The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam

Step 2: Using pages 356-61 in the Vietnam War Reading, make notes in columns 2 (US Army) and 4 (Viet Cong) to record how far each side had each quality.



Stage 2: Thinking it through

Step 3: in each row of column 3, draw some scales to show which way the balance falls for this quality. Did the USA or the Viet Cong have the advantage?

1. Now think about the overall picture - how the strengths and weaknesses work together.

a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
The balance of the armies was strongly weighted towards the side of the Viet Cong because they had a lot more advantages. For example, they had more dedicated soldiers, better war tactics, support from the Vietnamese, and a good amount of equipment from other nations. The U.S. army was strong but they could not stand up to the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong and the abnormal fighting style they brought forth.

b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
No because the war was very wide-based. There was many areas that all combined ultimately decided who won the war. Mainly, if communism stayed than Vietnam won the war and if the U.S. was able to abolish communism than they would have won the war. The feature that was most important was the amount of casualties of one side and how the government stood after the war.

Stage 3: Explaining your conclusions
The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.

2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were: the failed strategy of bombing and marching in groups to fight the Viet Cong, the lack of understanding of the jungle, the lack of understanding of how the Viet Cong fought, not enough determined soldiers, and no true influence or support from Vietnam.

b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were: the very successful guerrilla tactics, the understanding of the jungle, determined soldiers, the support of Vietnam, a good amount of equipment supplied by the Soviet Unions and China.

c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example: they were able to successfully bomb North Vietnam, disrupted the war efforts and supply efforts of the communists, they showed how powerful their army was and inevitably how much the U.S. opposed communism and the Tet offensive.

d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were: not winning the Vietnam war, failing to stop communism, supporting a corrupt leader and government in Vietnam, not being able to stop the spread of communism and keep South Vietnam free.

e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as: successfully bombing U.S. and Southern Vietnam air bases and supply fields, ultimately winning the war, keeping communism present in Vietnam and supporting Ho Chi Minh which resulted in the communists winning the war.

f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example: the Tet offensive. During the Tet offensive, the Viet Cong lost around 10,000 experienced soldiers and it showed that the people of South Vietnam did not stand up to support the Viet Cong.

g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [not being able to fight well against the guerrilla tactics] because: the U.S. was very old fashioned and they fought by marching and in open fields by following the rules of war, while the Viet Cong used guerrilla tactics that thrw off the U.S. armies whole plan of fighting and it was a nightmare for the U.S. The guerrilla tactics proved to be very successful and work tremendously well for the Vietnamese and the Americans could not successfully fight back.

h. The key Viet Cong strength was [guerrilla tactics] because: they were able to go all throughout the jungle, retreat very fast, attack the U.S. when they were tired, and the Viet Cong was very durable. They were determined to never give in or give up and they did whatever it took to win.