America did not experience a “lost victory” in Vietnam; in fact, victory was likely out of reach from the beginning. There is a broad consensus among professional historians that the Vietnam War was effectively unwinnable.
The US army had superior conventional weapons but they were ineffective against a country that was not industrialized and an army which employed guerrilla tactics and used the dense jungle as cover.
Yes. If the military didn't have its hands tied behind its proverbial back with rules of engagement and a search and destroy(Body count wins) strategy that was ineffective. Had they taken a more MacArthur like attitude to the war the North would've been bombed to dust and the south pacified.
In the aftermath of the war, General Westmoreland, the primary leader of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) for the majority of the war, put forward the argument that the United States could have easily won had the United States not restrained their means from the offset[25]: this would have been achieved with ...
There is no way of proving a might-have-been. Independence for Vietnam in 1945 might still have led to local conflict within Southeast Asia, but it would have prevented the wounds that the United States inflicted on itself by going to war in Vietnam. And 1945 was indeed the moment. After that it was too late.
We had no national interest in Vietnam. When the US involvement in Vietnam began, Britain was busy fighting our own anti-communist wars in Malaya and then Borneo. In both cases we were supported by the Commonwealth, but not by the USA. So we owed the US nothing.
November 1, 1955 — President Eisenhower deploys the Military Assistance Advisory Group to train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. This marks the official beginning of American involvement in the war as recognized by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. April 1956 — The last French troops finally withdraw from Vietnam.
Failures for the USA
The bombing campaign failed because the bombs often fell into empty jungle, missing their targets. The North Vietnamese guerrillas knew the jungle and made use of elaborate underground bases and tunnels to shelter from US bombs, and often re-used unexploded American bombs against US soldiers.
Not only had the USA failed to stop Vietnam falling to communism, but their actions in the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia had helped to bring communist governments to power there too.
❖ The tactics and resolve of the Vietcong. ❖ The cultural weaknesses of the USA in Vietnam. ❖ The political and public opposition to the war in the USA. ❖ The military weaknesses of the American forces.
Some observers have suggested that the U.S. actually lost more than two dozen battles during Vietnam. But the 10 historians we contacted agreed that most, and possibly all, of the major battles were won by the U.S.
What would have happened if the US didn't intervene in the Vietnam War? If the Americans hadn't gotten involved in the Vietnam War, nothing would have really changed. South Vietnam would still have lost to the North Vietnamese, just the war would be over a hell of a lot faster.
Historians who addressed American military performance accused the U.S. military of fighting unlawfully and unsuccessfully against a wily adversary that regularly outwitted it, and they alleged that the war inflicted long-term psychological damage on huge numbers of American veterans.
The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files contains records of 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War.
Thus ended the third largest war in American history, with no clear-cut victory on either side and with neither side completely satisfied with the situation, but willing to accept it as the end of a conflict unprofitable to the policies of both the Communist and non- Communist worlds.
All told, the U.S. Air Force flew 5.25 million sorties over South Vietnam, North Vietnam, northern and southern Laos, and Cambodia, losing 2,251 aircraft: 1,737 to hostile action, and 514 in accidents. 2,197 of the losses were fixed-wing, and the remainder rotary-wing.
An Integral Allied Force in the Vietnam War
South Korean units were as tough and professional as any in the United States Army or Marines, and came to be justly feared by the communists. More than 300,000 Korean troops passed through Vietnam at some point, and more than 5,000 were killed.
Many Americans feared communism as a different political system, and also because of their belief in the "domino theory." First voiced by President Eisenhower, the theory used the visual image of falling dominoes to represent the fear that if South Vietnam "fell" to communism, then Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma (now ...
U.S. leaders endorsed the domino theory, which held that if South Vietnam fell to the Communists, other nations in the region, such as Laos and Cambodia, would also fall.
Unlike veterans of other wars, Vietnam veterans did not return home to cheers and ceremonies. Most Americans wanted to forget the trauma of the Vietnam War and move on. As a result Vietnam veterans were seen as a reminder of defeat and of a time that should be forgotten.
To others, the Vietnam War was a forfeit, a just war needlessly lost by timid policymakers and a biased media. For many who study foreign affairs, the Vietnam War was a tragic mistake brought about by U.S. leaders who exaggerated the influence of communism and underestimated the power of nationalism.
Vietnam War soldiers endured many hardships and faced many problems. Combatants on both sides faced physical challenges posed by the climate, terrain and wildlife of the country. They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex political situation in Vietnam.
Despite some misgivings about backing a colonial power, the US began to support the French in Vietnam. Washington aided the French during their war with the Viet Minh, investing almost $3 billion in the years prior to 1954. 4. The French withdrawal led to direct US involvement in Vietnam.
The justifications for the Vietnam War were seriously flawed. The Central Intelligence Agency had repeatedly informed the Johnson administration that most Southeast Asian countries were not in danger of falling like dominos to communism, even if North Vietnam won. The credibility theory was also exaggerated.
Unlike with China, we have no territorial disputes with the US. Many Vietnamese people also appreciate the fact that working conditions in US companies that invest here are often better than in Asian companies that invest in Vietnam.