Vietnam- America's biggest failure after Afghanistan. But we're betting
there's plenty you didn't know about this very controversial conflict.
50. The roots of the conflict began long before America's involvement, with the
French colonization and exploitation of Vietnam. During World War II, Ho Chi Minh rose to power by
forming the Viet Minh, which fought to repel the Japanese invaders. After the Japanese withdrew at
the end of WWII, Ho Chi Minh fought to depose the puppet emperor set up by the French government.
49. French backed southern forces were defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954,
leading to a treaty that split Vietnam along the 17th Parallel and the end of French colonial rule.
48. In 1956 the two countries would hold a national vote determining if the nation would
be reunited as one- however, the French-backed Ngo Dinh Diem pushed the emperor out of power
in South Vietnam and refused to accept a reunification under Communist terms.
47. In 1955, the Europeans sold the United States a bunch of crap infamously known as
the 'domino theory', stating that if one nation fell to communism,
others quickly would too. The British exploited American fears to get them to interfere in Iran
and re-establish British control of the oil industry there, and the French used
Americans to back up their colonial ambitions to reunify Vietnam under their indirect control.
46. With American money, training, and equipment, Diem cracked down on communist
supporters in the south, arresting, torturing and executing as many as 100,000 people.
45. The American-backed brutal regime in the south directly created the Viet Cong insurgency,
and drove many of the population to directly support anti-government rebels.
44. The rising insurgency only led to more brutal crackdowns by the government, with
more mass incarcerations, summary executions of suspected communist sympathizers,
and the torture of prisoners. 43. Many members of the rising
insurgency were not necessarily pro-Communist, but simply wished to overthrow Diem's brutal regime.
42. By 1959 the National Liberation Front, made up of both communists and non-communists,
was waging open war against the South Vietnamese military.
41. At the start of the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy dramatically ramped up American
support for Diem's regime, sending even more military advisors, money, and equipment. The
US equipment and money was Diem's only lifeline, and without it his regime would have collapsed.
40. The term Viet Cong was coined in 1960,
standing for Vietnam Cong-san, or Vietnamese Communists.
39. In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy sent
attack and transport helicopters to South Vietnam along with 400 US special forces,
authorizing direct military action in Vietnam for the first time.
Now that we've reached the start of direct American involvement in the war,
you may be surprised about the facts behind key people and incidents throughout the conflict.
38. Ngo Dinh Diem was a catholic, and heavily favored pro-catholic stances which made him an
outcast in the overwhelmingly Buddhist state. His increasing disapproval with the people and
alienation from them eventually led the United States to back a coup by his own military to
remove him from power, resulting in his death and the establishment of yet another brutal dictator.
This would lead to a cycle of unpopular US-backed dictators that oppressed the people
and fueled the Viet Cong insurgency. Perhaps nothing about Vietnam is
as controversial as Agent Orange though. 37. Agent Orange was actually being used by the US
two years before its official involvement in the war. A defoliant, the chemical compound
was supposed to destroy the vegetation that provided cover and food for Viet Cong rebels.
36. Operation Ranch Hand was America's efforts to deny rebel forces food and shelter,
and made use of millions of tons of herbicides to defoliate a whopping 3.1 million hectares
of forest. Agent Orange would be the most popular of the herbicides used, and traces
its history back to the British who used it in their guerilla war against Malaysia rebels.
35. Operation Ranch Hand is estimated to have affected as many as 3 million people,
with an estimated 1 million people disabled or suffering severe health problems. The American
operation directly led to the UN passing United Nations General Assembly Resolution 31/72,
and the Environmental Modification Convention. The resolution prohibits the use of environmental
modification techniques by the military or hostile actors that can cause long-lasting harm
or damage to individuals by the modification of the environment.
34. Exposure to US herbicides led to a massive surge in deformities in children long after their
use was ended in 1971. The most common symptoms included mental disabilities, cleft palate,
gross deformities, and extra fingers and toes. The use of Agent Orange and other herbicides
nearly tripled the risk of deformities for babies in Vietnam as compared to the rest of the world.
33. US soldiers were told the herbicides were harmless, and “not to worry” about potential
exposure. Despite this, soldiers began to suspect the herbicides were directly responsible for the
growing number of miscarriages and birth defects back home. In 1977, veterans began to sue the
US government, but by 1993 only 486 victims had been compensated, despite nearly 40,000 claims.
Agent Orange was tragic, but one leader felt personally betrayed by America’s hypocrisy.
32. Ho Chi Minh was personally devastated after hearing news that the US was entering
the conflict in support of the French. He had studied American history and its Declaration of
Independence, and was confident that if America entered the war at all,
it would do so on behalf of the people fighting to free themselves from a colonial oppressor.
31. After the end of World War II Vietnam was briefly independent, with Ho Chi Minh
as president. In a nod to the United States, he used part of the Declaration of Independence in
his own independence speech, quoting, “All men are created equal. The Creator has given us certain
inviolable rights, the right to life, the right to be free, and the right to achieve happiness.”
In Vietnam death was around every corner, but two world leaders
would meet the same fate within weeks. 30. President John F. Kennedy and South
Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem were both killed within 3 weeks of each other, and both were assassinated.
29. Kennedy allegedly wanted all US troops out of Vietnam by 1965,
and instead sought to support a non-communist South Vietnam through financial means and the
training of its military by US advisors. His strategy revolved around using strategic bombing
to force the North to end its hostilities against the south and support of the Viet Cong movement.
Aside from this however, Kennedy had no clear idea of how to actually leave Vietnam-
mirroring the US's involvement in Afghanistan nearly 50 years later.
28. The US fabricated the Gulf of Tonkin Incident to gain support for entering the war.
While the original August 2nd attack against the US destroyer Maddox really happened, the follow-on
naval battle of August 4th which directly led to the US entering the war never really happened.
27. Well, it sort of happened- though it was completely one-sided. Bad weather left
the Maddox and an accompanying destroyer with only radar and sonar to establish enemy targets,
and both claimed intermittent targets they were sure were North Vietnamese torpedo boats on the
attack. For four hours the destroyers fired on these targets- which were later revealed to almost
certainly be weather phenomenon and anxious sonar operators mistaking natural sounds as enemy ships.
26. As news of the attack reached Washington, Congress began drafting the Gulf of Tonkin
resolution which would allow the President to use all force necessary to end the spread of Communism
in south-east Asia. Several senators however raised issues with the report, and asked for
more time to investigate the incident and confirm US naval vessels had actually been under attack.
They were ignored and the rest is history. Vietnam’s real tragedy however was the
fundamental misunderstanding of Asian culture and politics by the west.
25. Fears of a Soviet-Chinese-Vietnamese alliance which would throw the west out of Southeast asia
were largely unfounded and a result of ignorance. The Vietnamese and Chinese people were allies of
necessity only, and had simmering tensions that have lasted for centuries. There is no
indication that had the North been allowed to unify the country under communist rule that a
follow-on takeover of south-east asia and its fall to Soviet control would have ever happened.
24. The US was foolishly painting all communists with the same brush,
assuming they would be bonded by a common ideology against the west. This is especially tragic in
light of Ho Chi Minh's initial affections for the United States, and the fact that
years later Communist China would turn from the Soviet Union and embrace relations with America.
During the war, even communist allies were hardly friends.
23. The North Vietnamese were supplied with equipment from the Soviet Union,
which was shipped to them through China. The Chinese took advantage
of the situation by swiping Soviet made weapons and replacing them with cheap
Chinese knock-offs. This directly led to the deaths of untold thousands of Northern
soldiers as their weapons fell apart or malfunctioned in the middle of a battle.
22. To make sure the Chinese didn't swipe
sensitive and high-value systems like radars and air defense missiles,
Soviet advisors were not only dispatched to assist the North in setting them up, but to babysit the
equipment on its trip through China and ensure it wasn't stolen and replaced with inferior copies.
21. Most Viet Cong fighters cared little for Communism, and simply wanted to overthrow a
southern government they saw as brutal, inept, and corrupt. The accusations were largely true,
with the south funneling money to the large cities and all but ignoring the countryside.
Extra-judicial arrests, torture, and seizure of property were common amongst
the laundry list of petty dictators that kept popping up in the south.
20. Troubled by accusations of extreme torture by the South, several American senators paid
a visit to a South Vietnamese prison and were shocked to discover the infamous 'tiger cages',
holes in the ground with barred openings up top where prisoners were kept. They witnessed
direct evidence of torture despite southern officials attempting to hide it, but upon
return to the US were fearful of growing anti-war sentiment and chose to remain silent about it.
These next facts about the Viet Cong may just startle you.
19. Most Viet Cong fighters were as terrified of the jungle as the Americans.
Few Viet Cong actually came from jungle regions, and were largely inexperienced
surviving and living in thick jungle. Tiger attacks were also so frequent, that men would
routinely disappear without a trace in the middle of the night. Snakes and diseases carried by rats
and mosquitoes were also extremely common, making life miserable for a Viet Cong rebel.
18. Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops were astonished when meeting Black American soldiers,
whom they had heard rumors of but assumed were a myth.
17. Many Viet Cong were more afraid of living in the haphazard tunnel networks they built
than of American bombs. The tunnels were built by amateurs, and suffered from many extreme dangers.
Poor ventilation could lead to asphyxiation, and shoddy construction would trigger collapses that
could kill dozens of men. When it rained, if a tunnel wasn't properly constructed it could
lead to flash flooding, and venomous spiders, centipedes, and snakes were a constant concern.
16. Despite the constant threat of death, Viet Cong tunnel complexes
could be stunningly large. Some had entire armories, barracks, kitchens, and hospitals,
with multiple entrances and emergency escapes. While the US tried many tactics to destroy
these tunnels and their occupants, the only tried and true method was the use of 'tunnel rats'.
To take on the Viet Cong tunnels, the US had only one weapon.
15. Tunnel rats were an all-volunteer force. They also had to be shorter than average to maneuver in
the cramped quarters, and were armed only with a knife, flashlight, a sidearm and a gas mask.
The tight quarters made it impossible to effectively use a rifle, and a grenade
would threaten to collapse the tunnel and bury both friendly and enemy soldiers. Many times the
fighting resorted to brutal hand-to-hand combat at extremely close and very tight quarters.
14. To defend themselves, the Viet Cong booby trapped many of their tunnels.
Tunnel rats would often face pitfall traps with sharpened bamboo stakes at the bottom,
covered in excrement so as to ensure infection. Other times a tunnel rat would trigger a trap that
dropped venomous snakes or centipedes on them from above. Tunnels could also be engineered
to easily flood certain sections with either gas or water, drowning or asphyxiation tunnel rats.
13. The infamous tiger traps built by the Viet Cong and depicted in books and tv were often not
meant to kill or maim American soldiers, but to destroy marauding tigers that were a direct threat
to the safety of jungle-dwelling Viet Cong. When it comes to atrocities in Vietnam,
the US unfairly gets all the blame. 12. Despite the United States and South Vietnam
holding blame for war crimes, the North was notorious for targeting civilians in its attacks-
specially hospitals and medical areas. Both NVA and Viet Cong forces also frequently engaged in
the slaughter of villagers, for the exact same reasons as the South and the US- not knowing if
they were pro-American or communist sympathizers. Now you’ll be surprised to learn
about the weapons of Vietnam. 11. When the US first entered Vietnam in force,
American infantry was immediately overwhelmed by superior NVA firepower. Still using the M-14
rifle, US troops withered under the blistering fire of the AK-47. The M-16 was fast-tracked
into development, leading to serious problems with the first few iterations of the weapon.
To make matters worse, the weapon had been falsely billed as “self-cleaning”,
which is not only absolutely ludicrous, but led to massive malfunctions from fouled weapons.
10. US troops hated the M16 so much that they would steal AK-47s from dead enemy
soldiers and hoard their ammunition. US special forces especially loved the AK-47,
as it allowed them to confuse enemy soldiers under fire from the distinctive sounding weapon.
This led many troops to not fire back for fear of a friendly fire incident,
giving US special forces a massive advantage. As bad as troops had it on the ground,
Vietnam was not the Air Force’s proudest moment. 9. The North Vietnamese Air Force was objectively
superior to the US. America's top ace only had six kills by the end of the war,
with North Vietnam's top ace having nine kills. The US only had five aces in the entire war, while
the NVAF had 17. Only US overmatch in equipment and numbers allowed it to win the air war.
8. US fighter pilots were wholly unprepared for the war in Vietnam's skies,
and were being shot down at an alarming rate as the war began. This was largely
because traditional dogfighting tactics were no longer being taught to US fighter pilots,
in preference for the use of high tech long-range air to air missiles. The skyrocketing casualties
amongst American aviators led to the establishment of the Top Gun program,
which focused on teaching dogfighting techniques and remains to this day.
7. The US lost a whopping 3.744 planes,
5,607 helicopters, and 578 UAVs during the course of the war.
6. One US plane was so terrible that it forced the US Air Force to immediately
retire it shortly after the start of the war. The F-105B Thunderchief lasted only six
years before being pulled off frontline service. The plane performed so poorly
that it remains the only US aircraft ever retired for being so terrible at its job.
But the US proved a tactical genius in at least one area.
5. The Vietnam War saw the first widespread use of the helicopter to directly support infantry.
The US literally wrote the book on air assault operations in Vietnam, with the widespread use
of air-inserted infantry, often catching enemy formations completely off guard.
4. American forces were rarely ever defeated during the entire conflict, winning almost
every battle they engaged in. Despite this, the US lost the strategic war, proving that tactical
victories are meaningless without political ones. A lesson the US still hasn't learned.
3. America sabotaged its own chances at winning the war even from the onset.
Massive bombing campaigns that crippled North Vietnam were often canceled out
of fear of prompting a Soviet or Chinese counter-invasion. While the US's goals was
to cripple North Vietnam without directly destroying it so it would negotiate peace,
North Vietnam simply used the lull between bombings to rebuild and consolidate its forces.
2. North Vietnam was the most dangerous place on earth for a pilot during the war.
The nation had thousands of anti-aircraft batteries supplied by the Soviet Union.
Despite this, electronic countermeasures employed by American B-52 bombers kept them largely
safe from enemy SAMs, and American 'Wild Weasels'- planes tasked with directly
destroying AAA sites- helped suppress enemy defenses for other air assets.
1. Had the United States ever sent ground forces to secure the Ho Chi Minh trail,
the Viet Cong movement would have completely collapsed. Out of fear of expanding the
conflict though, the US relied on raids and air assets to bomb the expansive Ho Chi Minh trail,
which ran through Laos and Cambodia. These would prove to be largely ineffective
in stopping the flow of manpower and supplies into South Vietnam.
Now go watch 50 insane cold war facts that will shock you, or click this other video instead!