2. VIETNAM
THE WAR

3. GENERAL WILLIAM WESTMORELAND
GENERALS
GENERAL WILLIAM WESTMORELAND
VS.
GENERAL VO NGUYEN GIAP

4. MILITARY OBJECTIVES U.S.: Stop the spread of communism
Keep South Vietnam “free”
Vietnamese:
Just hold on; the longer the better
Avoid fighting head to head
Make Americans not like the war

5. Comparing Vietnam to WW II and Korea
NO front lines--no exchange of land
NO huge exchange between large armies--very small “fire fights”
NO clear cut objective “beat Germans back to Germany”

7. TERMS TO KNOW
VIETCONG---communists who are in South Vietnam fighting against the U.S.
DMZ---demilitarized zone---the border between North and South Vietnam

8. TERMS TO KNOW II HO CHI MINH TRAIL---the supply route
from North Vietnam down into South Vietnam---we tried to destroy it, built again the next day. Went through Laos/Cambodia
See next slide

10. TERMS TO KNOW III
TET OFFENSIVE---Tet---Lunar New Year----big push by NVA/Vietcong. Attacked everywhere at the same time….turning point in the war

11. US soldier resting during Tet

12. U.S. MILITARY TACTICS I. Average age----U.S. combat (fighting) soldier
Vietnam >19
Iraq War >26
WW II >30
II. “Limited” war? You do not go in all the way, you limit what the military can do!

13. U.S. MILITARY TACTICS III. Strategic bombing-----”whistling death”---
Vietnamese would hear the bombs before they
would see them
(7,600,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Vietnam)

15. U.S. MILITARY TACTICS A. “Defoliation”---destroy all plant life to
expose the enemy hiding in the jungle
B. Agent Orange---chemicals mixed together to burn trees and plants. Caused
birth defects in veterans’ children
C. Napalm---Jellied gasoline that burns EVERYTHING and is hard to put out.

17. TRANSPORTATION AND FIGHTING
A. Helicopters---used to drop men into the covered jungle. Highest death rate in Vietnam
B. Only shoot when fired upon?---first orders given to soldiers in Vietnam. LIMITS!
C. Search and destroy---look and kill the enemy in the jungle. Set men up for ambushes!

18. Search and Destroy

19. TECHNOLOGY AND FIGHTING
D. “Fragging” of officers---When men kill their CO because they do not want to follow orders. Usually someone “new” who is an idiot!

20. VIETNAMESE MILITARY TACTICS
I. Guerilla warfare---Ambush the enemy, hide in the jungle, snipers, booby traps, only attack when you outnumber the enemy.
II. Booby traps---land mines, bamboo spikes, punji traps, human bombs, trip wires
III. Tunnels and trails ---hide in tunnels, used bikes to carry supplies (page 738)

21. The Tunnels

22. Hidden Tunnel entrance

23. VIETNAMESE MILITARY TACTICS
C. Civilians are the enemy?---Used women, children to attack the U.S.; hard to know who to shoot at; NO CLEAR CUT ENEMY------>My Lai Massacre!!
II. From “Charlie” to “Sir Charles”----had no respect for Vietnamese until they started to fight against them

24. Civilians as Soldiers?