Vietnam War: 42 years from the War

TIME
Why did Vietnam War go wrong for the USA?

US and Vietnam troops resting in a forest near Binh gia, US soldiers exhausted and
exasperated fighting in such unfamiliar terrain, in January 1965, whilst unbeknownst to much
of the public.

USA, South Vietnam and other allied forces waiting to be deployed in Vietnam on the 8th of
March, 1965. The US being overconfident after 2 successful implementations of the
Containment Policy. The fact that Vietnam being a poor South East Asian State, meant that it
was not only going to be outnumbered but also outgunned, disillusioned the forces that it would
be a quick and easy operation.

USA with advanced technology, most notable the UH-1A/B/C/D/E/F/H/L/M/P Iroquois
"Huey", utility transport and gunship helicopter, which allowed for extreme mobility for
search and destroy operations. This is also gave them quick reaction which could have been
used against the National Liberation Front’s (Viet Cong) Hit and Run Tactic.

A South Vietnamese soldier kicking Viet Cong suspect. Since Vietcong had no official uniform
nor identification and could hide among civilians or the local population, hence most of Viet
Cong suspects were accused with little to no evidence, souring the support of the local
population for the South Vietnamese Democratic government as soldiers usually rely on brutal
tactics to force suspects to confess

Soldiers waving at the Iroquois "Huey", utility transport and gunship helicopter, while a
wounded soldier waits in pain for help to arrive. With increasing battles taking place in rough
terrain such as forest or swamplands, battles on each side become increasingly costly. This
negates the mobile advantage the US Soldiers have with helicopters, as in this terrain,
issues with finding clearings to land safely, to evacuate or transport soldiers and supplies
start arising.

A Tunnel Ferret staring down at a Viet Cong Tunnel with a flashlight and pistol in hand. “Tunnel
Ferrets” were American, Australian and New Zealand soldiers who had been trained in Tunnel
Warfare where they would navigate through the Viet Cong Tunnels, where the Viet Congs
retreat to for hiding. However, this tunnels would usually stretch on far and wide and were
usually laced with traps, and would’ve taken the soldiers days to finally cover every corner the
labyrinth underground.

Two soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the clearing, wait for a medivac which will
evacuate the body. As the war dragged on, the illusion that the war would be a quick and
decisive battle slowly faded, as the war seemed to go on and on. A small anti-Vietnam war
movement starts to gather momentum the longer the war dragged on.

A Vietnamese litter-bearer passes the bodies of US and South Vietnamese soldiers. American
suffered lots of casualties in the hands of the Vietcong. It reached its peak in 1968, when
roughly 16,000 troops lost their life in the year alone. Death toll of the Vietnam war increase
exponentially. So did the American Movement to the end the war.

31 st January 1968, US and South Vietnamese troops standing their ground against the Viet
Cong during the Tet Offensive. This was a major shock to the US government and public as
it showed that the Viet Cong were not as weak as previously claimed. This would then go on
to weaken domestic support as it proved that the end of the war was no where insight, and
would spark many Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. The most infamous being the Kent State
University Demonstration which led to the death of 9 people when Police open fired on to the
crowd.

Upon being elected, U.S. President Richard Nixon introduced a new strategy called
Vietnamization that was aimed at ending American involvement in the Vietnam War by
transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. The increasingly unpopular war had
created deep divisions in American society. Nixon believed his Vietnamization strategy, which
involved building up South Vietnam’s military strength in order to facilitate a gradual withdrawal
of U.S. troops, would prepare the South Vietnamese to take responsibility for their own
defence against a Communist takeover and allow the U.S. to leave the conflict with its honour
intact.

US soldiers packed up and ready to leave Vietnam. During the period of 12 Feb - 19 March
1973, US troops began to withdraw from Vietnam, after Nixon took over as the President of
US , and the truce between both sides were agreed upon during the Paris Peace Accord on
January 27 1973, ending the Vietnam War. However, the government was fully aware with the
absence of the US in Vietnam, Saigon would one day fall into the hands of the Communism.