The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam

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 main factor which somewhat balanced the war was the US numbers, otherwise the Viet Cong soldiers were stronger and more determined than US soldiers. The Viet Cong soldiers had more effective tactics than the US, causing the balance to lean more toward them.



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?



The most important quality in the Vietnam war determining who won the war would most likely be 'Effective Tactics' because the Viet Cong soldiers were severely outnumbered, yet their war tactics made them superior to the US soldiers.



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: their lack of determined and motivated soldiers and their lacking war tactics. The US had less support from the Vietnamese population which also helped add to their failures.



b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were: having stronger, more motivated, and more determined soldiers. The Communists' war tactics such as guerilla warfare helped them significantly to lower the morale of US soldiers.



c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example: The US forces had some effective "weapons" to help find people hiding in the jungle, like Agent Orange and Napalm, which also killed. The bombing raids on military and industrial targets in North Vietname were also somewhat successful, just as the use of Search and Destroy.



d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were: The My Lai Massacre, which was a failure as the soldiers involved failed to complete their objective and killed many civilians. Another US failure to some extent was the policy of Search and Destroy, as the missions did kill Vietcong soldiers, yet there were some problems, such as attacking incorrect sites and having soldiers running into traps.



e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as: Their Guerrilla Warfare tactics, which included to retreat when the enemy attacks, raid when the enemy camps, attack when the enemy tires, and pursue when the enemy retreats, which was one of their most major successes.



f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example: the Tet Offensive, as the South Vietnamese who were expected to rise up and help the communists did not help, and they lost 10,000 experienced fighters.



g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [Effective Tactics] because:

the tactics the Americans used throughout the Vietnam War proved to be no match for the Vietcong's use of Guerrilla Warfare. I feel that if the Americans had chosen alternative tactics throughout the war, they would've been successful of demoralizing the Vietcong army and eventually winning the war.

h. The key Viet Cong strength was [Effective Tactics] because:

the Vietcong proved to overpower the American army with their use of Guerrilla Warfare, with their always ready and very experienced fighters, and they always had back up fighters which were ready to give the Americans hell. Their soldiers were very motivated, determined, and strong which caused them to outfight the American soldiers and overpower their tactics.