How Did The Vietnam War Affect The Military
Maxwell Carr
Mr. Massengale
World History
February 2, 2023
Vietnam’s War Impact on the United States Military's Tactics
Viet Minh leader Ho Chi Minh famously said, "You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours." "But even at those odds, you will lose and I will win." (Karnow) The Vietnam War was a long and costly conflict that took place from 1955 to 1975 in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia between the communist government of North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. South Vietnam was supported by the United States. It began as a low-level insurgency in South Vietnam, led by the Viet Cong, and gradually escalated with large numbers of troops and bombing campaigns. The war was characterized by heavy fighting in rural areas and
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This resulted in more flexible and adaptable warfare strategies in future conflicts.
The United States lost the Vietnam War due to the strategic advantage the Viet Cong had, which resulted in the adaptation of the United States' own military strategies. The Viet Cong had the advantages of surprise, location, and strategy. The United States' encounter with the Viet Cong was the most prominent use of guerilla warfare they had ever encountered ("CHAPTER 28: The U.S. Army in Vietnam"). The most challenging aspect of their approach was that they used Vietnamese citizens from nearby villages as their first line, which the United States couldn't do anything about. Also, a frustrating thing for the military to handle was that their mentality was that it took ten enemy forces to stop one of them, making it very difficult to win ("CHAPTER 28: The U.S. Army in Vietnam"). The Viet Cong had a line-up of "approximately 5,000 at the start of 1959; the Viet Cong's ranks grew to about 100,000 at the end of 1964" ("CHAPTER 28: The U.S. Army in Vietnam"). This made the United States
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Air to air combat was an important component of the war. The U.S implantation of the F-4 Phantom II fighter secured them the victory in the air, allowing for counter terrorism and insurgency plans to begin in the sky ("Countering MiGs: Air-to-Air Combat Over North Vietnam"). Other pieces of technology blossomed when the air defenses against the U.S. were taken out. Helicopters were one of the most important vehicles used in the war and this was the first time the United States military had ever supplied troops in the air(Bledsoe). The helicopter has since been used heavily within the services. Two other important pieces of technology introduced were the night vision scopes and goggles. These pieces of technology served as advantages for the United States In whole war. When describing night vision, it was said that "The starlight scope’s seemingly miraculous light-amplifying powers made hitherto unseen targets easier to see" (Ruth 64). The introduction of the night vision goggles has since saved many soldiers' lives and given them an advantage in search and destroy missions (Ruth 65). These gadgets and vehicles were not only implemented in the war, but have since become standard equipment in the US military's arsenal. The Vietnam War led to the incorporation of
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The Thing By Tim O Brien Rhetorical Devices
747 Words | 3 PagesPresident Lyndon B. Johnson began sending troops to Vietnam in 1964 to combat the Vietcong. Dedicated soldiers trudged through the dense jungles of Vietnam, they crawled through collapsing underground tunnels and braved burning villages. These are the circumstances under which Tim O‘Brien‘s narrative, The
How Did The Tet Offensive Affect American History
280 Words | 2 PagesThe United States was directly involved in the Vietnam War from 1964 through 1974. A major event in this war was the Tet Offensive, which profoundly affected American history by impacting our politics, economy, military, and society. The Tet Offensive affected politics by influencing the presidential elections of 1968. It affected the American economy, boosting personal prosperity with new jobs but greatly increasing the national debt, due mainly to the vast amounts of money spent on the war effort after the Tet Offensive. The military was affected by the offensive because of America’s increased involvement in South Vietnam, and the fact that many people in the military realized that this was a war we could not win.
Truong's A Viet Cong Memoir
937 Words | 4 PagesIn A Viet Cong Memoir, we receive excellent first hands accounts of events that unfolded in Vietnam during the Vietnam War from the author of this autobiography: Truong Nhu Tang. Truong was Vietnamese at heart, growing up in Saigon, but he studied in Paris for a time where he met and learned from the future leader Ho Chi Minh. Truong was able to learn from Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary ideas and gain a great political perspective of the conflicts arising in Vietnam during the war. His autobiography shows the readers the perspective of the average Vietnamese citizen (especially those involved with the NLF) and the attitudes towards war with the United States. In the book, Truong exclaims that although many people may say the Americans never lost on the battlefield in Vietnam — it is irrelevant.
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1962 Words | 8 PagesThe Vietnam war was a troubling war that lasted from 1955 to 1975. It was located in Vietnam and was fought by the U.S., as well as North and South Vietnam. There was bloodshed from both sides and many innocent lives lost. The Vietnam war was not only a troubling time in Vietnam, but also for the United States. Richard Nixon was the United States president at the time of the war and was the one that pushed America into joining the war, but realized he only cared about winning.
The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien
446 Words | 2 PagesOn April 30, 1975, South Vietnam collapsed. The war affected the soldiers mentally in a tremendously way. The Vietnam War affected the men mentally and physically in a tremendously way. They witnessed many deaths and many are traumatized from them. Soldiers had to try to maintain their sanity when the returned home.
Vietnam War Dbq
581 Words | 3 PagesThe United States was involved in the Vietnam War in the 1960s in order to support South Vietnam’s fight for an economic and cultural ties to the West. On the other hand, North Vietnam supported the ideas of a communist economy. However, the United States’s involvement in the war caused a million of dollars and lives lost, lost of faith towards the country’s government, and divided the nation instead of uniting as one. More than three million people in the war died, and out of those three million, 58,000 were Americans. The Americans and the people in South Vietnam had fought for their beliefs of a modern Westernized country while North Vietnam had fought for a communist economy.
The Jungle By Philip Caputo Sparknotes
1569 Words | 7 PagesSIGNIFICANT ROADBLOCKS FOR THE UNITED STATES IN THE VIETNAM WAR In Philip Caputo’s book he describes the difficulties that faced the United States Marine Corps in fighting a foreign war in the jungles of Vietnam. The most significant roadblock to success was a fighting force unprepared for Guerilla warfare in the jungles of Vietnam. The other major roadblock was a mental one, which was the mental toll the war took on a military trying to overcome an unfamiliar type of warfare where the enemy was difficult to locate and identify. The lack of a clearly defined path to victory was another psychological impediment for the Americans.
Stress Disorder In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
1556 Words | 7 PagesThe tactics used in Vietnam had never been seen by the U.S. military prior to this conflict. Combat patrols, although it had been used before, were much different in Vietnam, as shown in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” In this story, the company of soldiers move with a “kind of inertia,” with “no sense of strategy or mission,” searching “villages without knowing what to look for, not caring” (O’Brien 1306). The Vietnam War, at least to the troops, did not have much of a significance. Unlike in World War II, when the goal was to prevent fascist dictators from taking control Europe, Africa, and Asia; troops in the Vietnam War had no idea what they were doing there; they were just pulled into the conflict without much drive to succeed or sense of duty to defeat the enemy.
The Negative Impact Of Vietnam War On American People
765 Words | 4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a war the United States should have never been involved in. The “Domino Theory” was a direct cause of the war. The war resulted in much death; innocent civilians and young Americans were killed. The Vietnam war also resulted in rioting, distrust for the United States government, and the loss of many lives. 58,000 Americans were killed and 300,000 were wounded.
Long Term Effects Of The Vietnam War
2142 Words | 9 PagesJosh Freelove 4/13/23 Composition II Vietnam: The Pointless War During the Vietnam War on average 19 U.S soldiers would die every single day. The Vietnam war lasted from November first, 1955 until April 30, 1975 and to this day Americans are still divided on why this conflict even happened. In the end of the war, South Vietnam fell to communism. The whole reason that America entered the war was to prevent South Vietnam from falling to communism.
Weapons In Vietnam War
1164 Words | 5 PagesArtillery units assisted in as much as they could including battalions and other companies. Air defense Artillery sections helped defend armor, field artillery, infantry units, and airfields. Weapons were used to fire directly and indirectly, as they were designed to be used for air defense missions. The weapons made and used were the M163 Vulcan, M42A1 Skysweeper, and MIM23 Hawk, meanwhile these
American Reckoning The Vietnam War And Our National Identity Summary
657 Words | 3 Pages“American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and our National Identity” is a book that takes us through 20 years of the War in Vietnam from about 1955 to 1975. The Vietnam War is the second longest war in US history encompassing 5 presidents which include Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. Appy’s book gives a unique American perspective on incredible, horrifying, and inspiring stories in Vietnam as well as American. Through Apps book readers learn about different communism containment methods that America used. Readers also learn about different methods of attack on Vietnam from an American standpoint and how the different failures of the US army and US politicians turned many heads into hard truths about the war.
Mental Illness In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried
1091 Words | 5 PagesEven when Americans were victorious they had to be careful. In the victory people are tempted to rip down flags and steal the remaining useful supplies, but the Vietnamese wouldn’t let them get valuables that easily. They added explosives to flag poles, and supplies, even ballpoint pens could be rigged. The soldiers always had to be focused and ready for any kind of situations. These traps could be anywhere so the people first in line, or leading the group, always had to be extremely observant and gained a huge symptom of paranoia.
Explain What Problems Did The Us Face In The Vietnam War
1059 Words | 5 PagesBy 1975 South Vietnam had fallen under the control of the communist government. America’s longest war was over, but it took more than 58,000 American
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