Step 3: in each row of column 3, draw some scales to show which way the balance falls for this quality. Did the USA or the Viet Cong have the advantage?

1. Now think about the overall picture - how the strengths and weaknesses work together.

a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
The US had a huge advantage in certain areas, for instance in shear numbers the Viet Cong were way out numbered, or in technology or amount of supplies. In all of these things the US had, with out a doubt the advantage. But in such things as knowing the land on which they fought or having a battle tactic that was unusual and hard to counter attack, the Viet Cong had the advantage.

b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
I think that one major quality that determined the success or failure of either side was the will of the soldiers to fight and to kill. Both sides were very determined but the US soldiers lacked the experience of both the terrain of Vietnam and of fighting in a war, many of the US soldiers were young drafted man who had just left high school and were very inexperienced and less willing to kill. This wasn't necessarily a feature that either side was willing to improve by giving up other resources but it was a huge factor in determining who won or lost.

Stage 3: Explaining your conclusions
The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.

2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:
Soldiers were not used to fighting against an enemy who used guerilla warfare.
Soldiers were not used to fighting in the jungle and did not know the land well at all.
The Viet Cong were able to lower the morale of the US troops due to constant fear of a surprise attack

b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
The Viet Cong soldiers were extremly strong willed and were used to fighting and killing (even inoccent civilians)
The Viet Cong did not use traditional tactics in battle, instead they used a lawless method that slowly broke down the US abilities on the ground. They would attack when soldiers were sleeping or tired.
The Viet Cong also had a lot of support from the Vietnamese.

c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:


d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:

e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:

f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:

g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [Insert weakness here] because:

h. The key Viet Cong strength was [Insert strength here] because: