Why did the US not defeat Vietcong guerrillas?

Answer 1

Because they weren't trained to deal with the sort of war the Viet-Cong fought, and because they were 'hampered' by public opinion at home.

It was a very unpopular war, fought for reasons many of the public didn't, couldn't or wouldn't understand.

Guerrilla tactics are very difficult for regular forces to effectively counter, as the present war shows.

Answer 2

Unlike Korea which was a peninsula, South Vietnam could NOT be isolated, and we could not stop the flow of communist men & material into SOUTH Vietnam. Only by widening the war into Cambodia and Laos could we stop, destroy, or control the reinforcements of enemy men & material into the south. That action, had it been taken, may have caused a confrontation with the Communist Superpowers. Red China did enter the Korean War when the US/Allies invaded North Korea during that war. We took pains not to let that happen again, in the Vietnam War. Geographically, Vietnam was a recipe for an endless war. Either we took the chance of escalating it even further, by destroying communists in the neighboring countries, as noted above; or cut bait. We cut bait.

Answer 3

Here are three perspectives from three different users of the site.

1. The reason was that the US was unable to stem the tide of enemy personnel and material into South Vietnam without widening the war. This caused the long duration of the war, which caused the American people to lose faith in it (they really became "fed up" with it).

2. I agree with that, but if you look at what era the war was in, it shows what attributed to the loss and ultimately the failure. Opium, heroin, and marijuana were used heavily, and the protests in Washington, D.C., didn't help. The hippies at Woodstock didn't support the war or the draft. Which shows that in order to win a war, your country needs to be behind you. The bright side of the war is we did a lot better then the French with the invention of the Huey and the M-16. Napalm and the M-60 were also major contributors. Just like Elias said in Platoon:"We've been kicking everybody's ass for so long that it's about time somebody kicked ours."

3. The reason for U.S. failure in the Vietnam War is the fact that there wasn't a defined enemy. Because the North and South Vietnamese were intermingled with those who didn't agree with the side in which they lived, it was difficult to determine who was an enemy and who was not. Also, the reason that the U.S. entered the conflict in the first place was their paranoia about a mass scale spread of communism that would endanger the democratic nations in place. In this respect, it can be argued that they did not fail, because although the North Vietnamese won their CIVIL war, and communism did not spread. In terms of material things and lives lost, though, America suffered a heavy loss that was unnecessary and highly disagreed upon by the American people by the end who only supported the war in the first place because of such a widespread fear of the Communistic ideology they knew nothing about.

Answer 4

Politics, News Media, lack of society support were the major contributors to the so called failure in Vietnam. War has no winners or losers it is not successful or unsuccessful its just war, hated by many but sometimes needed for the better of society.

Answer 5

Geography and the Cold War itself made the Vietnam War un-winnable. 1. Geography-Communist infiltration of men and supplies could not be controlled; without spreading the war to other countries (Laos & Cambodia), or possibly involving the communist superpowers (Soviet Union/Red China). Infiltration of Communist reinforcements in Korea was successfully controlled during the Korean War 1950-1953, because Korea was located on a peninsula; and was easily controlled by the US Navy. Vietnam is NOT located on a peninsula. 2. Cold War-Atomic Weapons created the Cold War. Nuclear Weapons caused a "stand-off" between the Communist Superpowers and the Free World, led by the United States. Because an exchange of atomic weapons would create a "mutual destruction" scenario (no winners, just losers) a total US & Soviet/Red Chinese atomic war could NOT be risked; consequently...a non-shooting war, titled the "Cold War." All wars fought during the "Cold War" would have to be fought with LIMITATIONS put on them: War confined to a specific region & and No atomic weapons (conventional weapons only); Limited Wars. The US/Allies could NOT use atomic weapons & could NOT stop the flow of enemy men & supplies into South Vietnam. If the enemy cannot be wiped out (atomic weapons); if the enemy cannot be stopped (the flow of men & supplies); the war is un-winnable.

Answer 6

Too many dissenters at home making it impossible to wage a reasonable war. You do not defeat the enemy on the battlefield, you defeat them by Propaganda at home.

We are one of the few countries that has not figured that out. Because of this we see so much death in Somalia and Iraq. We don't wage total war anymore. The home people complain to the point of loss. We run from Somalia after a few deaths, now there is terrible carnage.

Answer 7

Couldn't stop the flow of men and material without widening the war; couldn't invade North Vietnam without risking the Soviets/Red Chinese entering the war.

Answer 8

we underestimated them; they had too much manpower and more desire to win.. other reasons too

Answer 9

The Vietcong fought a guerrilla war based mostly from underground. They would attack and hide and ambush. This made it hard for the U.S. to fight them.