Why Did Vietminh and NLF Win the Vietnam War Essay

Why Did Vietminh and NLF Win the Vietnam War - Essay Example Unfortunately, the Vietnamese side of the conflict is persistently disregarded. Why and how the Vietminh and National Liberation won the Vietnam War remains obscured from the public. Nevertheless, the success of the Vietminh and the NLF during the Vietnam War can hardly be overestimated. The party and the Liberation Front greatly contributed to the success of the political and military operations against the United States. That the Communists won the Vietnam War was both remarkable and unbelievable: active propaganda, local support, sophisticated military strategies and the undisputable leadership capacity of Ho Chi Minh altogether laid the groundwork for advancing the victory of the Communists during the Vietnam War. It should be noted, that the fact of the Communist victory during the Vietnam War remains one of the most remarkable elements of modern history. Needless to say, before and even during the Vietnam conflict, the United States could not even suspect that the Vietnamese co mmunists would have a chance to outperform Americans, in all senses. Andrew Jon Rotter writes that â€Å"the most significant fact about the Vietnam conflict is not that the United States lost but that the Communists won† (180). In this sense, the most confusing is the fact that the main factors responsible for the Communists’ victory during the Vietnam War often remain beyond the scope of historical analyses. One possible reason is that, for many years, the United States did not want to shed light on the Vietnam War controversies that could affect its political image. It is also possible that more than one factor was responsible for the Communists’ victory, making the overall historical analysis extremely complicated. It is widely established that not the errors made by the United States in Vietnam but the actions made by Washington’s adversaries in Hanoi were at the heart of the Communists’ military and political achievements in Vietnam (Rotter 1 80). From the very beginning to the very end of the war, an interplay of factors created conditions needed to support Vietnam in its fight against the U.S. These factors included political propaganda, local support, effective military strategies, and the unprecedented authority and leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Historically, the Vietminh was created by one of the most outstanding Vietnamese leaders, Ho Chi Minh, in 1945 (Spartacus International). Later, in 1960, the National Liberation Front (NLF) was established (Moise). It is interesting, that the NLF was initially established with the goal of leading the guerilla against Vietnam’s Prime Minister Diem (Moise). South Vietnamese professionals, including artists, youth leaders and peasants, organized the NLF (Levy 19). At that time, the growing corruption in the country and the lack of positive political and economic changes raised the wave of public dissatisfaction with the prime minister’s actions and decisions. That was also the time when the NLF could not yet anticipate that it would play a crucial role in the Communists’ victory over the U.S. Political propaganda became one of the most important factors driving the NLF’s popularity and the public opposition to the actions of the U.S. in Vietnam. It is no secret that the NLF propagandists were well trained to work with the local population. Propaganda schools were scattered widely across the Southern regions of Vietnam, which helped to spread the NLF’s ideology against the United States (Friedman). The public messages sent to the local people were full of optimist about the future victory over the