of their Army Careers. They moved as units, carrying equipment and wounded. These tactics had worked in every other war they had fought, but not in Vietnam. These tactics made them slow and vulnerable to the Vietcong hit and run attacks, further slowing units with more wounded soldiers. The US soldiers were taking heavy casualties because of the superior Vietcong tactics. The Vietcong also had the advantage in that they could easily hide in South Vietnamese villages from US soldiers, but the American Troops were so distinctive, they could be spotted anywhere by the Vietcong. It could be argued that because for the speed in which the US was deploying troops, many of those called up were not fully trained, and therefore unable to fight to the best of their ability. The lack of support for the US soldiers and the war in general was another major factor in the US defeat. The South

  • Word count: 494
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

How was the opposition to the Vietnam war protrayed in contemporary literature, film and popular song?

How was the opposition to the Vietnam war protrayed in contemporary literature, film and popular song? As we all know, the media eg tv, magazines and radio and also peoples opinions have a strong grip over a country. The magazine articles we read the photos we see, the music we listen to, the films we watch and the events that take place around us all influence us in different ways on our opinions and in what we believe. From the 1960s to 1970s people of America had to decide on what their feelings were like towards the war and how they felt on the topic of the Vietnam War. Many people strongly opposed this war, but only a few were able to spread their own beliefs through the use of the media. Some such people where Eric Burdon and the band which was called The Animals. They wrote a song which entered in the top chart at position 14 on June 22, 1968 At the start of the song. It talks about. "He blesses the boys as they stand in line" This he, he refers to could be anyone, who blesses the boys as they stand in line. This he who they referred to is a priest a Chaplin, giving them their last rites as the soldiers take their first steps into war. They are obviously frightened and for some, this is their first time going into war and leaving their loved ones behind. I can tell that the Chaplin in some way shape or form has experienced war for it says in the song "He

  • Word count: 2179
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
Access this essay