Battlefield Vietnam: Ep 12 "The Fall of Saigon" (1/6)

[Cthulu54]

We fought the communists in Vietnam for ten years, losing fifty eight thousand soldiers. Then South Vietnam collapses with almost no resistance-an exception being Xuan Loc. Now the Soviet Union and worldwide communism, which we were ostensibly opposing,  no longer exist and Nike uses Vietnam as a source for cheap labor, taking jobs from Americans. WTF!

[mikedawes26]

Congress should be ashamed of bailing on the South Vietnamese. Made the 58,000 american troops deaths in vain. We bailed when they needed us the most. This must never happen again. People wanting to pull out of wars we started need look at the aftermath of the fall of Saigon.

[penitent2401]

@mikedawes26 the south vietnam government was full of corruption and neglect their people, despite american strongly advising them to take care of their people repeatedly the people still considered as peasants, their army was lead by incompetance and poorly trained and motivated. it's how the vietcong get so much recruits and support from south vietnam countryside. america stayed for as long as they could, but all the good vienamese leaders were in the north and their army were well experienced

[mikedawes26]

@penitent2401 S. Vietnam was def corrupt. But we are the 1s who prolonged the war by using American Soldiers. You have to go all in if you do that. We fought a limited war and used a strategy that would never work cause we didnt address the guerilla aspect of the war til it was to late. We drove the peasant population to the viet cong as much if not more than the S. Vietnamese. We couldent have fought them forever I agree.

[mikedawes26]

@penitent2401 But we should have made good on Nixons promise that if the N. Vietnamese broke the peace treaty we would respond with over whelming air power. We didnt. We hung them out to dry. My father served in Vietnam as a volunteer. He didnt agree with the way the war was being fought but still to this day says he is most sick with the way we left the country. Not peace with honor, but cut and run. We destroyed Vietnam and left the people to get slaughtered.

[penitent2401]

@mikedawes26 right now we would be the ones to go help out north vietnam kick out the corrupted south vietnam government who left their own people to live in poverty. many americans were sick of seeing themself defending the government that treat their own people like that despite how much they requested them to look after their people. which would stop the vietcong ability to recruit and gain local support. the only reason they fought north vietnam is because they're communists.

[mikedawes26]

@penitent2401 I agree that the only reason America intervened is cause N. Vietnam was communists. If they had invaded the south and killed millions of people in the name of Democracy then the US would have been ok with it. I just hate how after giving up so much we just cut and run, thats all. In reality the SV government would never be accepted by there people and rightly so. America should have never got involved but it was a differnt time then and my dad serving makes it important to me.

[penitent2401]

@mikedawes26 yeah in war there's often very thin line between good guys and bad guys if the line is there at all. an example is winston churchill in world war 2, he was looked at as a hero for leading britan through against nazi germany. but alot of people were racist at that time, churchill included, he exported alot of food from british colony india for war when a drought hit them not caring for the people, millions starved to death, india declared independence very shortly after the war ended

[penitent2401]

@mikedawes26 same thing happens a few years after the vietnam war. the khelmer rouge in cambodia wre murdering missions in their genocide and making raids accross neighbour countries borders. vietnamese invaded, end the genocide and set up a new government. the western countries refuse to recognise the cambodian seat in the UN after this and condemned vietnam's attack purely because vietnam is communist government even though they recognise the genocide was going on in cambodia.

[mikedawes26]

@penitent2401 I did not know that. Thanks for that info bro. So basically Vietnam invaded Cambodia to end the genocide and take that government out and saved untold numbers of people who would have ultimately been killed? I respect that. Is the Cambodian government that killed all of those people wiping out anyone who wasnt a peasant to make everyone equal the one that was overthrown? Its sucks that politics get so many innocent people killed. Good for Nam to do that then. Thanks again.

[penitent2401]

@mikedawes26 nah, vietnam wasn't being a saint either, they invaded because the khelmer rouge gets overly ambitious and wanted vietnam to give back territory that once belonged to a nation or empire that eventually became cambodia from hundreds of years ago. vietnam predictably refuse this demand, khelmer rouge attacked the border and slaughter ethnic vietnamese living in cambodia, total about 30,000 dead i think. vietnam then invaded in self defense, otherwise they would not have cared.

[mikedawes26]

@penitent2401 OH. So if it wasnt for the Rouge attacking the Vietnamese in Cambodia they wouldnt have attacked. Either way at least they fought for them and I think the lesser of two evils would be the vietnamese. Again thanks

[mikedawes26]

@penitent2401 Sorry if I came across as a dick. It wasnt my intention in my earlier posts. I appreciate that you informed me of that. I always love learning something new about that conflict. You have anything else like that let me know.

[TheMrkukulcan]

fuckkkkkk th USA mother fuckers long live to CUBA , CHINA ,VIETNAM, RUSSIA,IRAK,MEXICO, JAPON AND GERMANY fuck tha usa and fucken jewssss

[Saracen180]

@TheMrkukulcan which is why you live in the U.S. apparently. Also, learn to spell before trolling.

[TheMrkukulcan]

@Saracen180 fuck tha USA did i did it rigth im from california fuck jews and gringos

[Cthulu54]

@TheMrkukulcan Try decaf

[Cougman1978]

just leave because territory is not ours, it is their so they have to live in it.

[vh90278]

Sad, US betrayed the S.V. allies, congress voted to cut fundings for ammo and supplies to the S. Vietnamese army....no fuel no ammo = war lost.

[ETsonggalaxy]

Great music that goes along with this video! A wonderful video, without actors makes this video even better! I enjoy REAL documentries - true history!

[ETsonggalaxy]

I never seen this video. Super history! Americans fought to the end also! This video is no doubt so real! A great uploading of true history!

[HungKiet]

viet cong is the invader!!!

[MegaEagle49]

north vs south go south

[troytblevins]

you seen what happened when south vietnam went into laos they got mauled by the nva,if they had attacked across the dmz the north would have destroyed them .

[vusuda]

saigon = bernil

[XShynobiX]

THEY LOST TO THEM WITH THE 4th STRONGEST WEAPON IN THE WORLD?

YOU SERIOUS?

[romeual]

oh my god! are there people supporting broken US yet?

[EnnisUltra]

Fairly OK documentary series. PIty about the sh*t picture quality : (

[penitent2401]

@EnnisUltra the series is quiet old and uses alot of original footages instead of renactments and special effects. it's likely the best quality the technology and budget allowed at that time it was made.

[Cthulu54]

I've often wondered what would have happened if the South Vietnamese had counter attacked back accross the DMZ in 1972. The North's army had been badly mauled during the Easter offensive. Perhaps the South had a chance to actually win the war.

[lilSnubby]

haunting theme music, this is a great series

[Vercetti777]

A sad end to one of the city that I called Home

[tranaiquocvietnam]

all countries around the world deserve independence and freedom, USA chas no right to interfere that

[sanjose42000]

@tranaiquocvietnam

you are sounded exactly like a Vietnamese Communist. i am not saying that you were wrong.

you are wright, people deserved to be freed and independence as you said. the USA did not interfere with that freedom and Independence as you put it.

i am a Vietnamese American and being grown up in South Viet Nam.....i saw first hand how we were badly treated after the Fall of Saigon (1975).

[sanjose42000]

@tranaiquocvietnam

sorry my friend you were indoctrinated since you were a child on how the American and the government of the South badly treated the populace of the South Viet Nam.

now you think about this.........

after 1975, did you see any Northerners tried to get back to the Northern after working for a while in the South.

right now (2011) there are Northerners everywhere in the South.........

thank you for liberating us, the Southerners, now get back to where you belong.

[HongeKP]

If it wasnt for the south koreans vietnam would have been overan in 67''. Koreans saved yo asses.

[InkoIning]

What made the South lost is the anti war liberal movement in the US. Casualty wise the North were far devastated. But even after Ho Chi Min's death his teaching remains in their hearts, something like; 'we have die a thousand deaths every day but in the end we will win because we have the will to carry on'' On the other hand the will win or the will to live of the South and the Americans was killed by anti war protest back home.

[omfg4000]

@InkoIning What happend to the South Vietnamese Army then? I mean was it annihlated or did the South Vietnamese just desert? Seems like you say, only the relentless US strategic bombing that kept things running.

[InkoIning]

@omfg4000 During the first attempted invasion by the North the Southerns had high spirits because there were massive American Air Support. But after Nixon was ousted and the anti war sentiment made America abandon their promise the Southerners had a break down of discipline and very low moral. The last city before Saigon was defended by an elite battalion who suffered a 2 in 3 casualty before breaking, their cries were "Where are you dear America" still hoping for air support.

[omfg4000]

@InkoIning Sad for the soldiers indeed. But I guess it was finally fair. The North barely recived any support from the communists. If the south couldn't stand on its own it didn't deserve to stand.

[InkoIning]

@omfg4000 The communist had iron discipline and iron will. They know what they were fighting for. A unified Vietnam under communist rule. They were indoctrinated with that since childhood. Ho Chi MInch said something like you can kill us a thousand deaths but you can't kill our idea. While the Southerners were put on the sides by the French and then by the Americans who made Vietnam the battle ground for "Democracy". Many Southerns didn't realize it was their war until the bitter end came.

[InkoIning]

@InkoIning The north did receive equipments from the Soviets and China though unlike the South they didn't have foreign troops or air support.

[XCJimmyXC]

@omfg4000 TRUE the south didt really know what they were fighting for if only usa stayed like they did in south korea

[tumsabai1]

@XCJimmyXC

Fuck the battles. I just want some Vietnamese Pussy!!!

[BrendaQG]

@InkoIning An elite division the 18th ARVN and three air divisions of VNAF held their position and made the kind of diehard stand that they needed to have made at the DMZ. The worst thing is their are people who really want to count that battle at Xuan Loc as a total strategic and tactical defeat for the south. Tactically they kicked butt at Xuan Loc, as will be told latter in these videos. Strategically they did not inspire the US and it's communist congress to help them.

[tumsabai1]

@omfg4000

They deseted. They discarded weapons and changed into civilian clothes.

[MajSolo]

This is where we want them. Now, theý are in the open :) With amercan airpower still there and they trying a convensional war what were they hoping for ? So, it is all about infantry in the end, guess next clips will describe they did it anyway with infantry ,,, just a guess.

The one who wants to win wins.... if time is on their side ...

Quote "maj solo 2010" :)

[balianmachiavelli]

were those u.s. army rangers?

[BrendaQG]

@balianmachiavelli No those were South Vietnamese rangers. Seriously the USA had pulled out of the ground war for the most part at this time. The ARVN had some good units.

[tumsabai1]

@BrendaQG

U.S. Ground troops were out of Vietnam by August 1973.

[amixofeverything]

@BrendaQG So true. Few people know that it was the ARVN who won the Tet Offensive too after a month of fighting.

[lulu8332]

hey gretings from denmark tanks for the uploads ..can you maybe get (finding the fallen ww1) or something simliar maybe finding lost soldier`s from ww2 .nam or other series i l only have 4 tv ch. and they only show shit tv series like frinds. etc so you save ALL my days...sorry for the spelling ..kim

[oneinteligentmuslim]

Awesome ! I've wathched all your documentaries about Vietnam (1-12) . Thank you for posting !!

[pmharl]

glad you are back!!! keep em coming!!!