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The Vietnam War did not seem like a fair match. The Americans had a huge army, money and technology at their disposal while the Vietcong were an underground army, using underground tactics. So why couldn't the Americans defeat the Vietcong?
Overview
- In February 1965, President Johnson ordered Operation Rolling Thunder - a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
- He sent US troops - 500,000 by 1969 - to fight in Vietnam.
- In November 1965, General William Westmoreland, the US commander, lured the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) to attack a force of American troops at Ia Drang, then destroyed the attackers with a massive air strike.
- In 1968, the CIA started Operation Phoenix, arresting, interrogating and killing suspected Vietcong activists.
- Despite this, the Americans could not succeed in driving the Vietcong out of the rural areas
- In January 1968, the NVA launched the Tet Offensive, capturing a number of towns in South Vietnam.
- The North Vietnamese lost 58,000 men, including many officers. Their morale was damaged - the offensive proved that they could not defeat the Americans by direct attack.
- It took the Americans a month to recover the towns. Their confidence was badly shaken. They won the Tet Offensive, but realised that they would never defeat the Vietcong.
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