War now does not allow any civillian casualites. Also now with the modern technology exaples like advanced radar, heat seeking missiles, more accurate bombing technology and more advanced aircraft, it is impossible to miss a target. Back in WW2 they bombed industrial areas because it was really hard to bomb a certain spot where the enemy army would be. I do not think it was acceptable back than because why kill millions of civillians when you can go directly to the source which was the military attacking? This is a really hard argument because if you attack the enemy army which is attacking you, you have to think about the deaths of your own men.
Viet Cong, communist soldiers hiding in South Vietnam set explosives in buildings, cars and military bases to harass the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies. These terroristic acts on the South killed soldiers and civilians all the same. The guerilla warfare did not stop on the streets. Booby traps in the jungle and falling down holes with pungi sticks impaling young soldiers were the fears of patrols, not actual gunfire contact. Soon, America knew that conventional warfare tactics with the communist guerilla fighters would not work.
One key reason why the US became progressively involved in Vietnam was the fear of the Domino theory. The Domino theory was arguably the most significant cause for the escalation of US support in the Vietnam War. The Americans feared that if they left the corrupt South Vietnamese government alone, the whole country would collapse to communism and ultimately spread to neighboring countries such as Laos and Cambodia. The most important reason as to why the United States became increasingly involved in Vietnam was the long-term effect of the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory was the belief that once one country had fallen to communism, its neighbors would do the same.
It can be argued that by this stage, US objectives in Vietnam had not been completed and any further involvement would have only been causing more damage to the current situation. However, it is important to understand the factors leading to failure in this period in the war. Throughout US involvement in Vietnam, the military faced the clear problem of destroying Vietcong insurgency in the South. This was no easy task as the enemy they were up against was resilient, and highly intelligent in many aspects that were not initially recognised. The first major engagement in Ia Drang may have proved ultimately to be an American victory, but it presented the fact that fighting the VC would not be won through area wars, but purely a through test of which side could drain enemy troop numbers fastest in an attritional war.
| |US TACTICS |Search & Destroy – these were mission designed to locate Communist bases in the jungle and destroy them. | | |This tactic was used against villages who were accused of harbouring Vietcong guerrillas. It was difficult | | |to ensure that civilians were not amongst the casualties. | | |Zippo Raids – US troops burned down villages to teach the population not to help the Vietcong using their | | |Zippo lighters. This created even more resentment towards the “foreign invaders”.
Fieser started to get bad feedback from U.S civilians so he told people on the news that he was not responsible for the use of Napalm in warfare or by the government, “article Protesting Napalm”. After the Vietnam War the government saw how destructive napalm is so they banned it for civilian usage and used against civilian populations in 1980 by the United Nations Conventions on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Napalm is a sticky substance mixed with gasoline that would stick on everything and covered anything it touched with a ball of fire. They used napalm in flamethrowers to clear a cave or a dug out that enemies might be sheltering themselves in. Before they only used gasoline that would drop off people after a few seconds.
Small explosives, such as grenades, were made more deadly and reliable. Anti-tank weapons were not well developed during the start of the war. Germany’s blitzkrieg attacks of tanks were successful because of this. Anti-tank weapons had to be made to prevent Germany from winning the war. Soldiers began carrying high powered rifles with armour piercing bullets and bazooka’s, which were essential in defeating Germany’s almost impenetrable tiger tanks.
Although the Tet Offensive was unsuccessful for the North Vietnamese Army, they showed that United States had seriously underestimated them and their capabilities. The United States boasted prematurely that the war was nearing its end and the North Vietnamese were all but defeated. However those statements were discredited by the media who brought the Tet Offensive into the homes of millions of Americans which resulted in the highest disapproval of any war amongst American citizens in the history of the United States. In addition the Tet Offensive also showed that the North Vietnamese were willing to fight until the last man and that regardless of how many casualties they suffered, they would fight the United States until the end. SGT Jordan Alvarado SFC Delong 13F ALC Class 017-13 19 July 2013 The
The Killing Machine When Marines first entered Vietnam they would soon come to realize that Vietnam would be a completely “different” kind of war than any before. It was a different war because the VC (Vietcong) used hit and run tactics and NVA (North Vietnamese Army) used multiple division offensives (Lanning 1). The Vietnamese soon became aware of the effective range of the American M14 assault rifle and would wait right behind effective range before attacking. This made Marines very mad because they could see the enemy but could not attack. The need for snipers soon became visible by early summer of 1965 Marine Commanders requested Sniper equipment and training (Lanning 79).
There was more people during this time that were fighting for there freedom. The Vietnam War also has plenty of advantages, a little less than the American Revolution. We had the military strength with good weapons and a strong army. The Vietnam War today is viewed as a mistake. The Vietnam War was the legacy of France's failure to suppress