It was for the containment of communism that the United States played a vital role in the Cold war. Thereafter, the United States saw the rise of communism in North Vietnam and were determined to keep it contained. Realizing their neighbors reverting to communism, South Vietnam made the first move starting a Civil war within Vietnam which marked the beginning of the Vietnam war which lasted from 1955 to 1975. As was their norm, the United States quickly intervened Vietnam's Civil war and despite their tremendous efforts, they fell short due to the lack of support from home, the Vietnamese’ familiarity with their own land, and their successful effort to destroy American morale during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
One of the main reasons why the United States’ loss in Vietnam was inevitable was because of the lack of support from home and the
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The My Lai Massacre, in which the United States open fired at innocent women and children was due to their frustration and unfamiliarity with the Vietnam land (Vietnam War Reference). Since the American soldiers were unfamiliar with the Vietnam land, they did not know where the Viet Cong were hiding. Many times, as soldiers were on their missions, they would get trapped into unexpected booby traps. Additionally, Vietnamese soldiers had a different style of fighting. They used guerilla tactics in which they used small mobile forces to fight against the United States. The United States was not prepared for this style of fighting as they were in masses (American). Thirdly, just as the United States fought long and hard against Britain for the freedom of their own country, the Vietnamese were fighting with a moral purpose (Bicking). With their foreign style of fighting and one-mindedness, North Vietnam was able to prolong the war, causing protests to increase back home because of the amount of