The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam

1.a. Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
The Viet Cong had some clear advantages against the U.S. They had the knowledge of their territory which they used effectively to defeat their enemies, they made use of guerilla tactics which made it very difficult for the U.S. to fight them face to face, the only way the Americans could be successful, and they had the support of several nations that supplied them with effective weaponry.

b. Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
No because there were several important factors involved in the Vietnam War. The main goal of the Viet Cong was to be successful enough through the use of Guerrilla tactics that they drove out the U.S. and subsequently drove out democracy. The United State's goal was to stay in Vietnam despite the numerous casualties and the difficulty in staying ahead of the Viet Cong and preparing for any attacks. One could argue that the Guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong was the most important quality in the war but history proved that America's endurance and their ability to overcome this difficult fighting method proved to be a great quality allowing many successes in the war.

2.a. The U.S. weaknesses were: The slim knowledge of the lay of the land, camping and fighting in large groups with heavy artillery that couldn't be moved easily or quickly, lack of motivation of the soldiers and support from South Vietnam, and the inablitiy to successfully counter the war tactics of the Viet Cong.

b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were: almost complete knowledge of the land, the incredibly effective use of guerilla tactics, soldiers who were truly motivated, and a lot of support from Vietnam nad other Communist nations.

c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example: they successful halted the import of supplies to the Viet Cong from other Communist countries, their bombings of North Vietnam, and their unwavering effort to remain in Vietnam until they eradicated communism from the country.

d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were: Failing to remove Communism from Vietnam and thus losing the war, supporting corrupt leaders in South Vietnam, and failing to maintain a republic in South Vietnam.

e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as: maintaining communism in Vietnam and winning the war, keeping Ho Chi Minh in power and promoting public support for the communist party, and bombing air field and supply bases in South Vietnam.

f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example: they lost around 10, 000 conditioned men in the Tet offensive and the battle showed the Viet Cong that they did not really have support from South Vietnam.

g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [having no way to counter the Viet Cong's use of guerrilla tactics] because: the Viet Cong's most effective weapon in the war was their use of guerrilla tactics and their expert use of their environmet to defeat the U.S. America had no response to this and this was the major cause of their defeat.