What was vietcong strategy of the war

On January 31 , the Vietcong changed tactics from their usual guerilla warfare strategy. They took control of parts of Saigon and other cities, having most success in Vietnam's ancient capital, Hue.

One group managed to blow a hole in the walls around the US Embassy in Saigon. The Vietcong did not hold onto any of the territory gained for long. They suffered many casualites and the Tet Offensive was a military defeat for them. The offensive failed but has been viewed as a turning point. Johnson and others, however, read the situation differently. Johnson announced that the bombing of North Vietnam would cease above the 20th parallel and placed a limit on U.

Johnson also attempted to set parameters for peace talks, but it would be several more years before these came to fruition. Within the United States, protests against continued involvement in Vietnam intensified. On March 31, , Johnson announced that he would not seek a second term as president. The job of finding a way out of Vietnam was left to the next U. This often meant soldiers were easy targets for Vietcong guerrilla attacks as the Vietcong were far more at home in the jungle than the American soldiers.

They used jets to dump napalm, a chemical that burnt skin down to the bone, on suspected Vietcong strongholds, and Agent Orange, an ultra-strong defoliant, was used to destroy the jungle cover. Helicopters were used to deploy search for and destroy guerrilla combatants. The Vietcong treated the peasants in the villages with respect, sometimes even helping them with their workloads in the fields.

They needed the peasants to give them food, shelter and hiding places. Pagination or Media Count: Abstract: The author analyzes and classifies the strategy and tactics of the Viet Cong VC according to a typology that includes encirclement hold-and- strike hit-and-run including surprise attack attack at opportune moment others including raids, infiltration, defensive tactics for small contingents occupying a large area, war of two fronts in which guerrillas conduct raids behind enemy lines, attack-and-hold action.