Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Why did the US find it impossible to defeat the Vietcong?

There were a number of problems facing US forces when fighting the fight in Vietnam. Perhaps one of the biggest problems that they faced was the fact that the Vietcong were fighting use guerrilla tactics fighting on a small scale, taking independent, irregular actions.The Vietcong depended on stealth, concealment, and surprise attacks and footlees. Guerrilla warfare spread as Vietminh soldiers who were trained and armed in the North the Vietcong, returned to their homes in the s fall outh to assassinate, ambush and sabotage. Unlike conventional wars in which the Americans may have fought, the war in Vietnam had no defined front lines. Much of the fighting consisted of hit and unknot attacks, with the guerrillas striking at government outposts and then retreating into the jungles.Most of the US soldiers were excessively caught out by booby traps set up by the Vietcong. These ranged from simple holes in the ground to metal spikes cover in poison or military man excrement. Despi te their sophisticated weapons, the Americans could not eradicate the skillful and determined rebellions of the Vietcong.Another matter that do fighting the war difficult for the Americans was the uniform that the Vietcong wore. Their uniforms consisted of black pajamas and shirts, with wheat berry hats. This led to a great lack of trust among the Vietnamese and the Americans, as they were unable to distinguish between real Vietnamese civilians and Vietcong soldiers in disguise.The Vietcong were also able to remain well hidden with their extensive underground dig system, which reached 250 kilometers in length. There were underground kitchens, weapon stores, dormitories, hospitals and rest areas. These tunnels do it more and more difficult for the US forces to find the Vietcong.By 1966, the Americans began a series of Search and repeal Missions in order to hunt down the Vietcong. The problem was that, by doing this, they began to lightsome the trust of, and alienated the Viet namese civilians. More importantly the American public began to interrogative sentence whether or not they were the good guys in this war and grew increasingly displease with the nations war policy. The American government began losing the support of the public once they witnessed reports nearly the war and events such as the My Lai massacre.The unfamiliar terrain and conditions in Vietnam also made life more difficult for the US forces. The intense heat made it difficult for them to see where they were going, carry weapons and move swiftly. As much of Vietnam was covered in jungle, swamp and paddy fields, it soon became clear that the terrain was unsuitable for tanks.

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