L.O. To understand why the US lost the Vietnam war

VIETNAM WAR – THE END

The Vietcong were expert guerrilla fighters and the Americans hadno answer to this type of warfare. The Vietcong copied the tacticsthe Red Chinese had used. The tactics can be summarised:

• the enemy attack, we retreat

• the enemy camps, we raid

• the enemy tires, we attack

• the enemy retreats, we pursue.

WHY THE AMERICANS LOST THE VIETNAM WAR

It was almost impossible to win a battle against a guerrilla army because you could never find out where it was. It attacked you

then disappeared into the jungle. The Viet Cong had the support of many of the peasants on whose land they were fighting. They could move freely around the country sheltered by villagers. One Viet Cong leader said: "The people are the water; our armies are

the fish."

The only way to win against a guerrilla army was to win thesupport of the local population.

The casualties that the South Vietnamese farmers andvillagers suffered because of the over-use of Americanweapons did not encourage them to side with the USA.

The US did not understand thepatriotism of the Vietnamese people.It could not understand the desirefor a united Vietnam and forfreedom from foreign interference.

FAILURE OF AMERICAN BOMBING

The Vietnam War quickly sapped themorale of the American soldiers. Manyof them were raw recruits who hadjust left school or college.Conscription fell heavily on the blacksand uneducated because those going tocollege were able to delay joining-upor even avoid it altogether. It wasperhaps unrealistic to expectAmerican blacks to fight for‘freedoms’ in Vietnam which they didnot enjoy at home.

As American casualties rose, the Americanslaunched huge bombing raids which devastatedNorth Vietnam. Chemicals were used to destroythe jungle in which the guerrillas sheltered. Tensof thousands of South Vietnamese civilians werekilled. The Viet Cong losses in military equipment,raw materials and vehicles were more than madeup by increased aid from the USSR and China.

The North Vietnamese showed great ingenuity incoping with the bombing. They relocatedindustries in remote places and hid themeffectively. They stored arms in caves andunderground. Tens of thousands of NorthVietnamese women and children worked full timein keeping transport routes open.

By 1969 the question was not whether America would get out ofVietnam but how it could do it without appearing defeated. Nixon, thenew American President, came up with the policy of Vietnamisation. Thisinvolved building up South Vietnamese forces and providing money,training and equipment so they could replace American soldiers.

The Americans also entered peace talks with Ho Chi Minh and inJanuary 1973 agreed a ceasefire which allowed the last Americansoldiers to leave.

However, the ceasefire was meaningless. The Viet Cong continued theirassault against South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Army were unableto stop them without American help and in April 1975 Saigon, thecapital of South Vietnam, had fallen to the Communists, after almost 30years of warfare the Communists controlled Vietnam.

THE END OF THE WAR

For war on such a scale, Americahad to have the support of theAmerican public. The VietnamWar was a media war. Thousandsof television, radio and newspaperreporters sent back to Americaand Europe reports and picturesof the fighting. Under thisbarrage of images and storiessupport for the war was waveringby 1967. There were anti-warprotests all over the country.

LOSS OF AMERICAN PUBLIC SUPPORT

American troops started treatingVietnamese civilians roughly,believing, often rightly, that theywere helping the Vietcong. At MyLai in March 1968 about 400civilians were killed. The armytried to cover the massacre up butone sickened soldier reported it toCongress. Photographs were found.Only Lieutenant William Calley, theofficer in charge, was put on trial.He was found guilty, sentenced to20 years in prison but releasedafter a few years. The news of themassacre deeply shocked Americanpublic opinion

b) Explain why the American forces were pulled out of Vietnam in 1973.(7)

• Do not attempt this question yet.*wait Until I give you the handout in the next lesson

• -sot-

Using the worksheet, create a spider diagram showing how America got out of Vietnam.

SOURCE AThe American soldier in Vietnam could rely on the latest equipment. He was transported to the battle scene by

helicopter, and if wounded flown out by helicopter. Tanks and armoured cars supported any attack and he had the

most up-to-date arms – mortars, machine guns, grenade and rocket launchers, and

the M16, a fully automatic rifle. The Americans had air-to-surface missiles

and bombs of every shape and size from napalm bombs that roasted their victims alive to cluster bombs whose hundreds

of pellets burst out to rip deep into the body of anyone within range. They also

had electronic instrumentswhich detected guerrillas, and chemical weapons which could destroy jungles and

crops.From a book about the Vietnam War by

an American historian, published in 1983.

STUDY SOURCES A AND B.DOES SOURCE A MAKE YOU SURPRISED BY THE

ACCOUNT IN SOURCE B? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER USING THESOURCES.

SOURCE BThe American story was that this was

an example of the success of their bombing and shelling campaign. They told me that it showed that the Viet Cong were so demoralised that they

were having to take refuge underground. Well I must confess that I believed that version of the story. It was only later when it was discovered how enormous the tunnel complex was and how skilfully the Viet Cong used it and how the tunnels actually extended under the American base camps, that I

started to think for myself and I realised that this was not a sign of how demoralised the Viet Cong had become

but how determined they were.A British journalist speaking on a

television programme, 27 June 1993

SOURCE F

Dear American friends:

Large sections of the American people, encouraged andsupported by many peace- and justice-loving persons, areabout to launch an offensive throughout the UnitedStates to persuade President Nixon to put an end to theVietnam War. Your urgent demand is to save Americanhonour and prevent sons and brothers from dyinguselessly in Vietnam. It is a timely answer to thegovernment which is intensifying and prolonging the warin Vietnam in defiance of American and world protests.The Vietnamese and world people fully approve of yourjust struggle. We are firmly confident that with thesolidarity and bravery of our two countries, and with theapproval and support of peace-loving people in the world,the struggle of the Vietnamese people and the Americanpeople will certainly be crowned with total victory.

Affectionately yours, Pham Van Dong, Premier of NorthVietnam

A letter to American anti-war protesters, dated 14October 1969.

It was read out in the US Congress by the Chairman ofthe Republican Party.

STUDY SOURCES F AND G.IS ONE OF THESE SOURCES MORE USEFUL THAN THE OTHER TO A

HISTORIAN STUDYING THE VIETNAM WAR?EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER USING THE SOURCES AND YOUR KNOWLEDGE. [9]

SOURCE GTwo young women who tempted some United States soldiers to lay down

their weapons, and then killed them. An old woman who assisted guerillas

in setting up an ambush against American soldiers. A young boy who

befriended some United States soldiers and then led them into a Viet Cong ambush. A government soldier who deserted to the Viet

Cong, bringing several weapons and stolen documents with him. A

schoolboy who secretly spread the teachings of Ho Chi Minh among his

classmates.A list of Viet Cong ‘heroes’ drawn up by an American journalist. In 1974 he researched the life of one small South Vietnamese village during the war. The villagers told him that they

remembered the Viet Cong in the area calling meetings of villagers in which they were told about these

‘heroes’.

5 STUDY SOURCES H AND I.HOW FAR DO THESE SOURCES AGREE? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER USING THE

SOURCES AND YOUR KNOWLEDGE. [8]

SOURCE HFirst is the simple fact that South Vietnam, a member of the free world family, is striving to preserve its independence from Communist attack. Second, South-East Asia has great significance in the forward defence of the United States. The Communists’ victory would only be a first step towards eventual Chinese dominance over South-East Asia.

Robert McNamara, explaining publicly in 1964 why America had to be involved in Vietnam. The media started calling the conflict ‘McNamara’s War’.

SOURCE IThe Vietnam War is unpopular in this country. It is becoming increasingly unpopular as it escalates –causing more American casualties. Most Americans do not know how we got where we are, and most are convinced that somehow we should not have got this deeply in. All want the war ended and expect their President to end it. Successfully. Or else. There may be a limit beyond which many Americans will not permit the United States to go. The picture of the world’s greatest superpower killing or seriously injuring 1000 innocent civilians a week, while trying to pound a tiny backward nation into submission, is not a pretty one.

From a memorandum Robert McNamara wrote for President Johnson on 19 May 1967, opposing a request from General Westmoreland for more troops to be sent to Vietnam.

Create a timeline covering all key events of the Vietnam War (including important

events before it began) using the worksheet provided.

a) Who were the Vietcong? (4)b) Explain why America was

involved in Vietnam (6)c) The following were all

equally important reasons for the American withdrawal

from Vietnam:(I) the financial cost of the war;(II) the military tactics of the

Vietcong(III) the failure of US military

tacticsHow far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer referring only to (I) (II) (III)

2010 OR 2008

a) What involvement did America have in Vietnam

between 1954 and 1962 (4)

b) Explain why the Communists used Guerrilla tactics in the Vietnam War

(6)

c) The main reason for American withdrawal from

Vietnam was the TetOffensive of 1968. how far

do you agree with this statement? (10)

b) Explain the consequences of the Vietnam War (7)

HOMEWORK