The Vietnam War was between the United States and North Vietnam. Technically is was a war between anticommunism and communism. Both sides intended to win a total victory. The United States lost because it failed to understand the opposing ideologies.
A. How the United States, North Vietnam and South Vietnam fought the war.
B. Political attitudes of each side.
C. Reality of the war and what was reported as true.
D. Goals of-each side regarding the war.
A. War was different than reported.
B. Goals were unrealistic for United States.
When the United States entered South Vietnam the official reason was the imminent threat of a communist take over. It was stated that the South Vietnamese were not prepared to or capable of defending themselves and that the United States needed help to teach them how. The United States was to provide them with weapons, teach them how to use them and advise them on strategies. The threat of a communist take over was real. It was not true, however, that the South Vietnamese could not fight; for many reasons they either refused to fight or they fought for the North instead. The Vietnam War ended up being between the North and the United States instead of the North and the South. Both sides intended to win. The United States lost because they failed to understand the ideologies of the North and South Vietnamese people. They did not accept the reality of what they were up against until it was too late.
The United States began fighting the war using conventional tactics from previous wars, such as air-strikes and ground battles using tanks and hand weapons. The North Vietnamese used guerilla tactics, such as elaborate sniper attacks and direct assaults on villages. The terrain in Vietnam was perfect for the type of war that North Vietnam waged and extremely difficult for the type of war that the United States was trying to fight. The North Vietnamese were, fr...