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The Communist Victory in the Vietnam War

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The Communist Victory in the Vietnam War
| History | | The SHS History Co.
Shahriar Syed |

[The Vietnam War] | Describe why the factors which allowed the North Vietnamese Communist to win a war against a far wealthier, technologically superior power of the US. |

Contents Page No. Background 2 Introduction 2 Logistical Issues 3 Causality Tolerance 4 Economic Consequences 5 Strategy & Tactics 5 Communist Strategy 5 Guerrilla Tactics 6 American Strategy 6 Tactical Response 7 Vietnamese Terrain Advantages 8 Leadership 8 Bibliography 9 Books 9 Video 9 Website 9

Background
The Vietnam War is classed under Cold-War military conflict due to the political cause for the war. The conflict was fought between North Vietnam, reinforced by the communist allies and South Vietnam, supported by the US and some anti-communist countries. The military conflict mainly occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from the 1st of November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on the 30th April 1975.
Figure 1 shows the countries on opposing sides of the war Anti-Communists forces | Communists | * South Vietnam * United States * South Korea * Australia * Philippines * New Zealand * Thailand * Khmer Republic * Kingdom of Laos * Spain * Taiwan | * North Vietnam * Vietnam * Khmer Rouge * Pathet Lao * Soviet Union * China * North Korea * Czechoslovakia * Cuba * Bulgaria |

The U.S. government justified their involvement in the war as a way to prevent the spread of communism to South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government viewed the conflict as taking what is theirs from the French, later backed by the U.S and South Vietnam itself.
Introduction
Despite the far wealthier and far more superior powers of the U.S. North Vietnam managed to capture South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, meaning a decisive victory. In this report the factors that lead North Vietnam to victory will be describing each factor in detail.

Logistical Issues
During



Bibliography: Books Moore, Harold G., 1922-We were soldiers once -and young : Ia Drang, the battle that changed the war in VietnamMOORE, H Video JohnSmithTheSecond (2009) YouTube - First Kill - Vietnam War Documentary 1/8 JohnSmithTheSecond (2009) YouTube - First Kill - Vietnam War Documentary 2/8. [online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwhGzOEtReQ&feature=relmfu [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. JohnSmithTheSecond (2009) YouTube - First Kill - Vietnam War Documentary 3/8. [online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ripjd0FbEJo&feature=relmfu [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. JohnSmithTheSecond (2009) YouTube - First Kill - Vietnam War Documentary 4/8. [online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K5vz5UXobs&feature=relmfu [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. Website Awm.gov.au (1962) Vietnam War 1962–75 | Australian War Memorial En.wikipedia.org (1955) Vietnam War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. En.wikipedia.org (2007) Jungle warfare - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_warfare [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. En.wikipedia.org (1946) Ho Chi Minh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. En.wikipedia.org (1987) Guerrilla warfare - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. En.wikipedia.org (1971) Strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_and_tactics_of_guerrilla_warfare [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. Encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com (1869) Guerrilla tactics definition of Guerrilla tactics in the Free Online Encyclopedia.. [online] Available at: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Guerrilla+tactics [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. History.com (1960) Vietnam War — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts. [online] Available at: http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. Pbs.org (1996) Battlefield:Vietnam | Guerrilla Tactics. [online] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/guerrilla/index.html [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. Rosenberg, J. (1967) Vietnam War - A History of the Vietnam War. [online] Available at: http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. Time.com (1998) Ho Chi Minh - TIME. [online] Available at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988162,00.html [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012]. Vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au (1962) Australia and the Vietnam War. [online] Available at: http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/ [Accessed: 18 Oct 2012].

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