Tactics and
strategy of
Vietnam
Review
Target: Predict the outcome of the war.
U.S. Vietnam
Goals/Motivation Containment Independence, Freedom, Liberty
Strategy Kill all (Body Count) Survive
Weapons Napalm, Agent Orange,Machine guns, air force, navy, nukes*, “chopper”
Booby traps, tunnels,home field advantage, machine guns, guerilla warfare, Vietcong
LBJ’s Foreign Policy Advisors
Robert McNamara (Secretary of Defense)
Dean Rusk (Secretary of State)
William Westmorland
North Vietnam Army
NVA
NVA vs. The French
Vietcong
Jungle Warfare
Tunnels
Booby Traps
U.S. “Win their Hearts and Minds” Keep the Vietcong from winning
support in the South
Win the “hearts and minds” of the Southern villagers
Napalm
Agent Orange
Search-and-Destroy
Search and Destroy
Sinking Morale
Frustrations of Guerrilla Warfare
Brutal Jungle fighting
Failure to make substantial gains
Corruption and instability of South Vietnam
Credibility gap
1967
Gap between what LBJ reported and what was really happening
Small minority was beginning to protest