Read Chapter 30.2: America in Vietnam
Questions:
Evaluate the strategies and advantages held by US forces over the Vietcong.
What advantages and strategies did the Vietcong hold over American troops?
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The first strategy that the US formulated depended on the fact that victory would come quick, thus US generals demanded more troops to swiftly enter Vietnam. It was believed that because the US forces had vastly superior weapons to those of the Vietcong, victory would be quick. This shortcoming for the Vietcong was made a moot point because of the elaborate tunnels and networking system the Vietcong used. This is conjunction with the mystique surrounding their membership base made it near impossible for US troops to tell who exactly was a Vietcong operative. How exactly the US should proceed was a debated subject. US General Westmoreland believed that victory could be attained by constant harassment of the enemy, hoping that many of the Vietcong would surrender as the US slowly killed off their members.
ReplyDeletethe US entered the war believing that their superior weapons would make victory quick and simple. However, the Vietcong had the advantage of being familiar with the terrain. They used ambush and hit-and-run tactics as well as an elaborate use of tunnels to defeat their enemy. Also the US had trouble knowing who in the civilian population was an enemy. Both the Vietcong and the US troops set up countless traps and land mines for one another. General Westmoreland's strategy was to continuously harass the Vietcong and gradually wear away at their moral. Also the US tried to keep the Vietcong from winning support of the rural population in South Vietnam.
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ReplyDeleteU.S. forces and strategies over the Vietcong included patriotism, confidence, weapon technology and numbers in soldiers. The Americans strategy was to fight until the Vietnamese were destroyed and or exhausted. The Americans also fought with the same patriotism their father's had in WW2. These strategies and forces gave America the upperhand to an extent. The Vietcong had the advantage of being familiar with the land and tactics the Americans had forgotten how to use. The Vietcongs used guerrilla and ambush war fare and traps like land mines to attack the Americans. They also needed to fight to save their country, while the Americans were fighting for a more abstract reason.
The U.S. entered the war anticipating a very quick victory, due to their superior weapons and technology. However, they soon found that the Vietcong’s knowledge of terrain, as well as a need to fight to save their country created a much more powerful enemy. The Vietcong used elaborate tunnels and guerrilla warfare to defeat enemies, as well as using land mines to wear away at enemy forces. General Westmoreland felt that continually attacking the Vietcong would eventually cause them to surrender as many of their soldiers died. This also proved difficult, as it was hard to tell the Vietcong soldiers from civilians in many cases.
ReplyDeleteOne advantage that the United States had over the Vietcong was its superior weaponry. The Vietcong, however, made up for their lack of advanced weapons with their knowledge of the terrain and their fighting tactics. The Vietcong were extremely elusive, making it harder for U.S. soldiers to identify their enemy. One strategy that was used by U.S. forces was the concept of the body count. Westmoreland introduced the strategy as a way of lowering the Vietcong morale, but the strategy failed. The Vietcong were fighting for themselves, they were fighting for their own existence, which made it clear that they weren't about to surrender. American troops were aiming to win the "hearts and minds" of the South Vietnamese in order to draw out the guerrillas who lived among the villagers. It wasn't a very well thought out strategy as U.S. troops ended up destroying villages and the surrounding jungle in order to expose the Vetcong and their underground tunnels.
ReplyDeleteThe US thought they would have a quick win. They thought this because they had strong weapons. US also had more soldiers. Vietcong had the advantage of knowing the land. US destroyed villages in their attempt at victory. US also tried to reach out to Vietnamese people and get them on our side.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. strategies used to hold forces over Vietcong was aid that they needed due to the fact that they were being taken over by a communist country. The advantages the U.S. had was a better army, stronger weapons, and more soldiers. On the other hand, Vietcong had advantages because they were fighting on thier land which they knew better than the American soldiers. Their strategies was to also hide in tunnels underground to prevent being bombed from America
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