(From writer Jerry Pournelle's website)
On Defeat in Viet Nam
Over the weekend I heard some radio talk show hosts talking about the US defeat in Viet Nam. This annoyed me enough that I wasted time sending them email, none of which received a reply, but it did cause me to copy the following out of Col. Harry G. Summers On Strategy:
…the North Vietnamese evidently believed that by spring of 1972 their strategy had succeeded. They believed that the United States was no longer capable of supporting South Vietnam. They then selected a new center of gravity – the destruction of South Vietnamese Armed Forces – and once again massed their forces to assume the tactical offensive. On 29 March 1972 North Vietnam launched what was to become known as the Eastertide Offensive. It becan with an armored attack across the DMV. Leaving two divisions on Laos and one as a strategic reserve, North Vietnam committed some 12 divisions – a total of about 150,000 men – to the attack on South Vietnam. Supported by tanks, heavy artillery and mobile antiaircraft units, they had some initial success. But they had severely miscalculated both the fighting ability of the South Vietnamese Army and the ability of the United States to react. As President Nixon said, “The bastards have never been bombed like they’re going to be bombed this time.” By July 1972, the North Vietnamese had reverted to the tactical defensive. Their attempt to mass had proven disastrous – again over 100,000 battle deaths.
Note that this was in 1972, and it was an invasion from the North, not some kind of insurgency or guerrilla warfare or civil war. This was flat out invasion by World War II sized forces, equipped with Soviet trucks and armor and ammunition; and the result was total defeat for the North (many fewer than 50,000 of those sent south ever got home again) and a total VICTORY for the United States and our South Vietnamese allies.
Why would anyone call this a defeat for the United States?
Because, of course, in 1975 the North did it again. Not an insurgency, not a guerrilla war, not a civil war, but a flat out invasion by more than 12 divisions, a World War II sized operation; and this time, instead of supporting our South Vietnamese allies, the United States, on orders from the Congress of the United States, did not give any air support and limited our materiel aid to twenty (20) cartridges and two (2) hand grenades for each South Vietnamese soldier. South Viet Nam accordingly fell, the United States bugged out with the pathetic scenes of escapes from the roof of the embassy and pushing helicopters off the decks of carriers to make room for incoming. We bugged out, and the Reeducation Camps, Boat People, Killing Fields, and other horrors began.
But we were not defeated. We withdrew on orders from the Congress. That wasn't defeat.
The last time we engaged in Viet Nam we, without our South Vietnamese allies, won a great victory.
Breaking an alliance with phased withdrawal is not defeat. It only feels that way. Perhaps it ought to feel that way -- but our troops were ready to engage the advancing North Vietnamese armored divisions. They didn't cut and run. They were ordered to stand down and watch the slaughter of their former allies and friends and soldiers they had trained.
God help us. God forgive us.
And the man most responsible for this JFnK almost became POTUS.
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NEVER FORGET
After WATERGATE threw complete control of Congress over to the Democrats, all funding for the South Vietnamese Military to fight for its own Freedom with was cut-off at the knees =
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
The Question now is,
...as a sudden 'Deja Vu' Democrat controlled Congress hits the Free right between the eyes once more:
Quo Vadis, a Free Iraq..?
Quo Vadis, a Free USA...?
(Quo Vadis = "Where Go You..?" in Latin)
Signed:.."ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer
Veteran-1st Major Battles of the Vietnam War 1965-66
(Vietnam Photo Essay)
http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set1.htm
http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_collection.htm
NEVER FORGET