Vietnam War
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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was truly one of the most uncommon wars ever fought. This conflict was so hostile and ironic, that the official beginning and end could never be identified, or pinpointed. Likewise, the enemies and the allies looked exactly alike. This turmoil made everyone in the war confused, because “anyone” could be a friend by day, and foe by night. Additionally, what made the war so difficult was the tactics used by many soldiers. These tactics were called “Guerrilla Warfare,” which consisted of the simple process of “hide, shoot, and run.” Surprisingly, this fighting technique matched the skills of many of the best-trained soldiers from the opposite side.
The Vietnam War fought between the communist North Vietnam, and the non-communist South Vietnam was supported by the United States. The main objective of the war was to contain the leader. Ho Chi Minh, was the leader of the “league for the independence of Vietnam,” generally known as the Viet Minh. The league was organized in 1941 as a “nationalistic party”; their goal was to seek Vietnamese independence from France.
South Vietnam did not have the resources of modern military technology; therefore, the capacity of depending on themselves, was minimum. The United States were allied with South Vietnam, and they made a massive deployment, that begun in the spring of 1965. The deployment consisted of and initial wave of 180,000 men followed by 550,000 others. This evolution was accompanied with a huge construction program, which consisted of the army, navy, and air force engineer units, and with a few selected civilian engineering contractors. Under this program there was construction of seven “deep waters,” several smaller ports, eight jet air bases with 10,000-foot runways, 200 smaller airfields, and 200 heliports. Finally, there was construction of millions of square feet covered of refrigerated storage, hundreds of miles of roads, hundreds of bridges, oil pipelines and tanks, and all the other “apparatuses of a modern logistic infrastructure.”
The soldiers in the field received “lavish logistic support” by means of helicopter supply. Troops in contact with the enemy were often provided with hot meals. The wounded were promptly evacuated to hospitals; and in serious cases, were moved by air to base facilities in the Pacific or the United