Explain why the United States failed to win the war in Vietnam.
The US failed to win in Vietnam because its people were unwilling to hold out for as long as the communists were. This was the result of political, military, economic and social factors.
Political factors were paramount in America’s failure in Vietnam.More than anything else, the level of commitment on the part of the communists was greater than that of the US. Ho Chi Minh’s followers were prepared to fight for as many years as was necessary to reunify Vietnam. The US, on the other hand, was not prepared to tolerate tens of thousands of casualties – not for a war the American people never fully understood.
America’s leaders failed to understand the Vietnamese and the nature of the war in the South. They chose to fight the war on a purely military level, whereas what was needed was a political solution. Had they established a more popular government in the South, support for the communists would have been significantly less.
The Americans were also hamstrung by the need to be seen to be succeeding. Presidents demanded success, so the generals were obliged to make overly-optimistic predictions. When these were dashed, the public reacted angrily. This was particularly so after the Tet Offensive, when public opinion turned decisively against the war.
The US also made a series of military mistakes. One of the most crucial was to send its own troops – a development which allowed the communists to portray the GIs as invaders. Another crucial error concerned the tactics of the GIs. America’s generals insisted on fighting a war of attrition in South Vietnam. They thought they could win by simply killing enough of the enemy; but the more destruction they caused, the easier it was for the VC to recruit. The so-called ‘body count’ never led to a reduction in enemy numbers. Hence, more and more American troops were needed just to hold the line.
The US forces were also inefficiently used. Of the 543,000 men in Vietnam, only a quarter were on combat assignment, and only five percent were actually fighting at any one time.
Another problem related to the behaviour of the American servicemen. As the war dragged on, morale sank, as did discipline. Volunteers were replaced with conscripts – men with little or no commitment to the war. By the early 1970s, the armed forces were virtually falling apart, with drug abuse and racism rife, and ‘fragging’ not uncommon. Finally, the US was hampered by the weakness of the ARVN, whose troops had little motivation to fight.
America's tactical errors were matched by its enemy's military advantages. The South Vietnamese communists were lucky to have the support of both Russia and China. They were also fortunate to share borders with communist North Vietnam and neutral Laos and Cambodia. It was virtually impossible for the US to seal off those borders. Because the communists were fighting a guerrilla war in the South, their troops required relatively few supplies. Much of their weaponry could be captured from the South Vietnamese army, or purchased from corrupt officials. The rest could be transported down the Ho Chi Minh trail. Although this was bombed incessantly, North Vietnam only needed to deliver about 60 tons a day to keep the VC supplied. This could be done relatively easily.
The VC took advantage of the overwhelming support they enjoyed in the countryside. They were well aware that the GIs could annihilate them if they attacked the US firebases. However, they rarely did so in daylight, forcing the GIs to resort to patrolling beyond the range of their own artillery. These patrols faced serious opposition. Mines and booby traps were the biggest dangers, and accounted for 11 percent of all Americans killed in Vietnam.
The VC were also more experienced than their American counterparts. GIs spent a year in Vietnam before returning home. This did not give them enough time to build up a knowledge of the land, the people and the enemy. The VC, on the other hand, had been living and fighting in this country for years.
The high cost of the war was also a factor. Congress grew tired of devoting billions of dollars to a war which never seemed to end. Congressional opposition hardened as President Nixon became embroiled in the Watergate scandal. By 1974, he was in no position to provide even material support for South Vietnam. Once the supply of weapons and finance was cut off, the Saigon regime soon collapsed in the face of a communist advance.
The media also played a role in America’s failure in the war. Vietnam was the first television war, with reports beamed in to people's living rooms every night. For the first time, journalists were given a free hand to report the conflict as they saw it – and many reported it in negative terms. Americans eventually tired of the endless footage of men being killed and maimed. They tired of the nightly body count, and the continual promises that the end was in sight. By the late 1960s, they simply wanted out.
Finally, America was changing socially during the 1960s, with increasing numbers of people questioning the values that had led the country to war. By the end of the decade, the protest movement had gained so much momentum that it was paralysing the country. Ordinary Americans were shocked by what was happening to their country, and wanted the division to end. This could only be done by withdrawing from Vietnam.
In the end, the communist-led forces won the Vietnam War because they were more committed to victory than their South Vietnamese and American counterparts. As in the war against France, they were prepared to fight on for as long as was necessary – even at the sacrifice of millions of lives. No democratic nation could hold out against such determination, when the conflict was so distant and the issues at stake so peripheral and divisive.