Reasons for the failure of the USA in Vietnam
The strength of North Vietnam
One of the reasons the US entered peace negotiations was that North Vietnam was in a strong position. It had several advantages:
- It could provide large numbers of troops 鈥 Ho Chi Minh thought that North Vietnam could provide over 250,000 replacement troops each year.
- It could wait out the war - A guerrilla force in South Vietnam who fought the Americans during the Vietnam War. troops could survive for long periods by living off farm produce in the South and supplies from the North.
- It could resist limited US air attacks - the effectiveness of the USA鈥檚 bombing of the North was limited because of the North鈥檚 tunnel network and its decision to evacuate civilians from cities.
- It could infiltratethe South - the Viet Cong had agents in important positions in the South, such as among those running the Strategic Hamlet Program.
North Vietnam's allies - China and the Soviet Union
Throughout the war, North Vietnam鈥檚 allies supplied them with about $2 billion worth of materials.
| Type of support | Examples |
| Weapons | Tanks, rifles and surface-to-air missile launchers |
| Defences | A comprehensive air defence system and pilot training |
| General supplies | Food and labour |
| Type of support | Weapons |
|---|---|
| Examples | Tanks, rifles and surface-to-air missile launchers |
| Type of support | Defences |
|---|---|
| Examples | A comprehensive air defence system and pilot training |
| Type of support | General supplies |
|---|---|
| Examples | Food and labour |
Chinese and The group of 15 communist republics formed from the Russian Empire after the revolution of 1917. support for North Vietnam also deterred the USA from increasing its involvement in the war. The USA decided that there could be only limited expansion of the war in Vietnam. It feared that anything more aggressive might lead the Chinese to send in large numbers of troops or might cause a serious conflict with the Soviet Union. This would make it even more difficult for the USA to win the war.
Controlling the South
The North was able to take control of large areas of the South, because they made use of the A military route used by the North Vietnamese to supply the Vietcong during the Vietnam War. It ran beyond Vietnamese borders, down through Cambodia and Laos.. This was a network of roads, A floating bridge that can be removed and reinstalled quickly. and trails that were used to transport food, soldiers, weapons and ammunition into the South. For example, at the height of the war, it is estimated that around 630,000 soldiers in total had travelled down the trail from the North.
This meant that the South was full of well-supplied troops from the North who fought for their belief in An economic system in which all means of production such as tools, factories and raw materials, are owned by the community as a whole. Each individual contributes according to their ability and receives according to their needs. This means there is no hierarchy of social class.. They made the situation more difficult for the USA as they used guerrilla tactics. Although the Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties, these tactics helped because:
- the Viet Cong could attack when they had the advantage, then retreat quickly into the jungle
- the Viet Cong鈥檚 use of A device that uses homemade or improvised methods for wounding or killing a target, and the difficulty of finding the enemy, demoralised US troops