Vietnam after Tet

[gpspartans]

have to agree with your post. people were crazy in the 60's to even when I was in, just after the war. the politicians and the civilians blew it. if we had keep the invincibility of our forces (perhaps it started in Korea) we would be a lot less likely to be attacked. the NAZI's had it and they bluffed and scared hell out of everyone. nobody started a war with them (but we sure did finish it). maybe we could have avoided 9/11?.

 

we should have won that war. we did militarily.

 

as to Rome, you can't compare. they were the superpowers but mostly those that attacked them were looking for land or riches. it was after their unbeatable reputation was destroyed later in their history that you see the Barbarians moving in on them.

 

now, I am like you. I will avoid getting into the politics of it.

[Sgt. Swigart]

my opinion is Tet cost us victory as we lost a large part of the American public support. however, militarily we kicked their butts and set them back years. I wonder, with the nature of that war and of the enemy, if we had kicked it up and stepped on them could we have gotten much better terms on peace? could we have saved S. Vietnam or was it truly a lost cause?

 

It was never a lost cause until we gave up trying. Tet was devastating to the North. They achieved none of their military objectives. The NVA was essentially out of reserves after Tet. The Viet Cong ceased to exist as an organized force after Tet. This was actually planned by Giap to eliminate them as political rivals. We could have easily rolled up the whole country, all the way to Hanoi. When Cronkite looked at the camera and said it was a whole new war he was right, when he said it was unwinable he was lying. Bad leadership, micromanagement and bad politics lost Vietnam. It is a real shame too. If the South had kept communism out it would have become every bit as much of a economic powerhouse as Korea.

[Sgt. Swigart]

my opinion is Tet cost us victory as we lost a large part of the American public support. however, militarily we kicked their butts and set them back years. I wonder, with the nature of that war and of the enemy, if we had kicked it up and stepped on them could we have gotten much better terms on peace? could we have saved S. Vietnam or was it truly a lost cause?

 

It was never a lost cause until we gave up trying. Tet was devastating to the North. They achieved none of their military objectives. The NVA was essentially out of reserves after Tet. The Viet Cong ceased to exist as an organized force after Tet. This was actually planned by Giap to eliminate them as political rivals. We could have easily rolled up the whole country, all the way to Hanoi. When Cronkite looked at the camera and said it was a whole new war he was right, when he said it was unwinable he was lying. Bad leadership, micromanagement and bad politics lost Vietnam. It is a real shame too. If the South had kept communism out it would have become every bit as much of a economic powerhouse as Korea.

[gpspartans]

my personal belief is we should never fight wars without the intention of winning them. I am 57 now and remember when I went in. I was a kid in a platoon full of kids (18 maybe the average) with some old salts nco's (mostly in early 20's at best) and then the leadership (somewhat older). we should never endanger lives this young & even the older salts lives, unless we plan on winning and our civilians should dang well appreciate the suffering of these kids (instead of protesting against them and treating them badly when they come home).

 

I went to sleep watching the History channel the other day and woke up with the tv on while a support your vet commercial was on and a kid was taling about losing her father.

 

it's tragic and we should remember that. and maybe, I am still a little hot at all the *&*^% that protested and treated the vet's (and even me in 1976) badly after all their suffering.

 

as to out producing the enemy in WW2, we did. but we had some dang fine soldiers too.

[River Patrol]

 

..... The NVA was essentially out of reserves after Tet.....

 

Not true.

 

Supplies were being shipped in by Chinese freighters through Sihanoukville (deep water port in Cambodia) and/or bought in Cambodia until the coup in 1970.....thousands of tons.....free flowing....their reserves were restocked in 6 to 9 months.

[Sgt. Swigart]

 

Not true.

 

Supplies were being shipped in by Chinese freighters through Sihanoukville (deep water port in Cambodia) and/or bought in Cambodia until the coup in 1970.....thousands of tons.....free flowing....their reserves were restocked in 6 to 9 months.

 

Materials were never a problem for the North. It was men that was the problem for them. Really for the whole war but especially after Tet.

[gpspartans]

thanks guys. my original question was, could we have won the war after Tet. I think we had them beat bad and they were hurt. I think we could have won if we would have pushed for victory.