Why did the USA fail to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people?
We know that when the Americans found guerrilla warfare extremely difficult. We know that the soldiers
found it almost impossible to identify Vietcong soldiers as they wore civilian clothing so the result was
suspicion, mass interrogation and arrests. If a villager was suspected to have helped the Vietcong the entire
village would be burned to the ground. The US soldiers assumed that everyone in the village was their
enemy so it was impossible to build up any sort of trust.
As you can see from the two pictures it would be
impossible to identify friend from foe.
The methods used by the US soldiers lost them
the support of the local population. Most
villagers saw the Americans as invaders who were
not welcome in Vietnam. In addition to this, the
US tactic of dropping chemicals like napalm and
Agent Orange killed thousands of innocent
villagers which caused the population to hate the
US soldiers. The result of this hatred was that the
Vietcong found the villagers would help them by
informing them of the movements of the soldiers,
by hiding them or by providing them with food.
The Vietcong also treated the villagers very
respectfully which certainly helped.
The Vietcong wanted the support of the peasants and the soldiers had strict rules to follow when they
entered the villages. For example, the Vietcong were ordered:
Not to do what is likely to damage the land and crops or spoil the houses and belongings of the people.
Not to insist on buying or borrowing what the people are not willing to sell or lend.
Never to break their word.
To help the villagers in their daily work (harvesting, fetching firewood, carrying water, sewing, etc.).
The Vietcong also used propaganda. They told the villagers that the Americans were invaders who wanted
the land for themselves which created mistrust and suspicion between the villagers and the US soldiers.
The Vietcong tactic was to give captured land to the peasants and they often promised to protect the village
from attack. The villagers were afraid that the US soldiers would take the land away from them for good so
were reluctant to help them especially when they knew that the US soldiers would burn their village to the
ground if they suspected them. Many villagers would have been afraid that if they were seen to be helping
the US soldiers the Vietcong could turn against them.
Without the support of the Vietnamese people the Americans could not win the war. The Americans needed
to show the people that they were the better option, that they would protect them and offer them care. It
was vital that the US soldiers won the support of the population.
In previous conflicts there had been a definite front line but the Vietnam conflict was different. The
Vietcong were a guerrilla force that moved from place to place. Therefore, the American relied upon the
support of the local people for information and for the locals not to be helping their enemy. If the
population turned against the US soldiers then the war would be lost. The Vietnam was a fight for the
support of the local people as well as being against the Vietcong.