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Post by hornet32 on May 16, 2014 21:11:38 GMT -5
Prior to tet the enemy had to move its people into position some times they had to bring on an action in order to conceal their movement and during the time frame between Jan. 1st and the 12-14 th there were a number of minor engagements then silence , nothing , nada , patrols were sent out no contact , no sign , then Jan.31st the Lunar New Year 1968 the riddle was answered , tet offensive the crack of doom .
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Post by Swampy on May 16, 2014 22:18:12 GMT -5
And the VC got destroyed.
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Post by hornet32 on May 17, 2014 10:29:43 GMT -5
Problems the enemy experienced was the hit and run do as much damage as possible then pull back to their sanctuaries in Cambodia was not working because they could not break contact with the Americans the Americans had all the air power and could establish blocking units long before the enemy could escape across the border this forced the enemy to concentrate and fight their way out which was a losing situation in the end the enemy lost between 110,000 and 120.000 men .
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Post by Swampy on May 17, 2014 18:48:50 GMT -5
We should've gone into the Parrot's Beak and wiped that nest of vipers clean.
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Post by hornet32 on May 19, 2014 20:08:21 GMT -5
General Giap ( jape )was as good a General there was in Vietnam his tet offensive was well planned he knew there would be loses acceptial loses , Gaip got a wakeup call he wasn't prepared for the Americans reacted much faster than expected , Hue a important City was only held by a few battalions of Marines who were tough but heavily out numbered , the NVA raised hell in HUE then when they prepared to pull out they couldn't there were brig's of the 101st and 1st Cav blocking them in , the Marines were the anvil the others the hammer .
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Post by Swampy on May 19, 2014 21:26:29 GMT -5
Giap knew he couldn't win; his strategy was to wear down the Americans' will to fight.
If LBJ had focused more on winning than getting out, none of the Boat People tragedy would have happened.
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Post by hornet32 on May 20, 2014 20:51:50 GMT -5
If the Republic of South Vietnam had carried their share of the load there wouldn't have been any boat people , LBJ was what he was and a President he wasn't he was in way over his head , this Country was in way over its head .
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Post by Swampy on May 20, 2014 21:14:09 GMT -5
If the Republic of South Vietnam had carried their share of the load there wouldn't have been any boat people , LBJ was what he was and a President he wasn't he was in way over his head , this Country was in way over its head . The issue is not the numbers, because the US had Australia and South Korea on its side. The issue was destroying the North Vietnamese will and ability to fight, and that meant carrying the war to their territory and destroying all Soviet arms stocks that came aboard Haiphong. |
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Post by hornet32 on May 20, 2014 21:25:06 GMT -5
OZ had one brigade in Vietnam 4000 men , Canada had 20,000 American men evading the draft , Canada was a big problem that could have been solved if they went to war with Vietnam they could have drafted the draft dodgers
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Post by Sir John on May 20, 2014 22:21:00 GMT -5
Actually, I think we topped 5000 a couple of times.
Attached units of Armour etc I think. And a Squadron or two of English Electric 'Canberra' (=US Martin B57?) bombers and Caribou.
NZ had a platoon or thereabouts, mainly cooks and mechanics.
SJ
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Post by hornet32 on May 20, 2014 23:16:55 GMT -5
A brigade has to have its service components so 5000 could be right .
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Post by Sir John on May 20, 2014 23:53:06 GMT -5
I had a mate years ago that was a chronic hypochondriac. His Dr told him once he had the thickest med file he had ever seen.
He was on a Royal Australian Navy destroyer that bombarded the VN coast a couple of times, when we had to get the Yanks out of trouble. He had his claim in for PTSD of course, and I will bet a zillion he got it!
SJ
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Post by hornet32 on May 21, 2014 9:53:03 GMT -5
Yeah it was easier to cop a PTSD back then then now , you got 340,000 standing in line for PTSD claims today because they were separated from their mommy for six months .
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Post by Sir John on May 21, 2014 15:04:50 GMT -5
Tet,
"separated from their mommy for six months ."
I know I am an insensitive slob but I am reminded of the situation in 1938 Britain. Many men there could see plainly the writing on the wall and knew that war was inevitable. They signed up, and soon found themselves in India and Singapore, and we all know what happened to the blokes in Singapore. Two months of hopeless combat and then 3 1/2 years of hell in the camps. The ones in India went to Burma and longest land campaign in WW2. All of these men did not see home for near SEVEN years.
My FiL joined in early 1940 and his unit did not get back home until early 1946, after Tobruk, Syria, and 3 1/2 years in the islands up north.
No such thing as PTSD in those days. Most came home, got a job, found a wife, and started making babies.
In my never humble opinion, PTSD is a fabrication of the head shrinkers looking for a BIG fee!
SJ
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Post by hornet32 on May 21, 2014 16:06:08 GMT -5
Different mindset back then also the difference is 54 and 247 .
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