Why Did the Us Lose the War in Vietnam? Essays

The nva was a actual army and in the words of Fred Nash “NVA was a very, very disciplined military. Not really scared of anything. They were the elite, as I call them, of North Vietnam.” (Nash). What Mr. NAsh is saying is that the NVA were a trained army that were very disciplined and not afraid to fight. Even though they didn’t have a huge army “North Vietnam's force level of 480,000 represented only about 3 percent of the population.” (GlobalSecurity). Although the NVA only had a force of less than half a million they were still feared and even called fearless by a US Army vet. The NVA had a tactic of fighting that involved a quick almost ambush like fight then they would often flee to a different area surrounding

President Dwight Eisenhower conditionally pledged to support South Vietnam’s new nation in 1955. In the time period between 1955-1961 the United States pumped seven billion dollars in aid so that Vietnam would not “go over quickly” like a “row of dominoes” (McNamara 31). In the next 6 years Vietnam would cost America billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and the disaffection of much of the United States public. Yet in the end, South Vietnam would fall to the North less than 2 years after the United States military involvement ceased.

Many soldiers have been lost in the different wars that the United States has been involved. Although there have been many wars only one is unique from the others, it is known as the war that was never won or lost. The Vietnam War started out as a conflict but soon escalated into a full-fledged war. Many soldiers have been lost in the Vietnam War. The United States sent many soldiers into the jungles of Indochina trying to stop the spread of communism from the North Vietnamese. It all seems clear-cut, with the motives and sides easily seen but as the war lagged on, it seemed that the United States became involved, and essentially needed a draft. The United States involvement in the Vietnam War became

soldiers were fighting because they had been drafted. They just wanted to survive and go home. They would not have to face any direct consequences of losing the war. The Viet Minh, however, were fighting for a cause, and used much the same tactics as the United States in their war for independence. The American Revolution used guerilla warfare tactics to defeat the superior power of the British army. The U.S. could have taken from this experience, and perhaps fared better in Vietnam.

The assessment of leadership can be a significant factor as to why America eventually lost the war. Essentially the leaders of the North, Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Ngygen Giap were prepared to fight for as many years as necessary to unify North Vietnam during Dien Biem Phu and the Second Indochina War. On the other hand, historical evidence clearly shows the RVN leadership had been unstable since Diem, as stated by Harrison “Within a decade, Diem had created a dictatorship so unpopular so as his own overthrow”. General Westmoreland failed and other respected generals failed to understand the Vietnamese and nature of war in the South, as a result led to Americas failure in Vietnam. America itself underwent multiple changes in Presidency through Kennedy Johnson and Nixon, and was forced to apply different approaches that had led of clear goals and coherent US foreign policy.

According to Tim O 'Brien, the Viet Cong 's and United States ' fighting tactics were a waste of people 's lives. The Viet Cong used guerrilla warfare tactics which resulted in Americans being killed and in turn caused innocent civilians to die. The Viet Cong planted mines along the paths and in the jungles to injure American soldiers. The Viet Cong were never out in the open and had the sympathy of the Vietnamese living there. Many young Vietnamese children and women planted mines, spied, and killed American soldiers. The American soldiers could not tell the difference between the enemy and the innocent, so the soldiers indiscriminately killed everybody. The American strategy was to find the Viet Cong and kill them. The American soldiers walked from village to village in search of the Viet Cong. As they went from place to place, soldiers would

The Vietnam War was, and continues to be, one of America's darkest moments, one that nearly tore the nation apart. In order to stop the spread of communism in Europe and Asia, the United States aided French imperialists and their reoccupation of Vietnam. At first, the U.S took a position of neutrality to both countries, but by early 1947, they began fighting in support of France. This war, lasting over 20 years, became the longest and most unpopular war in the 20th century. Overall, the Vietnam War was detrimental to the United States because it caused a massive debt from the 1960s to the 1990s, turned the American people against their government, and many troops were neglected and despised upon their return.

The war in Vietnam was a very contestable event for America and an overall major impact of the cold war. Fear of the spread of communism was on the rise again as Ho Chi Minh, the leader of North Vietnam wanted to unite the country under one communist leadership. The United States entered into the war to prevent this spread of communism to further their reputation of containing it as they have done in the past. While there are positives to the war in Vietnam, it seems as if there are more negatives in the situation which include massive casualties on both sides, chemical warfare, and a divided nation back home.

The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States

The Vietnam War was a conflict, which the United States involved itself in unnecessarily and ultimately lost. The basis of the conflict was simple enough: Communism vs. Capitalism, yet the conduct of the Vietnam War was complex and strategic, and brought repercussions which had never been seen before. The struggle between North and South had an almost inevitable outcome, yet the Americans entered the War optimistic that they could aid the falling South and sustain democracy. The American intentions for entering the Vietnam conflict were good, yet when the conflict went horribly wrong, and the resilient North Vietnamese forces, or ‘Viet Cong' as they were known, refused to yield, the United States saw they were fighting a losing battle.

The first thing that one must do when discussing Vietnam is remember the historical context in which the conflict took place. The United States and it's Free World allies were attempting to confine the Communist Bloc, which by this time included both the Soviet Union and China, and keep it from expanding into surrounding nations. The U.S. felt that if the Communists were not allowed to expand, they would eventually collapse under the weight of their centralized economy. So in order to accomplish the policy of containment, the U.S. need to ally itself with nations bordering Communist ones. However, one of the most important aspects of political alliances is the trust each must have in the

The Vietnam War is known as the longest battle in American history (Mintze). It is also one of the first to end in defeat for America and to be

Vietnam was so significant to the United States partly as it would be the first war they would lose. It also had a tremendous financial impact on the country and the casualties were also more in the public eye than ever before due to the media. They learnt that: "a long war for limited objectives, with its steady stream of body bags, will not be supported by the American people" (Martino, 1996, p37). Some suggest that the US should have avoided any involvement in the war.

The war in Vietnam waged by America was unwinnable through the type of warfare that was used by the US . If they had concentrated on certain key aspects they may have prevented the spread of communism to South Vietnam and achieved their ultimate goal. Americas inability to obtain the “Hearts and Minds “of the Vietnamese led to a continual supply of fighters. The US was unable to fight against an ever-increasing civilian army. In Vietnam the US relied tremendously on their advanced and superior firepower to defeat the Vietcong and the ARVN. There technology and training was inadequate in the foreign Vietnamese terrain. The Vietnamese were allied to other communist nations, if their defeat was too humiliating

What did the United States lose in Vietnam? The United States lost many valuable resources in Vietnam , examples being people, their mental health, money. We lost respect, reputation, and pride from the war or “police action”. The United States did not leave the war without sacrifice, though we deserved most of what happened for our stupid decision in entering the war through police action. Losing people, money, respect among many other things is not anyone else's fault.