iGCSE History - The Vietnam War: Nature of the Conflict

         Operation Rolling Thunder was the name given to America’s sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam  from 2 March 1965 until 1 November 1968 during the Vietnam War. It was the longest air compaign in American military history. The US forces flew more than two million sorties and dropped over one million tons of bombs on North Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder was a demonstration of America’s air supremacy during the Vietnam War. It was started in an effort to demoralise the North Vietnamese, take out their logistical support and to raise the morale of the Sourth Vietnamese. Operation Rolling Thunder failed on all these objectives.

(Source of picture:  history1900s.about.com)       

         The Americans fought a hi-tech war using B52 bombers, artillery, helicopters, napalm and defoliants (Agent Orange). This killed many innocent civilians and failed to stop the Vietcong guerrillas. The tactics that the Americans used was “Search and Destroy". This was basically American troops searching for the enemy and when finding them, destroying them. This tactic was very difficult for very often the enemy could not be found. American troops were sent on patrols which were very visible and easy to be ambushed. They then supported by air and artillery when attacked. This demoralised the soldiers, who realised they were being used just as bait.

(Source of picture: armchairgeneral.com)

         The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War that was launched on January 30, 1968 (Vietnam's Lunar New Year). On the evening of 31st January, 1968, 70,000 members of the NLF (Vietcong) launched a surprise attack on more than a hundred cities and towns in South Vietnam, even the US Embassy in Saigon was attacked.

         The Tet Offensive proved to be a turning point in the war. In military terms it was a victory for the US forces. An estimated 37,000 NLF soldiers were killed compared to 2,500 Americans. However, it illustrated that the NLF appeared to have inexhaustible supplies of men and women willing to fight for the overthrow of the South Vietnamese government. The disturbing factor was that even with the large losses of 1967 ( it was reported NLF had lost 90,000 men), the NLF could still send 70,000 men into battle. In March, 1968, President Johnson was told by his Secretary of Defence that in his opinion the US could not win the Vietnam War and recommended a negotiated withdrawal. Later that month, President Johnson told the American people on national television that he was reducing the air-raids on North Vietnam and intended to seek a negotiated peace.

(Source of picture: blog.163.com)

         The Vietcong adopted guerrilla tactics in fighting and the Americans had no answer to this type of warfare. They had no uniforms, known base camps and headquarters. They worked in small groups with limited weapons. They  ambushed US patrols, set booby traps and landmines and planted bombs in towns. They mingled in with the peasants and it was hard to tell them from.  The Vietcong copied the tactics that Mao Zedong's Red China had used. The tactics can be summarised: 

                       the enemy advances, we retreat; 
                       the enemy camps, we harass;
                       the enemy tires, we attack; 
                       the enemy retreats, we pursue

         It was almost impossible to win a battle against a guerrilla army because you could never find out where it was. It attacked you then disappeared into the jungle, villages and tunnels. The Vietcong had the support of many of the peasants on whose land they were fighting. They could move freely around the country sheltered by villagers. One Vietcong leader said: "The people are the water; our armies are the fish."  The only way to win against a guerrilla army was to win the support of the local population. The casualties that the South Vietnamese farmers and villagers suffered because of the over-use of American weapons did not encourage them to side with the USA.

image source : Wikipedia

The chances of a combat soldier being killed in Vietnam were one in five, and one in six of the Vietnam veterans ('vets') who survived have subsequently experienced depression, drug or alcohol addiction, or divorce.