The Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1975, was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Cold War. The United States played a key role in this war, and the military forces and resources it invested had a great impact on the course and outcome of the war.
The U.S. investment in the Vietnam War was enormous. According to statistics, the United States invested more than 500,000 troops during the war and spent more than $250 billion in military spending.
The U.S. military involvement has grown from initial military assistance to direct ground operations, making the scale and impact of the war continue to expand. However, the impact of the Vietnam War on the United States was also profound. The twenty-year-long war has placed enormous economic burdens and social pressures on the United States. Nearly 60,000 U.S. soldiers died in the war and more than 300,000 were wounded. At the same time, the war also sparked a massive anti-war movement that had a profound impact on U.S. domestic politics.
Therefore, in 1975, because of the severe decline in the domestic economy and the pressure of domestic anti-war public opinion, the United States finally had to withdraw its troops. This also marked the end of the Vietnam War, and the ultimate victor was North Vietnam. What makes Americans puzzled is that the United States is the world's largest military and economic strength, and it took 20 years to lose Vietnam without taking it, but suffered heavy losses. And in the face of Vietnam, why did China's self-defense and counterattack against Vietnam achieve strategic results in 28 days?
First of all, the nature of the war is different. The U.S. invasion of Vietnam was a war of aggression and a war of purposeful interests. The counterattack war against Vietnam is a just war, a self-defense counterattack taken by China in the face of Vietnam's repeated invasions and provocations, in order to defend its territorial integrity and people's security, and a war to defend its homeland and country. Since ancient times, evil has not prevailed over good, so China will inevitably win. Moreover, in the counterattack war, China does not occupy an inch of its territory, but only teaches the other side a lesson, hurts the other side, and lets it know our strong strength.
Secondly, geographical reasons. Vietnam's terrain is complex, full of dense jungles, and the role of US aircraft and tanks is limited, even if hundreds of millions of bombs are dumped, the results achieved are limited, and the US military is instead a headache by guerrilla tunnel warfare against North Vietnam. Coupled with the lack of adaptation, many US troops fell ill one after another, and their combat effectiveness plummeted. China and Vietnam are neighbors, the climate is similar, and during the Vietnam War, we also helped North Vietnam train troops, command tactics, and build infrastructure, so we are very familiar with the terrain of Vietnam, so we are very comfortable fighting a war.
Finally, there is the issue of logistical supply. The United States came from thousands of miles to invade Vietnam, and the distance was far away, and the inability to replenish logistics in time was a problem. Coupled with a long-term war of attrition, the United States cannot afford to consume no matter how rich it is, after all, when the cannon goes off, there are ten thousand taels of gold. In the counterattack war, the measures adopted by China are the tactics of quick victory, destroying the enemy's forces as quickly as possible, never falling in love with war, and stopping at the point, so the consumption of resources in all aspects is less. In the end, the strategic task can be completed in 28 days, so that Vietnam can be honest so far.