Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?

1. US military tactics in Vietnam

They used traditional warfare tatics against the viet cong's gurella tatics which was uneffective. This is shown by the huge number of casualities that resulted from the war.

2. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime

This hurt the US effort because the public was doing alot to help the communists win the war. This is especially appearent in the huge amounts of viet cong soldiers who were willing to fight, which helped make the large number of casualities the north forces faced not as much of a big deal.

3. The experience of the Viet Cong and the inexperience of the American soldiers

The viet cong had knowledge of the land on which the war was being fought. This was helpful in moveing weapons and effectively useing their gurella tatics.

4. Domestic opposition to the war in the U.S.

The domestic oppisition to the war made for alot of problems for those who were trying to gain support for the war. This especially hurt the US after the Tet offensive, s more and more began to call for an end to the war effort, and the government had to split their focas between Vietnam and the domestic issues.

5. Chinese and Soviet support for the Viet Cong

This hurt the Us in the regard that the viet cong was always well armed and ready to continue day and night gurlla warfare against the US forces. Their well armed soldiers were able to carry out the Tet offensive, which vastly brought down domestic support for the war effort.

6. 'But did they really lose?' Summarize the argument put forward in Source 57, and your view on it.

This source is basically arguing that we did nottechnically lose the war. Although it's a nice thought, unfortunatly it holds no credibility. We could not hold off the Viet Cong soldiers and basically were blown out of Vietnam.