Why did US tactics fail in Vietnam?

• Vietcong guerrillas


  • Knew the jungle well
  • Made use of elaborate underground bases and tunnels to shelter from US bombs
  • Often re-used unexploded American bombs against US soldiers
• Failure of Search and Destroy (My Lai Massacre)

  1. Based on poor military intelligence

  2. Brutal tactics used by US troops drove more Vietnamese civilians to support the Vietcong

  3. In 1968 American soldiers raided the village of My Lai, killing around 300 civilians, including children
• My Lai Massacre


  Severely damaged America's reputation and undermined support for the war at home
• Events like the My Lai Massacre were reported in the US press leading many ordinary Americans to question the war
• Film footage of US soldiers burning homes and of the effects of napalm all turned public opinion against the war
• As the war dragged on

  More and more Americans began to oppose the war in Vietnam
• Many people began to oppose the draft, and public figures, like the boxer Muhammad Ali, risked prison because of his refusal to go to Vietnam
• In 1970, officers from the National Guard shot at anti-war protestors at Kent State University, killing four students
• More people questioned the lengths their government would go to in support of this unpopular war
• Vietcong guerrillas


  • Used the cover of the jungle, which they knew well, to their advantage
  • Fought a hit-and-run guerrilla war against inexperienced American soldiers, many of whom were young conscripts
  • The threat of an invisible enemy and hidden traps like punji sticks had a demoralising psychological impact on US troops
• Vietcong guerrillas were kept well supplied by a constant stream of weapons from the North, carried on foot, by bicycle and mule along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was bombed by the US Army but never fully disrupted
• In 1968, the Vietcong used the cover of the Buddhist New Year (Tet) celebrations to change tactics and launch a massive attack on US-held areas across South Vietnam, including the US Embassy in Saigon
• The Tet Offensive was a success for the Vietcong and although ultimately they were driven back by the US Army, it showed the Americans that despite all the soldiers, bombs, and money spent in Vietnam, they were not making progress against the Vietcong or communism
• Many historians see the Tet Offensive as a turning point in America's mission in Vietnam
• After the Tet Offensive, President Johnson said that if the North Vietnamese launched another attack, many men – on both sides of the struggle – will be lost… There is no need for this to be so
• It's likely the Tet Offensive was a factor in President Johnson's decision not to run for re-election in 1968, as he had often voiced concern about the rising number of American casualties of the War
• Label this image about the successes and failures for both the USA and Vietcong.

  A) Guerrilla

  B) jungle

  C) Ho Chi Minh Trail

  D) Tet Offensive

  E) Lack of Support back home

  F) Role of the media

  G) Failure of Search and Destroy (My Lai Massacre)

  H) Failure of Operation Rolling Thunder