American History

Introduction
Despite the USs superior military might, the Vietnamese people were able to hold out against a full onslaught and finally prevail over US troops. Forced to withdraw from the country after failing to dislodge Vietnamese troops from their hideouts, the US watched helplessly as communists took over the land. Years of brutal warfare and expensive undertakings had resulted in total failure. The question on most peoples minds is how could a people with meager resources and inadequate military hardware defeat one of the worlds superpowers

The answer to this question is the greatest lesson I learnt during this course. A people united against a common cause and dedicated to protecting their national identity and integrity, will sacrifice anything in a bid to succeed. This explains why so many Vietnamese were willing to die in the protracted war against the US forces.

As the Vietnamese polled their resources to support the war effort, US public opinion was divided on the rationale for fighting a war over a country with limited strategic importance. The resolve of the Vietnamese people to oust US forces from their land motivated them to continue fighting regardless of the odds against them. US troops were demoralized by their inability to rout the guerilla forces from the forests with relative success and began to question why they were fighting the war.

The second lesson I learnt is that failure to plan contributes to disastrous results. US troops were unprepared for the type of warfare that they encountered in Vietnam. Used to conventional warfare, US forces were disoriented by guerilla attacks and uncooperative civilians. The underground network of tunnels that the Vietnamese built to hide from the enemy and launch surprise attacks baffled and frustrated US troops. Unable to locate the Vietcong, the US command resorted to illegal and often brutal ways to get information from the civilian population.

These actions adversely affected the reputation of US forces and generated anti war sentiment at home. Had the US high command planned the war effort meticulously, they would have used propaganda to convince the population that the Vietcong were enemies of people and that US troops had come to save them. By convincing their people that US troops were an invading force, the Vietnamese troops were able to galvanize civilian populations to support their cause.

To a large extent, proxy wars prevented the escalation of hostilities between the two superpowers. By engaging their forces behind enemy lines and giving covert support to armed groups, both superpowers were able to challenge each other indirectly without resorting to nuclear weapons. This is the third lesson I learnt from the course. Had either superpower engaged the other in open confrontation, the situation could have degenerated into a major Third World War.

Success in a war was a major psychological boost for either the capitalist or communist ideological camps. Defeat in Vietnam called into question the efficacy of capitalist models to protect their people from aggression and enemy attacks. This is why the US was willing to spend large amounts of money to prosecute the war effort and establish the capitalist model as the best form of governance.

In conclusion, the course taught me that nationalist sentiment and commitment are powerful forces in any conflict.  I also learnt the importance of careful planning so as to succeed in any mission. Lastly, I appreciated that proxy wars delayed the outbreak of open war between the two superpowers. Such wars allowed the US and USSR to test their military strengths and ideological pull.