The statement that The Vietnam War was unwinnable is true to some extent. The Vietnam War was a 20 year long war which lasted from 1955 to 1975. There were multiple factors that attributed to the conflict being unwinnable, these include the nature of the Vietcong fighters, the strong protest movement and the role of the media in shaping public opinion.
A factor that made the Vietnam War unwinnable was the nature of the Vietcong fighters. The American and Australian forces found it difficult to find the Vietcong, as they would live among the South Vietnamese villagers when they weren’t fighting. The Vietcong were skilled guerrilla fighters, which made it hard for the Americans and Australians as instead of conducting counter guerrilla tactics, they fought as though they were fighting a war in Europe. (Astore, 2014) The Vietcong had a complicated tunnel system which hid them from the Australian and American forces. The dense forests helped conceal the Vietcong, which made it harder for the Americana and Australia troops to find them. The escalation of the American troops could be matched by the North Vietnamese, which again gave the Vietcong an advantage. The South Vietnamese villagers did not support their government which made it easier for the Vietcong to live among them. The Vietcong were also more adjusted to the Vietnamese hot and humid climate which drained the energy of the Australian and American forces. The American and Australian forces had to battle infections such as conjunctivitis from the constant haze of dust that was generated. (Department of Veteran Affairs, 2016) These reasons show how the Vietnam War was unwinnable due to the nature of the Vietcong. The media played a strong role in making the Vietnam War unwinnable. Media such as television became a lot more accessible to the public before the start of the war and many people would get their news from their televisions. The Vietnam War was the first war that was broadcasted straight into the homes of the public, which gave the media …show more content…
Anti-war movements began in colleges, with conscription being the main issue, these movements were joined by prominent artists, intellectuals and members of the hippie movement. (A&E Television Networks, 2016) By early 1963, 35% of Americans approved of the war whilst 50% disapproved and the remaining 15% had no opinion. Burning conscription notices became a popular form of protest for young males who had been drafted, the most famous protestor was boxer Muhammad Ali who had all his boxing titles taken away from him. Protests grew as more body bags started returning from Vietnam, as the public started to think that they were dying for an unnecessary war. In Australia, early protesters of conscription included parliamentary opposition, trade unions, religious groups, academics and the young men who were affected. The moratorium marches were held from 1970-1971. The strong protest movement in America had a flow on effect to Australia, although the movement in Australia showed to have little effect as the Australian government did not withdraw out of Vietnam until the American government did in 1972. (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016) The increasing amount of protesters made it hard for the American and Australian governments to justify their position in the war, which shows that the Vietnam War was
A factor that made the Vietnam War unwinnable was the nature of the Vietcong fighters. The American and Australian forces found it difficult to find the Vietcong, as they would live among the South Vietnamese villagers when they weren’t fighting. The Vietcong were skilled guerrilla fighters, which made it hard for the Americans and Australians as instead of conducting counter guerrilla tactics, they fought as though they were fighting a war in Europe. (Astore, 2014) The Vietcong had a complicated tunnel system which hid them from the Australian and American forces. The dense forests helped conceal the Vietcong, which made it harder for the Americana and Australia troops to find them. The escalation of the American troops could be matched by the North Vietnamese, which again gave the Vietcong an advantage. The South Vietnamese villagers did not support their government which made it easier for the Vietcong to live among them. The Vietcong were also more adjusted to the Vietnamese hot and humid climate which drained the energy of the Australian and American forces. The American and Australian forces had to battle infections such as conjunctivitis from the constant haze of dust that was generated. (Department of Veteran Affairs, 2016) These reasons show how the Vietnam War was unwinnable due to the nature of the Vietcong. The media played a strong role in making the Vietnam War unwinnable. Media such as television became a lot more accessible to the public before the start of the war and many people would get their news from their televisions. The Vietnam War was the first war that was broadcasted straight into the homes of the public, which gave the media …show more content…
Anti-war movements began in colleges, with conscription being the main issue, these movements were joined by prominent artists, intellectuals and members of the hippie movement. (A&E Television Networks, 2016) By early 1963, 35% of Americans approved of the war whilst 50% disapproved and the remaining 15% had no opinion. Burning conscription notices became a popular form of protest for young males who had been drafted, the most famous protestor was boxer Muhammad Ali who had all his boxing titles taken away from him. Protests grew as more body bags started returning from Vietnam, as the public started to think that they were dying for an unnecessary war. In Australia, early protesters of conscription included parliamentary opposition, trade unions, religious groups, academics and the young men who were affected. The moratorium marches were held from 1970-1971. The strong protest movement in America had a flow on effect to Australia, although the movement in Australia showed to have little effect as the Australian government did not withdraw out of Vietnam until the American government did in 1972. (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016) The increasing amount of protesters made it hard for the American and Australian governments to justify their position in the war, which shows that the Vietnam War was