The United States has always been a warlike country. Over the past 240 years since its founding, it has fought more than 200 wars, both large and small, and has enjoyed less than 20 years of peace. However, as the saying goes, there is no way to avoid wet shoes when walking along the river. The most painful lessons the United States has experienced came from wars, especially the Civil War. After this war, Americans were very cautious when dealing with any domestic problems, for fear of causing another big trouble.
Then there is the Vietnam War . The Vietnam War can be said to be one of the most tragically lost wars in the history of the United States, and the lessons are extremely profound. It was also from the Vietnam War that Americans always had to make careful calculations before going to war.
First of all, the Vietnam War can be regarded as the longest war in the history of the United States, and the direct cost of the war was as much as 250 billion US dollars. Once again, after a major defeat in the Vietnam War, the United States at that time fell directly into the "Great Recession" and the "Great Collapse." In the end, the Soviets benefited from the Vietnam War and in turn defeated the Americans. That is to say, the so-called "Soviet offensive and American defensive" era officially began after the Vietnam War.
There are still different opinions on why the Americans launched the Vietnam War. However, no matter how we say the causes of the Vietnam War, they are inseparable from the background of the times, greed and strategic misjudgment.
Background of the times: The terrifying Cold War
The two words Cold War can be said to be well-known to everyone, but as contemporary people, it is difficult for us to understand the cruelty of the Cold War. The so-called "cruel" here refers to all other countries except the United States and the Soviet Union.
Because of the existence of nuclear weapons , during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union tried their best to avoid any form of direct conflict. Not only that, both sides also used their allies as sacrifices as "buffer zones" - except for the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, all countries were battlefields of the Cold War, without exception.
This is the horror of the Cold War: since it is impossible for the Soviet Union and the United States to directly confront each other, both military confrontation and war must take place on the territory of other countries. Throughout the Cold War, the anti-war movement was raging in both Eastern and Western Europe. The reason was that in the context of the Cold War, Europeans were characterized as cannon fodder—and war cannon fodder.
After talking about Europe, the problem in Vietnam can be easily explained. Although there are many countries in the entire Western Europe , there are two "nuclear generals" France and the United Kingdom behind them. This is equivalent to blocking the actions of the Americans and the Soviets: it is okay to engage in an arms race, but don't think about war. Vietnam's geographical location is quite good, and there is no country with nuclear weapons in the entire Indochina Peninsula. This is simply the most ideal battlefield in the minds of Americans.
During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union were tightly bound by the so-called " military-industrial complex ". It was simply impossible not to go to war. Since the battlefield cannot be in Europe, then choose , Asia, Africa, and . As long as there is land and people, we can open fire, right? As soon as World War II ended, the Americans launched the Korean War . The reasoning behind it was actually this: As long as the war did not reach the Soviet Union and the United States, it would be acceptable to the two superpowers.
Of course, there are times when both sides lose control. The Cuban Missile Crisis and are typical examples. This confrontation is actually more terrifying than the actual war. You must know that World War II only lasted for more than ten years, while the Cold War lasted for more than forty years: it was no different from cutting flesh with a dull knife.
Insatiable greed: the United States is pushing for more.
After the end of World War II, Americans can be said to be the most ruthless in making war fortunes. Even a country as powerful as the Soviet Union would have a huge headache when it comes to postwar reconstruction. On the other hand, the Americans don't need reconstruction at all. Moreover, relying on the prestige and wealth accumulated from the war, the Americans also successfully established the infamous " NATO ". To put it bluntly, they completely controlled Western Europe from the military to the economy.
Americans in Asia are also unambiguous. The price of the so-called "let's forget bygones" for Japan's defeat is: During World War II, the Japanese people were cannon fodder for local militarists and plutocrats. By the time of the Cold War, the entire Japanese archipelago , from traffickers and pawns to plutocratic emperors, were all human shields of the United States. In a sense, it could be regarded as a kind of "equality for all living beings."
However, because Japan was relatively close to the Soviet Union, the Americans at that time were just showing off on the Sea of Japan. They would never dare to fight in the Pacific .
Vietnam was more unlucky. It was first colonized by the French and then invaded by the Japanese during World War II. The world war finally came to an end, and the former sovereign country's "reflection" (almost at the same time as the end of World War II, the Vietnamese went to war with the French) and the outbreak of the "Cold War" - it was as miserable as it could be.
If you look at the map carefully, you will find that almost the entire country of Vietnam is stuck on the most important routes. This kind of place has always been crowded with people. The Japanese wanted it, the French wanted it, the Americans and the Soviets wanted it even more.
For the United States at that time, it had already "captured" Japan and South Korea in Asia, and it was almost pushing the frontline of the struggle into the face of the Soviet Union. But this is not enough, Americans also want to get involved in Malacca . On the one hand, it can occupy key shipping routes, and on the other hand, it can also threaten our new China and India. You must know that despite all the unhappiness between China and India during the Cold War, everyone was still clear-headed on the major issues of right and wrong. China and India both kept themselves clean at that time and took the initiative to draw a clear line between the United States and the Soviet Union.
But Americans don’t think so. They have already coveted the Indian Ocean and Malacca Strait . In addition, before the Vietnam War, the overall strength of the United States was stronger than that of the Soviet Union. If it is greedy, it will be uncontrollable, right?
Strategic Misjudgment: Serious Underestimation of the Enemy
Before the Vietnam War, underestimating the opponent could be said to be an old habit of Americans. When Napoleon was king in Europe, Americans made a big mistake, thinking that the British Empire was declining. As a result, in the War of 1812, even their hometown and the White House were burned down by the British.
The same was true for World War II. At first, Americans happily made war profits, but as a result, the outbreak of the Pearl Harbor incident made everyone dumbfounded. The Japanese almost reached Australia and it took the Americans to react. This is especially true in Europe. The Soviets worked hard to hold back almost all the main forces of the German army on the Eastern Front. As a result, the Americans were forced to launch the "Ardennes Counterattack" by Nazi Germany because they underestimated the enemy. You must know that the Ardennes Forest was the route they took to attack France. Making the same mistake twice has nothing to do with the Germans' combat effectiveness. This is simply the result of the US military's excessive underestimation of the enemy at that time.
In fact, during the Kennedy period, the US government was relatively self-aware. After all, if you can't handle such a big Cuba at home, don't think about Vietnam. At this time, the attitude of the United States towards Vietnam is nothing more than watching the French laugh. If you have spare time, support some weapons to South Vietnam . It is still impossible to do such a thing personally.
But in the Johnson period, the situation changed. Johnson was extremely autocratic and rarely listened to the advice of any of his staff. People would go to war in South Asia even if their own backyards were on fire. Moreover, the US military at that time developed a kind of "obsessed self-confidence" because of World War II and the Korean War. He thinks that the high mountains and rainforests in Vietnam are not a problem at all. After all, he has seen them during World War II and the Korean War.
As a result, the Americans took the initiative to engage in a " Beibu Gulf Incident" and were directly involved in the Vietnam War. The war was a veritable black hole, and the careless Americans who underestimated the enemy were taught a severe lesson by North Vietnam .
Conclusion
The reason why Americans suffered a disastrous defeat in the Vietnam War was their own problems. Even now Americans admit this - the Vietnam War was a "war that should not have happened."
But admitting mistakes does not mean reforming. The American way of reflection is: the reason why the Vietnam War was lost was because the cost of the war was not calculated well and too many people were involved, so we still have to persist in fighting. As a result, the same script was played again in Afghanistan .
In fact, it is not just the Vietnam War, all wars should not happen. I only hope that the world will be peaceful as soon as possible and never have war.
