23. A General Tasked With Solving an Insoluble Problem
It was not all General Westmoreland’s fault: his political masters had set him a seemingly insoluble task. He had to go on the tactical offensive and wage an aggressive war in South Vietnam in order to defeat the communists there. Simultaneously, US forces had to stay on the strategic defensive, and stay their hands from a direct invasion of North Vietnam, the bastion of the communist forces in South Vietnam. It was feared that invading North Vietnam would draw that country’s northern neighbor, China, into the conflict. In the mid-1960s, memories of the Korean War were still fresh. Particularly the part where General Douglas MacArthur‘s advance to China’s border had triggered a direct Chinese intervention in that conflict.
Few wanted to risk another ground war against China, this time in Vietnam. So Westmoreland’s hand was stayed – an understandably frustrating state of affairs for him. No matter how hard Westmoreland’s men took the fight to the communists in South Vietnam, the foe seemed to be able to roll with punches and hang on. It mattered little how many casualties were inflicted upon the Viet Cong or North Vietnamese forces. There were always more ready to take their place, as replacements of men and materiel made their way down the Ho Chi Minh trail from North Vietnam to make up the losses. That could drive anybody crazy.