The question of who won the vietnam war has been a subject of debate, and the answer depends on the definition of victory. By the time vietnam won the war i was sick of my country. One of the first war movies filmed in vietnam, great realistic battle scenes. Until 1968, walter cronkite believed what his government told him about the vietnam war. The 9 best vietnam war movies americas military entertainment. In film, people are able to portray people and events to fit the needs of the. Wikimedia commons has media related to vietnam war films films about the vietnam war 19551975 andor its aftermath subcategories. Ill be venturing into an era that is laden with so many implications that if i select some aspects and ignore others, i may be doing something. Us or vietnam page 3 waff world armed forces forum. It was the peoples army of vietnam pavn or the vietnamese peoples army vpa who won the war.
The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. America was certainly no stranger to political violence, but 1968 appeared to bring the bloodletting to new heights. The north vietnamese army and viet cong, however, are said to have lost more than a million soldiers and two million civilians. The most important reason why vietnam won the war is that america followed a chess strategy in the war while vietnam used sun tzus strategy. The conflict has deep historical roots, most recently the first indochina war between the communist north and the frenchbacked south, and the subsequent splitting of vietnam into north and south. What wouldve happened if the united states won the. Take the vietnam war, the countrys first television war. Opinion the war we could have won the new york times. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the cold war. In 1975 the vietnam war drew to an end, in a shocking turn of events the mighty united states of america had been defeated by the communist north, and were forced to. These american post war film representations have generally.
In honor of that group and all vietnam vets on vietnam war veterans day, we put. Three friends from a small pennsylvania town enlist and go to vietnam. How i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb 1964 use parody and black comedy to satirize wars and conflicts. The career of vo nguyen giap military leader, guerrilla warfare 1993 duration. As we rethink the vietnam war, we have to grapple with its. Americas top critics are unanimous in their praise for the vietnam war. What ken burns omits from the vietnam war providence. Before i move onto the scenario, let me illustrate why i put the word won in quotation points. In my book i reveal the best kept secret of the twentieth century. S was able to invade north vietnam without threat of retaliation. William westmoreland won his bigunit campaign but lost confidence that the war could be won. The deer hunter is the greatest film about the vietnam war.
Objectively, the communists of north vietnam achieved their wartime goals of reuniting the country and gaining its independence. But what becomes clear clearer than ever while watching the vietnam war is that this was a war between lies and truth. In an utterly banal sense, the united states could have won the vietnam war by invading the north, seizing its urban centers, putting the whole of the country under the control of the saigon. Germanamerican dieter dengler christian bale was a u. Best war movies of all times vietnam war movies best full movie duration.
The vietnam war had its origins in the broader indochina wars of the 1940s and 50s, when nationalist groups such as ho chi minhs viet minh, inspired by chinese and soviet communism, fought the colonial rule first of japan and then of france. The role of the united states in the vietnam war began after world war ii and escalated into full commitment during the vietnam war from 1955 to 1973. So they kept grinding for a while, hoping the vc would take enough casualties to give up but the willingness of the us to fight the nvavc wherever they were worked against. By the time the vietnam war was finally over on april 30, 1975, i was one foot out of this country so to speak. Kennedy and lyndon johnson during the height of the war in vietnam. Mcnamara 2003 famed documentarian errol morris won an oscar for this intimate portrait of former secretary of defense robert mcnamara, who served under both john f. Iraq, afghanistan, vietnam john musgrave is a marine veteran who. While some films criticize armed conflicts in a general sense, others focus on acts within a specific war, such as the use of poison gas or the genocidal killing of civilians e. It would turn out to be one of the most arduous productions in the history of cinema, taking over three years to complete and nearly destroying. Why america lost the vietnam war full documentary youtube. The first indochina war also known as the french indochina war, was a major conflict in the asian region known as indochina, which is made up of the modern nations of vietnam, cambodia, and laos.
The goal was not achieved, therefore, the us lost the war. This examination of the vietnam war is not a detailed account of the battlefield struggle. The communists in north vietnam actually signed a peace treaty, effectively surrendering. How walter cronkites broadcast changed the vietnam war. Set in saigon in 1965, during the vietnam war, the film stars robin williams as a radio dj on armed forces radio service, who proves hugely popular with the troops, but infuriates his superiors with what they call his irreverent tendency. Washington the vietnam war is universally regarded as a disaster for what it did to the american and vietnamese people. In the spring of that year, having completed his second godfather film, francis coppola told an interviewer that his next movie would deal with vietnam, although it won t necessarily be politicalit will be about war and the human soul. I have proven that the united states won the war because of the paris peace accords, its massive contribution to preventing the spread of communism, it bankrupted the soviet union, prevented massive deaths by the soviet union, won every battle in the war, killed over a million communists in the war, and forced vietnam to pay war reparations. What is the summary of the story bowaon and totoon.
Whats more, the american vietnam war veterans who appear in the film are uniformly articulate, introspective, and wellinformed. China launched an offensive in response to vietnams. After the vietnam war ended in 1975, there was an increase in american films that were more raw, containing actual battle footage. Nevertheless, like the boys in company c, go tell the spartans failed to attract a large audience and quickly passed from view despite praise from critics and the military. Army reported 58, 177 losses in vietnam, the south vietnamese 223, 748. Final cut, francis ford coppolas latest rendition of his 1979 vietnam war epic, premiered at the tribeca film festival right on time to correct the media hysteria surrounding.
Join as we count down our picks for the top 10 vietnam. The vietnam war in forty quotes council on foreign relations. Why did america lose the vietnam war despite having an. Role of the united states in the vietnam war wikipedia.
Vietnam war was between south vietnam, usa vs north vietnam. It can be argued that america lost the political war against the vietnamese communists. Its an iconic war and it inspired some awesome movies. Vietnam war french rule ended, vietnam divided britannica. The third and final film of oliver stones vietnam war trilogy, it is a portrait of a vietnamese woman, who survives the horrors of her war torn country and marries a gunnery sergeant troubled by. The war was fought by france, the longtime colonial ruler in the indochina, and vietnamese, cambodian, and laotian communist rebel forces. The memories of a us marine lieutenant in vietnam who slowly gets disillusioned as the war progresses.
Supposedly, general giap had written in how we won the war that in the aftermath of the tet offensive of 1968, the communist leaders in vietnam had. The french indochina war broke out in 1946 and went on for eight years, with france. I had filed for my co deferment at my local draft board the summer i graduated high school, in 1969. This article lists notable films related to the vietnam war. The third and final film of oliver stones vietnam war trilogy, it is a portrait of a vietnamese woman, who survives the horrors of her wartorn country and. Their demeanor and what they have to say reflect very well on the 2. Crocker says she wont be watching ken burns documentary on the vietnam war this week. American holocaust exposes one of the worst cases of sustained mass slaughter in history, carefully planned and executed by presidents of both parties us dedicated generals and foot soldiers, knowingly or unknowingly, killed nearly 5 million people, on an almost unimaginable scale, mostly using incendiary bombs. As we rethink the vietnam war, we have to grapple with its racial implications ken burns may not sentimentalize vietnam, but he continues to whitewash the role of race in the conflict. Brad davis, keith carradine, michael okeefe, richard bradford. The new medium and the lack of government censorship granted the average person living in the u.
Last month, i did a series of posts commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of u. Good morning, vietnam is a 1987 american comedydrama war film written by mitch markowitz and directed by barry levinson. An american soldier and a viet cong guerrilla find common ground. One excellent film, greatly overlooked, is go tell the spartans. The series is also available for digital download, and can also be seen on netflix and kanopy. The us couldnt win the war without invading north vietnam and they couldnt win the war with north vietnam unless they invaded china, which wouldve led to world war iii.
Whatifhub the vietnam war wasnt an utterly american war, even though t. As a result, the film has come the closest of any film about vietnam yet released to capture the american experience in the war. When the last helicopter rose above the american embassy in saigon on april 29, 1975, the us had been winning the vietnam war for over a decade. The answer is no, another answer might be that it was a vietnamese tacticalshortterm victory and a chinese long term victory.
Michael cimino, who won a best director oscar for his highly acclaimedand controversialvietnam war film, the deer hunter, died july 2 at age 77. Vietnam war, 195475, a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, known as the viet cong, against the government of south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. A young soldier in vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man. What if the united states won its intervention in vietnam and was able to successfully push back the nva. The story of a marine grunt in the first battle of khe sanh april 1967 duration. After the vietnam war ended in 1975, there was an increase in american films that. Those who argue that the united states won the war point to the fact that the u.
Ask the vietnamese about war, and they think china, not the u. Both films were decidedly antiwar in their outlook, reflective of a broader. A article noted that american filmmakers appeared more confident to put vietnam combat on screen for the first time during that era. America won world war ii is a form of hollywood history in which a story implies or outright states that the united states singlehandedly won world war ii.
First of all, you have to examine why the invasion happened in the first place, it was because of sinosoviet rivalry china identified that the largest threat to itself was the soviet union and the fact that after the vietnam war in which the ussr, prc and vietnam. I watched four episodes last week, but i think i realized it wasnt smart for me to keep on. Although burns and novick dont besmirch veterans as flagrantly, their misrepresentation of the war and its warriors has reopened old wounds. Later one marine gets back to san francisco, where he realises that. The united states bled the soviets dry through proxy wars and the nuclear arms race. America pulled out of the war when the nlf north vietnam forces invaded south vietnam. Ken burnss acclaimed and powerful documentary the vietnam war. The story of the first major battle of the american phase of the vietnam war, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news. Vietnam war 195475, conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, the viet cong, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. The vietnam war the us entered the war to reach an objective. Thoughts on the liberation of saigon and the end to. The criteria used for judgement are the public records of the achievements or failures of those goals and objectives.
He was an oldschool journalist, a patriot, a man who came. The vietnam war was released on bluray and dvd on september 19, 2017. Frances long colonial history in french indochina, the us war with japan in the pacific, and both joseph stalin and mao zedongs pledge in 1950 to support ho chi minh. In just five minutes, learn the truth about who really lost the vietnam war. Depends on how you define lost but the general consensus is that the u. The legend makers is such an emotional movie about the vietnam war. Why spa city woman will avoid vietnam war documentary this.
Instead, it looks at the goals and objectives as stated in the rhetoric of americas leadership. Vietnam war vietnam war french rule ended, vietnam divided. A lady introduce her husbands name with saying by which can stop or move train. The deer hunter is the greatest film about the vietnam war, exposing not just the hell of battle but the ways in which it broke the psyche of those who experienced its conflicts. But this financial draining may not have been possible without the unprecedented stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Why are we so obsessed with films about the second world war. Huffman sebastian stan and other surviving veterans of the battle to finally. The film received some criticism at the time for its unabashed onesidedness. The reason i started studying the vietnam war 25 years ago was due to my belief that the antiwar left unfairly besmirched americas vietnam veterans. Famed documentarian errol morris won an oscar for this intimate. Backed by seemingly unending us support, south vietnam lost the war. You have to understand the power of china is totally different story comparing to vietnam. In operation junction city, vietnam wars biggest operation, feb. By the time truth won, more than 3 million people were dead, 58,000.