Important Battles of the War
Before we talk about the important battles of the Vietnam War, we have to know how the two sides were separated. The borderline between North and South Vietnam was called the 17th Parallel, which was the latitude line of 17 North. This line split Vietnam into two equal parts. Because of the use of helicopters, all of the battles weren’t fought on the borderline, and neither army was trying to push the border either north or south. Instead, they flew their troops behind enemy lines where it was easier for them to take over a base. Although there were many important battles during the war, I am going to talk about two of the main turning points throughout the whole war.
The first major turning point in the war was the Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns in the war, which started on January 30, 1968, by the Viet Cong, and the North Vietnamese troops. The Viet Cong was a political party that had a large military which sided with North Vietnam and its allies. The Tet Offensive was a system of surprise attacks on command centers in South Vietnam. About 80,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops took over about 100 towns and cities, South Vietnam’s capital, and much, much more. The first attacks against the US and South Vietnamese troops stunned them, but they quickly regrouped and struck back at North Vietnam. The Tet Offensive got its name from the Tet holiday, which is the Vietnamese New Year, which is when the first attacks took place. Overall, the Tet Offensive for the North Vietnamese was a disaster for their military. The reason why North Vietnam still won is because of politics. Up to this point, the United States’ military and the South Vietnamese thought that North Vietnam had a weak military and they were easy to defeat. After this offensive, it stunned the United States of America, because they realized that the war wasn’t going to be as easy as they thought it would be. This meant that they would need to draft more troops (search for eligible people for the army from the general public) which horrified the US citizens. This sparked the Anti-War Movement, where people were rioting for peace.
Another turning point in the Vietnam War was the Battle of Hamburger Hill. Hamburger Hill was heavily fortified by the North Vietnamese Army. The hill didn’t really offer any strategic value, but the US army insisted to attack the fortification. The battle started May 10, 1969. This hill was very muddy, and many veterans of this battle said that the US troops were sliding off the mountain. The North Vietnamese troops were entrenched in the mountain, fending off the troops trying to climb up, and they also had artillery, and also cannons to shoot down helicopters. After ten days of muddy, dirty, violence, the US and South Vietnamese troops finally took the hill on May 20, 1969. Veterans called this hill “Hamburger Hill” because it was like a human meat-grinder.