History 1810E Lecture Notes - Lecture 30: Total War, Guerrilla Warfare
21 Jul 2016
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Document Summary
Johnson wanted to keep the war limited but a total war for the. Americans had lots of advanced military technology compared to the vietnamese; vietnamese had home field advantage fighting for national survival. Vietnamese carved out an elaborate network of tunnels would allow them to move undetected, avoid american bombings, could lay ambushes to get the americans, etc. Vietnamese used the landscape to level the playing field. Vietnamese set booby traps point was to maim them (not kill) and slow them down. Guerilla warfare was designed to force the americans to fight in close quarters and not just use their far advanced weapons. Escalated the fighting but couldn"t finish the job. Popularity began to wane due to this. People in the south just wanted an end to the fighting. Initial leadership of nlf many ended up dying or disabled; some joined the south vietnamese government.
