Why The U.S Failed 1: The People In Vietnam

winning the hearts and mins of the South Vietnamese people - the decisive factor

• US unable to win hearts & minds of Vietnamese
•  Giap said Hanoi won as it waged a peoples' war - total war every man won child mobilized
•  thousands U.S experts felt too little was done to win hearts and minds

winning the hearts and mins of the South Vietnamese people - understanding the Vietnamese

• most vietnamese rice growing peasants lived communal villages - mud huts no water/electricity - U.S soldiers couldn't concieve 'people' living like this - alienated often treated as sub-human
•  Comms. won over peasantry offering fairer land reform

winning the hearts and mins of the South Vietnamese people - "They are all VC"

• war made US soldiers dislike people they supposed to help - made difficult to win the war - clear example Pinkville/My Lai massacre March 1968 - 340 unarmed civs killed by US troops

winning the hearts and mins of the South Vietnamese people - The U.S high-tech war

• U.S firepower focused more on S.V than N.V
•  while searching for VC U.S killed many civilians - neither ARVN or U.S took responsibility for civ deaths
•  U.S bombing obliterated 5 towns with pop 10,000+

winning the hearts and mins of the South Vietnamese people - Life In Saigon

• perpetual fighting+bombing drove 1/3 peasants out of countryside into towns/cities - many put in camps bad sanitation+disease
•  many peasantas lived off U.S soldiers
•  Saigon became unsavoury - drugs in bars hotels became brothels beggars targetted U.S troops
•  war destroyed social fabric of S.V - American soldiers vastly rich in comparison to peasants

winning the hearts and mins of the South Vietnamese people - The Saigon gov.: corruption and 'democracy'

• peasants often politically apathetic - main concern = survival
•  Washington's democracy for Vietnam was meangingless
•  biggest political tradition of Vietnamese was hatred of foreigners
•  Ky's gov. corrupt+adverse to reform
•  Johnson insisted Ky run democratic elections - Ky's candidate Thieu only got 37% of vote
•  Thie fled April 1975 and stole millions dollars of gold
•  unpopularity of Saigon regime perhaps main reason for failure

• inspired by Comm+Nationalism - VC won admiration from US troops
•  Vietnamese always struggled to exist - constant struggle caused unusual patience in face of adversity - explained Hanoi refusal to negotiate

• both sides knew Trail vital to Comm. war effort
•  men+materials came south injured went north
•  1959-64 Giap's porters carried most of war material down trail - never a signle route multiple branches
•  50,000 women employed to repair trail
•  vehicles+trail camouflaged with foliage

• ingenuity+preparedness vital
•  areas controlled by Saigon gov. had web of Comm. informants and organisations that controlled and motivated people
•  Comms. had tunnels VC could hide in
•  Hanoi was full of concrete holes with thick covers to protect from bombs - when siren sounded pop could vanish - ingenuity vital for US failure

• Marines not keen to follow Westmoreland army orders
•  green berets caused antagonism
•  U.S distrusted ARVN
•  soldiers served 365 days marines 13 months - short term service = lack of unity = low morale/performance
•  disagreement with tactics caused indiscipline
•  army officer only 5 months front line - too little to know men
•  many soldiers didn't agree with war - confused why in Vietnam

• desire to keep soldiers comfortable major cause for defeat
•  many soldiers never fought
•  every week thousands went to R&R
•  159 basketball courts 90 clubs 85 volleyball courts 71 swim pools 40 ice cream shops when US left
•  unreality/disorientation
•  Westmoreland said this only way to get troops to fight
•  1/4 soldiers caught STD's

• very hard to find guerrillas
•  1967 CIA report 1% of 2 million ops. conducted 65-67 made contact with enemy
•  6.5 civilians killed for every 1 VC
•  guerrillas went elsewhere upon hearing helicopters etc
•  hard to wipe out guerrillas when they come from another "state"(N.V)

• bombing a favorite tactic of Johnson
•  N.V HCM trail and S.V villages heavily bombed
•  bombing failed damage N.V morale and stem flow HCM trail

• Mcnamara later admitted US tactics were wrong - said unwise to use high tech war of attrition against guerilla force that never considered giving up