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.

The U.S. Enters the Vietnam War

1. Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of US policy. Explain why.
Many neutral observers were critical of U.S. policy because the U.S. was desperate to prevent Vietnam from becoming Communist so they would go to any measures to do so no matter how unethical. They began supporting any anti-communist leaders no even though many were corrupt and they gave them over a billion dollars to help prevent the spread of communism. Thye went on two establish the Republic of South Vietnam and increased the tension between the north and south.

Explain how US politicians would have defended their policies.

U.S. politicans may have defended their policies by arguing that it was absolutly necessary to stop Communism in its tracks no matter the cost. They believed that if Vietnam was overcome by Cummunism, the rest of Asia would also succumb to it. If Asia also turned Comunist then devastation would surely ensue and a war be likely to occur. Therefore is was necessary to send troops into Vietnam to quell any communist uprising and also to suuport anti-communist leaders.

3. The following events are not listed in correct date order. Place them in the correct chronological order. (Write the year inside the parenthesis, i.e. (1965). Then note the reason for each U.S. action, and how it brought the U.S. into deeper involvement in Vietnam.

( 1954 ) Formation of South Vietnam- political involvement; Vietnam was split into two different parts, North and South, in order to prevent communism from spreading further. It was decided at the Geneva Peace Conference in 1954 that they would seperate South Vietnam in order to make it into a republic.

( 1954 ) U.S. stops elections in Vietnam- political involvement; the U.S. stopped the elections in Vietnam because they were afraid that a communist leader would be elected and this would cause a rise in communist leaders in Vietnam and consequently the rest of Asia.

( 1960 ) Viet Cong formed- military and political involvement; The Viet Cong was a pro-Communist group of Vietnamese who would atack peasents and others in South Vietnam because they were against the U.S. and a republican form of government.

( 1960-2 ) Viet Cong attacks on U.S. and South Vietnam bases-miltary involvement; The Viet Cong began attacking U.S. airforce and supply bases and other lilitary bases in South Vietnam. This increased the U.S. military involvement in Vietnam because they now had to quell a strong military force.
( 1962 ) Number of 'advisers' reaches over 11,500-military involvement; More and more advisors were sent to Vietnam by Kennedy because it was extremely important to find a way to effectively fight and defeat the Viet Cong.
( 1962 ) JFK sends military advisers- JFK begins sending military advisors in order to fight the Viet Cong.
( 1963 ) Assassination of JFK -
( 1963 ) U.S. supports South Vietnam government after army overthrow Diem-political involvement-
( 1964 ) Gulf of Tonkin Incident-
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