Bog #33 Vietnam was a Military Victory for the US
Could the US have won the Vietnam War if we didn't have so many rules?
Former Physician (1988–2025) Dec 27, 2025
“Yes.
One perfect solution to end Vietnam War rested on the aftermath of the Tet Offensive 1968. Vo Nguyen Giáp, the architect of the campaign, failed to anticipate the American soldier for not celebrating Vietnamese New Year. And only half of ARVN military personnel went to Holiday Vacation. Giáp also miscalculated the strength of guerilla Vietcong in conventional battlefield. Thus, all Vietcong force of 100,000 was decimated along with their shadow government of intelligence.
Giáp did not learn from defeat of the battle of Iadrang between US Air Calvary and his North Vietnamese forces. The American won the battle despite being outnumbered by 10 to 1. Thus it explained the defeat of Battle of Khe Sanh (10,000 NVA were decimated) and Hue (half of 8,000 NVA were killed). Giáp wanted to make symbolic victory out of Khe Sanh as American Dien Bien Phu and occupied Hue, the former imperial capital. Giáp tried again with Mini Tet 1969. As evidence of all the POW were Northerners filling in for all Vietcong units.
This should tell USA and South Vietnamese that American Military is superior to North Vietnamese and no more Viet Cong to compete.
Nixon’s Vietnamization was a mistake (it was proven in Campaign Lam Son 719 where the ARVN were defeated by NVA is Tchepone). To end the war, If the American and ARVN realized this opportunity, the American and ARVN would invade the north through Ho Chi Minh Trail built by the North supported by the bombardment along to North Vietnamese coast from Navy ship from South China Sea and the dike of Red River (that would flood North Vietnam). This would be a victory to end Vietnam War.
No Mini Tet 1969 offensive. No 1972 Invasion. No Tchepone. And no 1975 Fall of Saigon. As a consequence, no Ethnic Chinese persecution and eventual expulsion. No 10 millions Boat People. No 4 millions perished in the sea. No poverty from Socialism.
But yet, American invasion of North Vietnam could not be done because of the rule of limited war and most of all, the American government lost the will to fight despite victory in the battlefield.
Interesting enough, American military was never defeated in any battles. North Vietnamese lost every battle facing the American mighty military to the point that Vo Nguyen Giáp was demoted by being promoted to Defense Minister , taking out of the battlefield. 1972 campaign cost North Vietnamese 100,000 men. The North Vietnamese Politburo realized that the Hero of Dien Bien Phu was in name only since the battle itself were commanded by Communist Chinese Generals who loaned the Vietminh the captured American artillery. The Chinese made sure to safeguard the artillery and took back after Dien Bien Phu was over. China published the White Paper asserting that fact. But it was hindsight.”
Note: per John Shoemaker, as a result of a long war that was full of lies by politicians and military generals, the war was surrendered for political reasons - not military reasons, even as the enemy cared not for the price they paid.