History: Cold War: Strengths and Weaknesses of Vietcong+USA

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Strengths of USA

  • ECONOMIC MIGHT: modernised equipment, airfields/helicopters delivered troops without fear of ambush. eg by 1967 1 million tonnes of supplies coming into SV each month.
  • OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER: bombing campaign, meant to last 8 weeks lasts 3 years, destroys NV economy and undermine vietcong. 4 times more bombing than entirety of ww2
  • OPERATION RANCH HAND: agent orange defoliated jungles, no cover or crops for vc, over 10 years 5 million acres attacked.
  • SEARCH AND DESTROY: part of westmorelands attrition warfare, meant to wear down personnel and supplies, eg zippo raids set fire to villages, become more brutal after tet offensive.
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weaknesses of USA

  • ARVN UNCOMMITTED/UNTRAINED.
  • PROLONGED WAR: south not winning, vc gaining momentum, low morale.
  • B52s indiscriminate carpet/saturated bombs, failed because NV mainly agricultural, no heavy industry, and north decentrailed supply bases, HCM trail always operational for supplies.
  • ALIENATED VIETNAMESE: tactics became more aggressive eg My Lai Masssacre in march 1968 so more v turned away (therefore less effective), vietnamese pushed out of areas but reinforcements returned later after us patrols over, livelihoods destroyed, affected unborn babies, napalm killed innocents civilians.
  • DESTRUCTION of crops stimulated anti american sentiments.
  • MEDIA coverage heightened the anti war movement eg clean for gene/nixon
  • no SOCIAL REFORMS happening from johnsons great society promise.
  • US SOCIETY DIVIDED: pacificists and isolationists, damaged the war effort.
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Strengths of Vietcong

  • DETERMINED and had knowledge of vietnam, able to use 'human factor'.
  • CHINESE military aid and USSR supply of surface to air missiles.
  • able to RECRUIT from anti us peasantry (search and destroy/SHP)
  • GUERILLA FORCES modelled on Mao, undermined US resolve, psychological warfare eg booby traps and tunnel systems.
  • HCM TRAIL never out of use, immediately repaired.
  • war of attrition inappropriate in this THEARTE of battle, us wanted set piece decisive battle (to keep reputation in tact), PAVN tactics could match us military superiority and body count could be spared.
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weaknesses of Vietcong

  • OVER RELIANCE on china and ussr, own economy couldnt sustain a prolonged war.
  • NO GUARANTEE of support from SV peasantry, used threat of terror to recruit eg tet offensive feb 1968.
  • no CONVENTIONAL WARFARE: only had guerilla tactics which were had limited affect on military superiority eg Ia Drang Valley november 1965.
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