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What was the main reason for US failure in Vietnam? - Coggle Diagram
What was the main reason for US failure in Vietnam?
Kennedy
Strategic Hamlet Programme
Introduced in March 1962
By September 1962, claimed that over four million people in strategic hamlets
By end of 1962, over 3000 hamlets
Corrupt officials took funding for food, medicine, agricultural developments
Supporting Diem
Nepotistic
Corrupt
Kept US financial aid for himself and family
Operation Ranch Hand
1962
Involved dumping herbicides over forests to force Vietcong to come out of hiding and to destroy their crops
Johnson
Operation Rolling Thunder
More bombs fell on Vietnam than during the whole of WWII
Vietnam agrarian country, few industrial centres so largely ineffective
Destroyed civilians' homes and land
Search and destroy
Primary US military strategy from 1965 to 1968
Americanisation
Rejecting four-point proposal
8 April 1965
Eliminates external forces from interfering with reunification
Johnson believes acceptance would lead to unified and communist state
Tet Offensive
Jan-Feb 1968
Showed war of attrition and escalation not effective
March 1968, Johnson announces he will not re-run
Tet escalates anti-war movement
216 US troops killed, 1300 wounded
Nixon
Vietnamisation
Focused on withdrawing US involvement and strengthening ARVN
ARVN increased in size from 82,000 in 1968 to
one million by 1970
Corruption and favouritism in ARVN continued
Anti-war movement
US involvement seen as imperialist
ARVN and South Vietnam
Diem
ARVN
Poorly trained, avoided battles and high desertion rates
Morale
Low morale due to poor leadership, inadequate training and low pay
The Buddhist Crisis
North Vietnam, NVA and Vietcong
Guerilla tactics
'Cling to the belt'
Complex tunnel systems to hide, heal and feed troops
Booby traps
Over 6000 US troops killed by booby traps
Trapdoors opened to pits with punji sticks, bamboo sticks with faeces led to infection
Demoralised US troops
Laos and Cambodia
Peasants
Followed Mao's principles
China and USSR
December 1964, China agrees to send military supplies to North Vietnam
1964, China gives over 80,000 guns which gradually increased to 140,000 by 1989
USSR provided surface-to-air missiles, MiG-21 jets and artillery systems
Morale
Ho Chi Minh Trail
Supply line for men and equipment
Passed through Cambodia and Laos
Never successfully disabled by US