Compare and contrast the United States’ war in Vietnam with the American Revolution. Both conflicts could be likened to Mao’s three phases of insurgency. Explain why and discuss all three phases as they apply to both conflicts. Also, were there any similarities to British problems in the Revolution and American problems in Vietnam as far as winning the hearts and minds of the mass base? Comparing how Mao’s three phases of insurgency within the force structures and doctrine of the British and American forces in the two wars is relatively simple. In both conflicts the main cause of each power nation's failure can be traced to a misunderstanding or lack of understanding the root cause of the conflicts. Which provided a basis for the insurgency …show more content…
to gain heart and mind support of the local populaces. In both conflicts each power nation force had a regular army trained to fight in the conventional warfare of the time and each nation's military doctrine was directly influenced by national policy that necessitated action of the war with "limited means". This beset the execution of military operations and contributed to indecisive action on the part of British commanders in the Revolutionary War and US forces in the Vietnam War. This contributed to phase one: obtain the support of the population and draw the “enemy” deep into the interior where the population will fight them off. Great Britain and the United States considered the insurgencies to be a threat to their dominance in the world arena and that their national interests would be served if the insurgencies were defeated. Were these threats real, or was it manufactured? In the case of the American Revolution, history would theorize that the Brits could have prevented the war, that the threat was more contrived than real. On the same note, post-war events would indicate that in fact Vietnam has not become a stronghold of anti-West Communism and that perhaps the Americans were guilty of national paranoia. Both Great Britain and the United States failed to engage the rebel centers of gravity--the regular armies—and during the early years.
This allowed the conflicts to transition to phase two, guerrilla warfare, and armed struggle. In guerrilla warfare, attacks are carefully planned for heightened effect, but usually not for military purposes. Contrast Both the British in the American Revolution and the Americans in the Vietnam War were faced with a guerilla war within the early periods of conflict. The British who accepted after the initial stages of the war that the American regular army was the key to defeating the rebellion, the Americans never deducted that more than limited offensive operations against the Hanoi regime was needed in order to bring the conflict to a successful close. Unlike the British, the Americans in Vietnam never had a significant defeat in the field. The lesson learned in both wars is that when the military is to be used as a mechanism of policy in dealing with revolutionary civil wars, the force must be swift and decisive. The means to the application of military force must be in line with achieving national objectives. Evaluate how this knowledge has been applied to present day conflicts involving the US
military. Mao’s theory is still relevant today. Guerrilla warfare, conducted behind the enemy’s main battle line. Insurgency is the “survival” phase the start of the insurgency in Iraq grew with the end of major combat operations. Mao defines insurgency: the infrastructure of guerrilla warfare developed by recruiting, repositioning of weapons and munitions, and a new ideology of resistance and a propaganda tool to spread the ideology. Small-scale offensive designed more to shake the determination of the invading forces and their countrymen than to have a serious military impact is evident in Iraq. This was done extensively in Iraq by the use of roadside bombings, rocket-propelled grenade assaults and sniper attacks. That said, it would be a mistake to underestimate Iraqi insurgents as the United States did the Vietnamese Communists in Indochina. The appearance of such an insurgency after the end of major U.S. combat operations surprised many (but not all). ISIS has increasing performed skilled attacks to targets that are keys to Iraq’s successful reconstruction. State-building in Iraq is failing for the same major reason it failed in Vietnam: inability to create a political order commanding popular legitimacy
i. Difficulties faced by soldiers due to the nature of fighting in the Vietnam War - Personnel had difficulties with transportation supplied with adapted vehicles back seat faced rear to provide additional fire power (Source A) – It appears as if the government didn't worry enough to supply men with safe and capable equipment - Threat of traps led to fear as vehicles had to be parked on street at night (Source A) o Check for traps each morning became a daily ritual particularly in fuel tanks (Source A) o A request for a locking fuel cap was denied because weren’t entitled to one” (Source A) • What circumstances would have needed to arise for them to be entitled to one? The Offensive full guard was set up (24hrs a day), personnel got no sleep and were constantly on alert (Source A) – How significant would this have been in the personnel’s mental frame of mind?
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Pohl, James W. "The American Revolution and the Vietnamese War: Pertinent Military Analogies." The History Teacher 7.2 (1974): 255-65. JSTOR. Society for History Education. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. .
The Vietnam War was a rough time for many soldiers. Memories of home, loved ones, comfort, happiness, a normal life, everything was left behind to do their duties as soldiers. They carried with them many mementos of their life at home; that way they had some kind of life to hang onto to give them the hope and comfort they needed to keep themselves pushing forward. Though, many others have done the same and kept objects to hold onto to remind themselves that there is hope and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite the Vietnam War and World War I taking place during different time periods, these two wars are extremely similar because of the way they are presented in history.
David Galula and Roger Trinquier have common roots, they were French citizens and both lived in the 20th century when the study of counterinsurgency theory was coming into focus. Each of these men experienced bitter conflicts of war. Galula fought in North Africa, Italy, and France. In addition, Galula fought in irregular wars located in China, Greece, Indochina, and Algeria. Galula was a lieutenant colonel when he decided to author his now classic book. Whereas, Trinquier an officer in the colonial infantry defended the French concession in Shanghai and later in Indochina under the Japanese occupation where he was held prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp. After Trinquier’s release from prison, he continued to serve in Indochina and additionally in Algeria. Both men wrote from first-hand experience and published their accounts in 1964 while the Cold War waged. Communism ideology vs. the free world theorists collided across the face of the globe in a race for domination. Counterinsurgency has been an American strategy since the 1960s ebbing and flowing in strategic signi...
By definition, a successful military invasion gives the occupier superiority on the ground and in the air, in the ability to use physical force and violence. Despite that, when a military invader loses control of what the people read and believe, of when and if they work, of how they spend their money — when the occupiers are constantly on the defensive, as they try to maintain their position — their ability to command events is detached from their ability to use violence.
The Vietnam War was a multinational conflict lasting from 1955 until 1973. Due to international events and relations of the time, the Vietnam War was a civil war that was heavily influenced by Cold War ideology. Western politicians who accepted the reality of the Domino Theory implemented many policies to increase their countries’ involvement in Vietnam, in order to stop the progress of Communism through South-East Asia. America’s increase in military involvement in the Vietnam War was founded upon the basis of ideological tensions between Communism and Democracy. However, at its core, the Vietnam War was a struggle against the French, and did not
The assertion that the Americans lost the Vietnam War because they failed to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese is incorrect. This can proven by examining other aspects of the war such as military tactics , political relationships, finances and other contributing factors.
The book, We Were Soldiers Once... And Young, begins at a pivotal point in American history. The year was 1965; the year America began to directly interfere with the Vietnam affairs and send our young men to defend the notion of "freedom." During this year, Vietnam interested and concerned only a few Americans. In fact, the controversy of American involvement in Vietnam had hardly begun. But this all changed in November 1965 at the Ia Drang Valley in distant Vietnam. The Battle at LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany was the first major battle of the Vietnam conflict; a conflict that lasted decade and caused American turmoil for many more years.
The American Revolution and Vietnam War had several similarities. The insurgents were able to effectively use the media to control the narrative. The information that was broadcast back home was disturbing and caused the citizens to rise up against the wars. This results in major street protest, which put pressure on the government to withdraw the Soldiers. In both uprising the insurgents were also using unconventional tactics which the conventional Armies reluctantly did not adjust to. The British thought that force would only bring about a temporary solution, so their initial duty was to enforce the law and stop any rebellion. (Daly) The Americans initial role in Vietnam was to act as military advisors, to stop the spread of communism, to
They had many successful tactics such as their wide spreading tunnel systems. This system could have failed because the US could simply bomb them; however these tunnels went up to 9 metres in the ground, this meant that bombing would not affect the tunnels. The tunnels were very well built; the US men were simply too large with their bulky equipment to fit into the tunnels therefore there was no way that any US men could get in. In case of US soldier intrusions the Vietnamese guerilla fighters had put some booby traps in their own tunnels! However they did not have to worry about falling into their own traps as they had memorised the whole map of the tunnels this was a huge advantage as it meant that no VC fighter had to carry a map, this ensured that the tunnels were not vulnerable. One huge advantage they had was that they could ambush the US and get away without the US having a hint of where they
In modern military theory, the highest level is the strategic level, in which activities at the strategic level focus directly on policy objectives, both during peace and warfare. In the study of modern military strategy, there is a distinction between military strategy and national strategy, in which the former is the use of military objective to secure political objectives and the latter coordinates and concentrates all the elements of national...
On the other hand, big forces like U.S in Vietnam, and British in the U.S during the Revolutionary War were fighting to gain more control and gain resources from the land they were fighting in, which is not a strong reason to motivate soldiers to sacrifice as much as their enemies did. In the Vietnamese war, and the American Revolutionary war, we see a lot of similarities. First, in the American Revolutionary war, British were the invaders who were far more powerful than the Americans. Americans had the motivation to fight for their freedom and independence. Since Americans were weaker then British, they used guerrilla warfare, which was new to British and cost them a lot of casualties. On the other hand, in the Vietnamese War, the Americans were the invading force, and the Vietnamese were fighting on their own soil. They were fighting to kick out the invader and gain freedom and independence of their country. The Vietnamese used exactly what the Americans used in their fight in the revolutionary war against the British, guerrilla warfare. These tactics lead to the defeat and withdrawal of U.S from
In the Revolutionary War, America rose up to fight against an army that was exceedingly larger, superior, and more orderly than our army was. While the Continental Army had many disadvantages, they surprisingly had several advantages too. These advantages ultimately triumphed over the strong points of the British.
Looking at this war as an example of most wars, the causes of warfare stem from some sort of disagreement. Many of these disagreements derive from human insecurities about change. Fear of change drives people to hold tighter to their traditions and customs. When change is slow and progressive people may mutter under their breath, di...