Why the United States withdrew its forces from Vietnam in 1973
Why the United States withdrew its forces from Vietnam in 1973 I am writing this essay to 'explain why the United States withdrew its forces from Vietnam in 1973'. The Vietnam War lasted just under a decade but conflict in the area had been seen for well over thirty years. It all started as a civil war between the South Vietnamese people and their government. As the government of Vietnam was struggling and fear of defeat was becoming more and more apparent, the US were called to help. After this tiring decade of non-stop fighting and controversy, the US withdrew in 1973. There were many reasons for this such as, media that was giving coverage of the war to around the world. Governmental pressures, what president would take the next move? Economic build up because the cost of the war was so great. Also guerrilla warfare tactics used by the southern Vietnamese to oppress the US being there. In this essay I will aim to state the evidence I have in why the US withdrew its forces from Vietnam. Vietnam is a small country that is part of Indochina in South East Asia. For centuries European colonists and China fought over their country after their neighbours of the north, the Chinese, conquered their homeland long ago. The French added Vietnam and the rest of Indochina to their colonial empire by the end of the 19th century. The French had ruled Indochina since the late 1800's.
Evaluate the tactics and strategies employed by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army, and the USand Australian armed forces.
Evaluate the tactics and strategies employed by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army, and the US and Australian armed forces. The tactics and strategies employed by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, and the US and Australian Armed forces, were to become the prime determinants of the outcome of the conflict. Despite America's abundant resources and advanced technology, their various tactics such as 'search and destroy', Operation Rolling Thunder, defoliation, air attacks, the strategic hamlet program and the winning hearts and minds policy proved inefficient and unsuited to the environment. In contrast, the Viet Cong and the NVA utilised highly effective strategies including advanced guerilla warfare tactics, booby traps, the use of the Ho Chi Minh trail, underground tunnels and in particular, gaining the support of the peasants and disguising themselves amongst them. The poor US policies and tactic as well as the effectiveness of the strategies applied by the communist forces ultimately resulted in the US withdrawal and the demise of the south. The Second Indo-Chinese war was fought in the jungles and countryside of mainly South Vietnam, a combat environment which US soldiers were not familiar with. The Viet Cong had adopted strategic guerilla warfare tactics as their chief method of attack. Small guerrilla units operated from bases established in remote
Vietnam Coursework: Question One
Question One: How useful are sources A to C to explain why the United States became involved in the war in Vietnam? Source A is an extract from a speech called "peace without conquest". The speech was delivered to the American people on 7, 1965. By this point, Operation rolling thunder was well underway. The source could be interpreted as the official view from the government on why it was so important for America to fight in Vietnam. The source states several reasons for the USA's involvement in Vietnam making it quite useful. The source shows that the USA had "a promise to keep", since 1954. This makes reference to SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organisation), which was set up by President Eisenhower in September 1954. It was a South East Asian version of NATO, and aimed to block further communist gains in the Asia. SEATO was originally part of the Truman Doctrine, which aimed to promote the containment of communism. The USA felt very loyal to SEATO as they felt very threatened that more countries would become communism after China did in 1949. The source is also useful because it states that the USA was there also to "strengthen world order". This links back to America's role as "world's policemen" The USA had put it upon them to try to keep the world in order and promote freedom to all. The role of world's policeman also link back to the promises made in the Truman
Why did the Communists win the Vietnam War?
Why did the Communists win the Vietnam War? From 1955, the US became involved in supporting the South Vietnamese government under Diem. South Vietnam soon came under attack by the Vietcong in 1957 as the Vietcong attempted to reunify Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, the charismatic communist leader of the North. The Vietcong launched a highly effective guerilla war and American fears that the fall of South Vietnam to communism might lead to the fall of Vietnam's neighbouring countries to Communism as well, whether a result of internal revolution or external aggression, prompted the US to become more and more involved in the war. What was initially a civil conflict escalated into a full-scale war between North and South Vietnam. In May 1975, the Vietcong forces succeeded in reunifying Vietnam under a communist government. As William Duiker points out 'the most significant fact about that conflict is not that the United States lost but that the Communists won'. David Steinberg identifies the superiority of North Vietnamese military thought as the paramount factor in contributing towards a communist victory. The communist victory can be attributed to several factors, both political and social, that the United States failed to comprehend and address. The Vietnamese Communist Party won the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people and was preferred to the democratic model that the US
North Vietnamese (NVA) and the National Liberation Front (NLF) tactics during the Vietnam War
Modern History Essay Questions: a) NLF Tactics The armies of the North Vietnamese (NVA) and the National Liberation Front (NLF) lacked the conventional military strength of their adversaries. Thus they had to formulate new tactics and strategies to cover these weaknesses. Throughout the conflict in Indo-China, specifically the Vietnam War, the armies of the North Vietnamese and the NLF were technologically and militarily outclassed by their foes, first the French with aid and support from the United States, then later the advanced military power of the US and the US supplemented forces of the South Vietnamese. In the face of the overwhelming military might arrayed against them, the communist forces had to develop tactics and strategies to effectively level the playing field between the two forces. The NVA and the NLF developed what was known as guerrilla tactics to subvert the more powerful forces of the United States and South Vietnamese. Such basics principles employed were the use and knowledge of the local environment and the natural topography to vex the forces of the United States and the ARVN. They also employed further methods to strike at their opponents. They made sure that they never met their enemies in prolonged, conventional combat, only striking at the enemy when they were unprepared. They retreated in an enemy advance, and harried them when they were
Did the power of television force the United States to leave Vietnam
How useful are Sources A to C to explain why the United States became involved in the war in Vietnam? By: Reem Berhane The sources A, B and C, give us some insight into why the United States became involved in the war in Vietnam. Alternatively, it does not tell us the full story. In source A, President Johnson is giving his public speech, on April 1965 [a month after 'Operation Rolling Thunder' began], about stopping Communism. He says, "We fight in Vietnam because we have a promise to keep". The 'Truman Doctrine' is a list of various promises signed and written by every American president. Johnson signed this in 1948. The promise they're fighting for; 'promise to help any threatened by Communism'. And that is exactly what they intend to do. The 'Domino Theory' is also another reason; they're involved in the war in Vietnam. It's the fact, that if you let one country fall to Communism other countries will, one after the other, like dominoes, And so the U.S. believed. Since 1945 most leaders of America offered to support Vietnam. At this time Eisner Hower was a successful war general, just before he became president. They had an objective which they hoped to aim: 'the independence of South and the freedom of the people of South Vietnam to guide their own country in their own way'. President Kennedy was the first president to send 'advisors' to Vietnam. And Johnson was his
Why was USA involved in Vietnam War?
Why did the USA become involved in the conflict in Vietnam? Vietnam was a country 9000 miles away from the United States. Yet America felt that its national interest was threatened sufficiently to fight a war there. The explanation lies in the policy of "Containment", which aim was to prevent the spread of Communism in South East Asia. The communist take-over of China in 1949, the Korean War and the communist victory over the French in Vietnam 1950-1953, all led many Americans to fear that other countries will fall into communism like tumbling dominoes. Therefore, in 1950's USA became involved in Vietnam War starting with just a financial support from 1949, ending with military involvement in 1965. The US government believed that by helping the South Vietnamese government to resist the attacks of the communist North they were helping to prevent the spread of communism throughout the world. 1949 was bad years for USA in the Cold War, not only did USSR explode its own atom bomb, which meant that USA was no longer the only nuclear power, but also China became communist. Due to the fear of communism, USA started to financially support Viet Minh and they gave 520 million dollars support to French government in 1949 every year. In 1954 French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu. In 1956 Vietnam was supposed to have elections to reunite the country; however in 1954 USA applied the
Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam during the 1950’s and 1960’s
Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam during the 1950's and 1960's Throughout the 50's and 60's the USA became steadily more and more involved in the Vietnam conflict in a bid to halt the spread of communism and pursuing their belief in 'The Domino Theory". Vietnam had been under French colonial rule until the late forties when the Vietcong started a campaign that they hoped would end in Vietnams independence which meant the French had to be defeated. The struggle came to a head at the battle of Dien Bien Phu where the Vietcong defeated the French. The French soon left leaving Northern and Southern Vietnam separated, the north ruled by Ho Chi Minh the South by the dictator Ngo Dinh Diem from Saigon. The US had given $3 billion to the French to help fend off the Vietcong thus halting the 'domino effect' and were not willing for it to go to waste. The US passionately believed in the 'domino theory', it was feared that if any South-East Asian nation fell the others, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia etc would follow so Vietnam was key as it bordered them all. At first the US thought the French could fend off the Vietcong so gave $3 billion to help fund the campaign as they were still recovering from The Second World War but were defeated so Vietnam was open for the communists to take over. In 1950 the US pumped further oney into the conflict, this time to the AVRN to setup
Vietnam. The Tactics used by the US and the Vietcong were diverse. Americas preference of strategies being, attempting to fatally damage Vietnam with immense amounts of bombs
Lucy Cadd 9117 GCSE Coursework:Vietnam post Canford School, 55243 The Tactics used by the US and the Vietcong were diverse. America's preference of strategies being, attempting to fatally damage Vietnam with immense amounts of bombs, and therefore exhausting the Vietcong's supplies, both of men and of willpower. The Guerrilla warfare which the Vietcong favoured to, involved the laying of an impressive web of booby traps, mines and tunnels. Also terrorist activity, to which their aim was to take their opposition by surprise and never actually come face to face with them, was high on their list of strategies. The USA's most preferred tactic was to use bombs designed to break North Vietnam's will to fight, bringing them to the negotiating table. In May 1965, the Americans launched 'Operation Rolling Thunder' which carried on for three years. During this time the US dropped explosives on military establishments, infrastructure and fuel storehouses. Napalm was often used throughout the South against suspected enemy positions, supply lines or in support of ground forces. Napalm, which is jellied petroleum, sticks to the skin and burns through to the bone. However bombing was never successful in breaking the will of the North Vietnamese leadership nor did it ever succeed in hindering their ability to wage war. This was because Vietnam did not have
Full Metal Jacket: Vietnam
Full Metal Jacket * What is the attitude of the director of the film Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick) to the war in Vietnam? * From your studies of this topic would you agree with his interpretation? Full metal jacket directed by Stanley Kubrick. It was a war movie based on the United States Marine Corps (USMC) those were in Vietnam to fight. Stanley Kubrick split the movie in two parts to show to his viewers' everything about war. In the first part is about training and the other part was about the soldiers in Vietnam and that is when the Tet offensive happened. Tet offensive happened between 20 and 23 September. As I said before the movie was in two parts so the first part was all about training, how soldiers were treated by their leaders (Instructor) and how strict were their instructor. Stanley used a good example of a soldier mistreated was (Leonard 'Private Pyle' Pratt acted by Vincent D'Onofrio) and another good example of their instructor who was acted by Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. In first Stanley Kubrick was trying to show his viewers how the soldiers were trained and how they were treated by their leaders. He showed the instructor training the soldiers harshly and treating them like animals. Stanley showed that just because to tell his audience about lives of soldiers in boot camp and how stonehearted and careless the harsh training made them so