Experiences of Allied soldiers in the Vietnam War

 

The allied soldiers who fought in the battle of the Vietnam War were the Americans and Australians. For the Australian military, it was longest period of time that Australia had played a role in the war.

The Allied soldiers came into Vietnam with simple minded thoughts that they were in Vietnam to prevent communism. The Allies simply believed that it was a black and white war, a war between right and wrong. In saying so, they had underestimated the North Vietnamese because they thought the war was going to be a breeze with their advanced technology. But they were wrong, the Tet offensive and North Vietnamese merely used basic tactics, but they were able to beat the Allies.

The Tet Offensive took place on the 30^th of January in 1968. This event was important because the North Vietnamese employed the basic tactic of surprise to simply attack the Allies.  The Allies were greatly surprised because this was a day that the Vietnamese celebrated the traditional Lunar New Year, and thought that no one would attack. This event impacted greatly on the Allies’ self-esteem, and took them a week to grab hold of control in Saigon once again. The My Lai Massacre was an event that demonstrated the Allies as unhuman beings. Instead of protecting their territory, the Allies went on search and destroy missions, killing and murdering all those in their paths.

Also taking into consideration, the hot climate in Vietnam made it difficult for the allies to adapt and it was harder to attack because of the unfavourable heat. The allied soldiers also had to deal with surprise attacks/ booby traps from the Viet Cong from arbitrary locations.

Also taking into consideration, the hot climate in Vietnam made it difficult for the allies to adapt and it was harder to attack because of the unfavourable heat. The allied soldiers also had to deal with surprise attacks/ booby traps from the Viet Cong from arbitrary locations.