Examine the failure of U.S. Gen. William Westmoreland's strategy against the Viet Cong's guerrilla warfare
The search-and-destroy tactics of U.S. ground troops proved ineffective in the fluid guerrilla war waged by the Viet Cong. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: In Vietnam, General Westmoreland's strategy was to fight a war of attrition. He called it "search and destroy." American forces would search out the enemy, make contact, and then, with superior numbers and firepower, destroy him.
But Vietnam was a guerrilla war--with no fronts, no distinct lines of supply and communication, no massing of enemy troops, no conclusive battles. Just finding and identifying the enemy became frustrating and deadly.
The Viet Cong were at home. They could pick the time and place to engage American forces; they could inflict heavy casualties on the Americans and then fade away into the bush, or into the civilian population.
But Vietnam was a guerrilla war--with no fronts, no distinct lines of supply and communication, no massing of enemy troops, no conclusive battles. Just finding and identifying the enemy became frustrating and deadly.
The Viet Cong were at home. They could pick the time and place to engage American forces; they could inflict heavy casualties on the Americans and then fade away into the bush, or into the civilian population.
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