US struggles against communism in vietnam

Stage 2: Thinking it through

Step 3: in each row of column 3, draw some scales to show which way the balance falls for this quality. Did the USA or the Viet Cong have the advantage?

1. Now think about the overall picture - how the strengths and weaknesses work together.

a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
The Viet Cong had the advantage except for good technology. They were behind on that.
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?
Good tactics was most important. The US soldiers could never tell when the Viet COng would strike next.
Stage 3: Explaining your conclusions
The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.

2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:
Unfamiliar territory, not supported by Vietnamese, low morale, fear
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
guerilla tactics, support of populous, good tactics
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:
Rolling Thunder bombing campaign brought the North Vietnamese to bargaining table, and disruputed Ho Chi Minh trail. Tet offensive, La Dreng valley
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:
My Lai massacre
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:

f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:
Tet Offensive, La Dreng valley
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be support of the people because: If the US had the people on there side they could have won. The peasants would give up info to the soldiers about where the Viet COng were hiding, and then the US mght have won.

h. The key Viet Cong strength was tactics because: No matter what the US tried to do to get rid of the Viet Cong, there would always be more, because the Viet Cong and the people worked together. Like in Japan in WWII the US would probably have to kill the whole country to conquer it.