The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam

1. Now think about the overall picture - how the strengths and weaknesses work together.

a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?

From the reading I have found that they were equally balanced because the Communists knew the technic of Guerrilla Warfare and though many were killed while being a part of the Viet Cong they still had the upper hand and were able to kill many U.S. troops. However America had bombs that they could drop and knew the method of search and destroy.

b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?

I believe that propaganda was the most important in determining who won the war because if it had not been for American and British propaganda then American troops might have not gotten in as much if any trouble for killing all the innocent civilians.

2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:
they couldn't tell the differences between the civilians and the Viet Cong thus killing innocent people.
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
that they used Guerrilla tactics which helped them because they never gave up even if a bunch of men died and wouldn't retreat unless attacked.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:
with bombs they could disrupt the North Vietnam's supply routes. Also they used chemical bombs which was to much the same affect as the regular bombs.
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:
the My Lai massacre of an innocent town where mostly women, children and the elderly were killed which was a very large mistake for the Americans.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:
using the Guerrilla tactics because they helped the Viet Cong with all of their battles.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:
the Tet Offensive because the Communists wanted the people of South Vietnam would rise up and join them but they didn't do that at all and the Viet Cong lost 10,000 fighers and was badly weakened.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be lack of better military tactics because:
if they had better tactics such as the Guerrilla tactics and could not be so obvious that they are American troops and used the element of surprise.
h. The key Viet Cong strength was the Guerrilla tactics because:
they used them as an element of surprise and they could blend in with civilians which most likely helped many of the Viet Cong survive because they could point their fingers at the civilians.

The U.S. Enters the Vietnam War

1. Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of US policy. Explain why.

Because America had helped the crazy leader Diem to set up the Republic of Vietnam which was because he was strictly anti-communist but this ended in deaths because he was also a Christian extremist and was very harsh to Buddhists.

2. Explain how US politicians would have defended their policies.

Because they did all of this to prevent the spread of Communism and the domino affect thus having all of Asia in Communism.

3. The following events are not listed in correct date order. Place them in the correct chronological order. (Write the year inside the parenthesis, i.e. (1965). Then note the reason for each U.S. action, and how it brought the U.S. into deeper involvement in Vietnam.
The reasons you can choose from are: No direct involvement; financial support; political involvement; military involvement. Also, note what events triggered the increased involvement.

( 8 ) Assassination of JFK - Johnson becomes president
( 3 ) Formation of South Vietnam
( 9 ) Gulf of Tonkin Incident
( 7 ) Number of 'advisers' reaches over 11,500
( 6 ) JFK sends military advisers
( 10 ) U.S. Marines land at Da Nang
( 1 ) U.S. stops elections in Vietnam
( 5 ) U.S. supports South Vietnam government after army overthrow Diem
( 4 ) Viet Cong attacks on U.S. and South Vietnam bases
( 2 ) Viet Cong formed

4. Choose two events that you think were critical in getting the U.S. involved in a war in Vietnam. Explain
your choice.

I believe that JFK's assassination where Johnson came into presidency was a critical event in getting the US involved in the war in Vietnam. This is because I believe if JFK had never been assassinated then Johnson would've never been in power and wouldn't have gotten into the war. Also I believe that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was a critical even in getting the US involved because had Vietnamese patrol boats not opened fire on the US ships then Johnson would have never had to pass the resolution to allow his to lead America into a full scale war.