one reason we couldn't win the Vietnam War was because we were facing an enemy who has lived their entire lives in the jungle our troops fought in. The Vietnamese ad the homeground advantage they had entire tunnel "cities" where they lived in work that near impossible to penetrate because they could seal off entire sections, pop through trap doors right behind and shoot you, or drop and grenade from a higher tunnel or ledge on your head. Another thing there were now complexes, training bases, or military factories that could be bombed. Another that held back American troops was the R.O.E.s (Rules Of Engagement). Pretty much if an American soldier was chasing a Vietnamese soldier if the Vietnamese soldier crosses into North Vietnam they had to give up chase and let the soldier go. Another thing was in WWII the germans weren't allowed to shoot medics while in the Vietnam War the Vietnamese shoot medical help. Also in WWII America knew the terrain because of WWI

We won WWII becase we had a singular goal- beat the Axis powers. And we jumped straight in with both feet feet. We lost Vietnam because we didn't go in with that same goal. And we didn't really jump in with both feet until it was too late. I would hazard a guess and say we would have kicked Charlie's ass over his head if we had gone in with the mindset to win the war. We definitely had the technology to win, but not the mindset.

One thing was sheer manpower. By the end of the war, Germany was using teenagers wiht very little training. When the Allies were still using older, more experienced soldiers. Also, when America and the Soviet Union entered the war, they brought a lot of fresh soldiers, but the Axis still had the old worn out soldiers that they were using at the beginning of the war. And as other people said, we had a lot more resources and materials than the Axis did.

Originally Posted by Darkmb101

The reason we won WW2 and not Vietnam, is because had a NEED to win. The fate of the world depended on the out come of WW2. If we had lost all the Jews would be dead, everyone would speak German. Europe would still be controlled by the Nazis. While in the East, Japanese would controll the Pacific, thus everyone there would learn Japanese. And the war would not have ended because resistance forces around the world would try to stop them. (i have an overly active imagination)

Vietnam War, it didnt really matter who one. the world would be safe.

i agree, either we end war or the world would come to an end. no much of a choice

Originally Posted by doomshot

one reason we couldn't win the Vietnam War was because we were facing an enemy who has lived their entire lives in the jungle our troops fought in.

Simply not true. Take a look at the Australian task force sent to Vietnam. That was a force built along similar lines, albeit on a much smaller scale than the American forces in Vietnam. They hadn't lived their lives in the jungle, yet they easily adapted to the techniques used by the NVA and VC and took the fight to the Vietnamese and fought them on their own terms. American forces very rarely ever did that in Vietnam, and yet, amazingly enough, were rather successful until January 1968.

Originally Posted by doomshot

Another thing was in WWII the germans weren't allowed to shoot medics while in the Vietnam War the Vietnamese shoot medical help. Also in WWII America knew the terrain because of WWI

It's a rare occasion I hear such a ridiculous statement. Meidcs got shot very frequently in WW2. Often times it was unintentional (especially in NW Europe), other times it was deliberate policy used to disrupt enemy morale - the Eastern Front and the Pacific theatre of Operations are two very good examples of this. The deliberate targeting of medics by the Russians and the Japanese led to German and Allied medics on the respective fronts removing their insignia and carrying small arms for protection. Americans were also known to shoot medics as well. I recall a story related in Citizen Soldiers of a German Fallshirmjager medic who was stopped by an American roadblock shortly after D-Day with a wounded patient in the car - both Germans were shot by the American troops manning the roadblock.

As to reasons why America lost the Vietnam War, yet won WW2 - you need look no further than television for your answer. Take a look at history. By Christmas 1967, the US military had been telling the American public that they were winning the war, and to a very large extent that was true - the NVA was militarily exhausted and nearly incapable of further fighting. General Giap had one trick left up his sleeve and played it - the 1968 Tet Offensive. Now, I won't go into too much detail except to say that the NVA and the VC rose up all over South Vietnam. Virtually every town and city in RVN was attacked by Communist forces. The American Embassy in Saigon had been captured and held under seige by VC forces for several hours. Can you imagine the blow to public opinion the images of General Westmoreland standing in the American Embassy compound telling the world America was winning, while a pair of VC corpses are at his feet? Keep in mind that Vietnam was a war like no other America had fought in, except the War of Independence. The public didn't understand nonsense about body counts - maps and border lines made sense, and when the TV shows dead enemies hundreds of kilometres behind "the front" they suddenly think the war is lost, no matter what the senior allied commander in theatre says. With the stunning tactical failure of the Tet Offensive, North Vietnam could very easily have been forced to negotiate a cease fire and a permanent end to hostilities had America been able to keep up the pressure for a little while longer. Instead, public opinion in America and elsewhere turned against the war, and North Vietnam was handed a stunning strategic victory over the United States of America.

Now for a radical argument. In a round about sort of way, America did in fact win the Vietnam War. One of the earlier stated aims of the war was to prevent the spread of communism in South East Asia. Discuss.

Jagdverband:

excellant post. why not move the bottom statement to a new topic, and get some bucks for it? Viet Nam really doesnt belong here, but we have two other topics going along the same lines.

Really, its an excellant post.

Well Stalingrad actually doomed the Nazi's to defeat, but it was overall a team effort.

The USA produced and supplied the UK and the Soviets. The Soviets fought till the last man virtually alone, and the UK held on to get USA in the war and to open the second front.

Overall a team effort, if you understand me.

Wht did we win the 2nd world war
Lets face it
The germans were better led
better equipt in amour, guns, aircraft "fighters" submarines
tactically superior
this can be summed up in one word really
NUMBERS or the numbers game as some might call it

We had numbers, strategy, better tech (than Japan), god and the undying patriotism in every Americans heart.

Originally Posted by craig

Wht did we win the 2nd world war
Lets face it
The germans were better led
better equipt in amour, guns, aircraft "fighters" submarines
tactically superior
this can be summed up in one word really
NUMBERS or the numbers game as some might call it

The Generals were much better, fortunately Hitler felt he could run the military and he messed up so many times that the British cancelled a mission to have him killed.