The wars effect on the vietnamese land and peopleabout 58,000 american soldiers were killed during the vietnam war, and another 304,000 were wounded. When a candidate conspired with a foreign power to win an. The vietnam war is universally regarded as a disaster for what it did to the american and vietnamese people. On that day, the north vietnam communist army finally won. Having read the other responses here i will refrain from repeating what others have said and reverse the question this way. Apr 28, 2020 the south vietnamese stronghold of saigon now known as ho chi minh city falls to people s army of vietnam and the viet cong on april 30, 1975. Pacification is the more formal term for winning hearts and minds. The south vietnam people will win paperback july 1, 2001 by vo nguyen giap author see all 3 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. General in the vietnam peoples army and a politician. Imagine what the republic of vietnam south vietnam would be like today.
However, vietnam was split into north and south temporarily in 1954 into a communist north and the americansupported south. We are taught that it was a resounding loss for america, one that proves that intervening in the affairs of other nations is usually misguided. The vietnam war in forty quotes council on foreign relations. The united states came into a civil war between the citizens of north and south vietnam which had been going on for centuries.
Casualty rates were extremely lopsided in americas favor. Apr 28, 2015 a student leader in saigon in the 1960s, he later secretly worked for the north as a member of the national liberation front, or viet cong, that fought u. Already, this got america off on the wrong foot in the minds of vietnamese people. That is not to say that ho chi minh and the north vietnamese were popular. A vietnamese soldiers perspective of the vietnam war. In 1975 it seemed that the communist regime had won a decisive victory, conquering the south and reuniting vietnam as one country, humiliating the u. Vietnam will win explains in great detail how the war of resistance was fought south of the 17th parallel.
How young vietnamese view the vietnam war the atlantic. The vietnam war in 40 quotes the national interest. Nixon prolonged vietnam war for political gainand johnson. The american war in vietnam was officially divided into two halves. To view further details on this specific book, or to purchase, simply enter the books exact title into the search box on our. Aug 23, 2017 the problem, the optimists argued, was that just as during the vietnam war naysaying pundits and politicians were not merely undermining popular support for the war, but giving our enemies hope that they could win by waiting for the american people to lose their will to continue the fight. Whereas the aim of the military war was to kill large numbers of the enemy through searchanddestroy operations, the goal of the war to win hearts and minds as it was. But since most of the fighting took place in vietnam, the vietnamese land and people paid a much heavier price for the war. We do this to increase the confidence of the brave people of south vietnam who have bravely born this. Because most of those who fled were from the south, that is where you will find most vi.
Opinion how not to win hearts and minds the new york. American nationbuilding in south vietnam cornell university press, 2018. If you look at the picture, the people in saigon lived way better than the people in hanoi. Without a doubt, the war took a terrible toll on the united states. America sent troops to vietnam to halt the spread of communism from china and north vietnam to the rest of southeast asia. The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. The people s revolutionary party by wilfred burchett. How did the united states, the most powerful military force on the planet, lose the war. How much popular support did the vietcong have in south vietnam. By that time the communists and south vietnamese were already engaged in what journalists labeled the postwar war. South vietnam, officially the republic of vietnam rvn. Why was aligning with the south vietnam government difficult.
We do this to increase the confidence of the brave people of south vietnam. It is also one of the reasons put forward during vietnamisation why men in the sva should be based as near to their homes as was feasible so that they might show a pride and determination in defending their own. Giap is considered one of the greatest military strategists of all time. The conflict in vietnam started off as a conflict between the north and the south, with countries like france and the united states getting involved later.
He now lives in paris, where he immigrated after becoming disillusioned with the fruits of vietnamese communism. A vietnamese soldiers perspective of the vietnam war youtube. Jun 27, 2014 the american war in vietnam was officially divided into two halves. The us hoped that this would pacify or improve the relationship between the us and the south vietnam people. Why the us lost the vietnam war common dreams views. However, 30 years after the wars end, the reasons for its outcome remain a matter of. Considering the vegetation, and the style of fighting the us did not. The truth is that our military won the war, but our politicians lost it. During the last half of 1959, vcinitiated ambushes and attacks on posts averaged well over 100 a month. Now, when the north vietnamese soldiers came into the south and liberated it, they could not tell the difference between a toilet and porcela. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the cold war. In 1967, he replaced ky and remained president of south vietnam until the final days of the war against the north. Bui tin, who served on the general staff of north vietnam s army, received the unconditional surrender of south vietnam on april 30, 1975.
Vietnam is the th most populous country in the world, with more than 90 million inhabitants. When vietnam won the war against france, ho chi minh was considered a hero, which made people look up to him. If the south had won the vietnam war, would the people of. Lot of people didnt wanted for the south vietnam government to take control over the country and there were two main reason for this. It received international recognition in 1949 as the state of vietnam a selfgoverning entity in the french. Just before the fall of saigon, thieu fled to taiwan. The us army would take the south vietnam people out of their villages and place them in safe zones and then destroy the village so the vietcong enemy could not seek shelter there. In the next year 2,500 government functionaries and other real and imagined enemies of the viet. Opinion the war we could have won the new york times. Hearts and minds vietnam or winning hearts and minds refers to the strategy and programs used by the governments of vietnam and the united states during the vietnam war to win the popular support of the vietnamese people and to help defeat the viet cong insurgency. By the middle of 1960 it was apparent that the south vietnamese army and security forces could not cope with the new threat. From the early stages of the vietnam war, american officials insisted that winning the hearts and minds yes, the acronym was wham of the south vietnamese people was the key to victory. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Outcome of the vietnam war on march 29, 1973, the last u.
By every traditional measure, the united states won the vietnam war. Why the people of south vietnam have already defeated u. The first aircraft carrier battle in history duration. Futhermore, the global and strategic context at the time gave the u. A student leader in saigon in the 1960s, he later secretly worked for the north as a member of the national liberation front, or viet cong, that fought u. May 24, 2011 a vietnamese soldiers perspective of the vietnam war. As they didnt, it really had no hope in the absence of a huge external presence. The communists in north vietnam actually signed a peace treaty, effectively surrendering. Quotes from the vietnam war quotations and sayings. Now, more than 40 years later, many of the descendants of those refugees are back in vietnam to experience their ancestral homeland. The south vietnam people will win vo, nguyen giap on. Both sides alleged, more or less accurately, that the other side was continuously violating the terms of the peace agreements.
During the vietnam war, thieu maintained a powerful role in the south vietnamese government under president nguyen cao ky. On april 30, 1975, as acting president general duong van minh and his cabinet surrendered to the communist forces unconditionally in the independence palace, saigon, the vietnam war which had lasted for nearly 20 years eventually came to an end. Republique du viet nam, was a state that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of vietnam was a member of the western bloc during part of the cold war. For south vietnamese veterans of the vietnam war, april 30, 1975 was the day they lost their country. What group launched antidiem protests in south vietnam during the summer of 1963 that included street demonstrations and hunger strikes. After the american war, about two million people fled the country.
If for whatever reason the people of vietnam had wanted the south to win, it would have. The same way all wars are concluded north vietnam exhausted their opponents ability to continue to fight. Jun 23, 2014 decades back, in late 1972, south vietnam and the united states were winning the vietnam war decisively by every conceivable measure. Whereas the aim of the military war was to kill large numbers of the enemy through searchanddestroy operations, the goal of the war to win hearts and.
We can help them, we can give them equipment, we can send our men out there as advisors, but they have to win it, the people of vietnam, against the communists. I speak now not of the soldiers of each side, not of the ideologies of the liberation front, not of the junta in saigon, but simply of the people who have been living under the curse of war for almost three continuous decades now. The errors continued when, in 1955, eisenhower set up a south vietnam in order to evade the national elections that. Who was favored to win the scheduled 1956 national elections to unify vietnam. It is well worth reading today because some fundamental facts never change. Vietnam war 195475, conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, the viet cong, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. This failure to win the hearts and minds of the rural community in south vietnam was a major reason why the sva failed in the long run. On that day, the north vietnam communist army finally won the drawn out battle that had seen a. Vo, nguyen giap, 1912 south vietnam people will win. The pavn is a part of the vietnam peoples armed forces and includes. On the other hand, many argue that the vietnam war was never winnable and that the united states could have not won the conflict given the corruption, unpopularity of south vietnamese government. Celebrating the 4th anniversary of the formation of the nlf, south vietnam, december 1964. What north vietnam, in contrast to south vietnam, had was an actual attraction to the peasant with their particular brand of communism that also involved quite a lot of influences from the traditional confucianism.
From its occupation of the philippines following the spanishamerican war to the recent conflicts in iraq and afghanistan, the united states has had a long and checkered history of nationbuilding. The errors continued when, in 1955, eisenhower set up a south vietnam in order to evade the national elections that had been agreed to in settling the french defeat. Mar 27, 2015 this failure to win the hearts and minds of the rural community in south vietnam was a major reason why the sva failed in the long run. In 1968, the paris peace talks, intended to put an end to the yearlong vietnam war, failed because an aide working for thenpresidential candidate richard nixon convinced the south vietnamese.