Best documentary ever, no preaching or pushing a narrative or virtue signaling about the horrors. Just facts. If I'm watching a documentary like this I don't care what the hosts personal opinions about the subject are.
This series takes a more objective perspective than Ken Burn's series. I love watching it every now and again all the way through. My dad was a Vietnam vet along with a number of his closest friends, and my uncle (his brother) was killed in action there- so I have a deep interest in the war.
Best documentary ever, no preaching or pushing a narrative or virtue signaling about the horrors. Just facts. If I'm watching a documentary like this I don't care what the hosts personal opinions about the subject are.
I was in cu chi in 1968 ..hobo woods..iron triangle..Michelin rubber tree plantation…Saigon river…black virgin mountain and the Cambodian border place was no joke you had to pay attention every day about your surroundings…my company commander always use to tell us there hundreds of ways to be killed in this country….and he was absolutely correct….b/company 2/14th infantry of the 25th infantry division….welcome home to my Vietnam brothers…
I drove Hueys in 69 and constantly saw that we were outfought, outmaneuvered and outsmarted constantly as we did not even begin to understand the determination and dedication these people had. I named my son after my flight school buddy who came back in a box. He would be 72, but died when he was 20. Wars do that! What a bummer!
the only way for US to defend the South would have been what they did in Korea: invade the North, engage Chinese armies, and eventually settle around the pre-war borders. By fighting against the insurgency in the Southern territories you lose the support of the local population, prolong the conflict, lose support at home, ruin your own area, and defend instead of attack. by refusing to invade the North, LBJ ensured the eventual defeat for the ally.
One would think the Americans would have learned about tunnel warfare from the Pacific war and went after them hard. Someone screwed up in the chain of command by not looking for tunnels.
Interesting. Tunnels were a major part of trench warfare from the European Theatre in WW1. You'd almost think there would have been improvements in detection, as the detection of tunnels was of paramount importance then, as it was in Vietnam. In WW1, the use of stethoscopes determined the presence of digging, and the undermining of enemy fortifications to place explosives was used to great effect . Bolometers, the advent of infrared heat scopes, were in use as far back as the end of WW2, and declassified in the middle 1950's. The idea that the technology was not being used effectively and/or being developed further, and far more rapidly than it was for the purpose of locating tunnels, is surprising.
Seeing Vietnamese female guerrillas fighting side by side with their male counterparts convinced me that they were the right side in this war. USA had no right to be in Vietnam. Ho Chi Mihn and his party were popular among Vietnamese people because they expelled the French colonialists from Vietnam. And in the end the right side won.
@@jarredbrooks2697 nope, your troops were brainwashed men going to other men’s lands and trying to subjugate them. Anyone can play these what if games, I bet the VC can do the same, what if we had the aircrafts, bombers, funding and weaponry that the US had? You had bad leadership, cool, the VC had bad everything else. All the cards were stacked in your favour and you still lost.
I got people always come up to my face when I debate the battles, we never lost an engagement in Vietnam, so I tell them why didn't you stay to fight with the South Vietnamese? Gets real quiet after that.
basicaly what happened in real life is very similar to what happens in battlefield games , you can kill people all you want but he who controls the flags wins
YouTard recently changed it so you have to send them your creditcard number to "pass" the age restriction. Yeah right! I'd still love to see this episode of the series, so if anyone, at any time, finds an "open" version: please leave a link in the comments. Thanks.
What were the ARVN doing? It's clear that this stage of the war was unlike any we are familiar with. The lack of any front line, rather areas, and areas that could change. An almost impossible war for the US to win.
+john jones: It was the purpose of the war that made it impossible to win. the US troop's mission was to secured South VN's government from the North VN Army, not to defeat the North. It involved deeply political view between Communism and Capitalism. China backed the North VN and US backed the South VN. The country became the battle field with enormous casualties from both sides. US troops served the political purpose in the VN War, not for "peace keeping" mission. The North VN determined to unite the country with the endless effort and also with massive support from China. It was the patience and determinations from both sides that decided the "victory". Whoever keep the fight longer won. US's withdrawal was because the US government didn't want to waste more lives and resources on the war that might last for decades.
In the first video in the series the reason for the eventual defeat of South Vietnam and the American forces was stated. LBJ did not want to really fight the war, it would have gotten in the way of his initiatives at home. I believe that if the US fought this war as they had all other wars to this point, with no political restrictions (keeping troop levels to the minimum and other limits placed by the administration) they could have won. War is a bloody and a disgusting thing. It must be and in fights of life and death you can not play by the "rules".
@@ox3100 And yet the government did jack shit in Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars have actually being going on for years without any change in outcome. They learnt nothing from Vietnam
It seems like the “tunnel rat” idea needed to be hugely expanded, where whole units of engineers and/or infantry needed to be trained to enter and clear the tunnels. Just destroying the entrances wasn’t enough, and the Americans could never truly get at their enemy otherwise.
Interestingly, the experiences of tunnel-warfare is what directly spurred further development of Ground-Penetrating Radar technology in the 70's. Of course today it is mostly used for detecting underground utilities and municipal infrastructure prior to digging/construction, but I digress.
@@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 Yeah that is interesting. I wonder if any of that tech was developed in time for action in the Vietnam War. I guess not enough, if any.
it runs for hundreds of kilometers and the vietnamese build it back allover again in a month. Essentially america went bankrupt already and they had to stop printing dollar based on gold and went full fiat. They americans learnt better and picked only the weakest nations in their "fighting for freedom schemes" from there on
That could have been a decent movie except for doofus Charlie Sheen. Tom Berenger was really good. When I was active anybody smoking dope would be tossed a serious beating ad reported faster than you could spit. OTW with a stoner carrying a weapon? No thanks. I don't know if guys actually did that shit back in Vietnam, but if that's actually how it was it must have been Hell on actual Soldiers and Marines dragging knuckleheads around. Be better off leaving them in their racks.
@@franciscomontero9728 No I don't think so , lack of oxegen would forbid anyone from living in there. I think that flame throwers spout the fuel under pressure and firing it into a small opening would risk a blow back.
the flames couldn't react those deep tunnels, all tunnels are connected and it ain't a straight line tunnel, A soldier should went to those tunnel himself to explore
@@zoltancsikos5604 Arab weab took a big shit on America in Afghanistan in the 21st century and arab weab took a shit on your mongolian ancestors my hungarian friend somewhere in the 11th - 12th centuries so hush now and enjoy being irrelevant in Europe.
It's quite clear the reason why America failed was the tactical ineptitude of Westmorland and other top brass 4 years still won't adapt to the situation busy chasing a wild goose for a victory when the North Vietnamese had had victory everyday the past 4 years
The whole series is really great, just one thing: this shitty, too loud, ever repeating 'music' in the background is maddening. It's a VERY high price to pay for watching these otherwise great documentaries!
@@desoztoppieter9895 I thought the narrator was doing the music on his synthesizer? It kind of reminds me of this ruclips.net/video/sIj09c_QwsE/видео.html
This originally aired in the late 90's on the military channel, I remember watching it then at least. So yes, the music seems a bit cheesy, but the content is amazing.
Best documentary ever, no preaching or pushing a narrative or virtue signaling about the horrors. Just facts. If I'm watching a documentary like this I don't care what the hosts personal opinions about the subject are.
The fact that I haven’t seen a single ad in this series makes it even better 🤩
Produced and paid for by public funding.
Install an addblocker Never ads here
I taught Ken Burns Vietnam was Gold but how can I be so naïve after seeing this Pure Gold Series.. Very engaging love the maps very detailed!!!
This series takes a more objective perspective than Ken Burn's series. I love watching it every now and again all the way through. My dad was a Vietnam vet along with a number of his closest friends, and my uncle (his brother) was killed in action there- so I have a deep interest in the war.
Best documentary ever, no preaching or pushing a narrative or virtue signaling about the horrors. Just facts. If I'm watching a documentary like this I don't care what the hosts personal opinions about the subject are.
Sadly people dont make this sort of unbias documentary any longer. Its so refreshing.
I was thinking the same thing
I was in cu chi in 1968 ..hobo woods..iron triangle..Michelin rubber tree plantation…Saigon river…black virgin mountain and the Cambodian border place was no joke you had to pay attention every day about your surroundings…my company commander always use to tell us there hundreds of ways to be killed in this country….and he was absolutely correct….b/company 2/14th infantry of the 25th infantry division….welcome home to my Vietnam brothers…
Thanks for your service
This is a very good, balanced series. Well done, PBS.
its not PBS
@@Dezert_Fox en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlefield_(American_TV_series)
@@Dezert_Fox I don't understand. Why even say anything if you don't know?
I drove Hueys in 69 and constantly saw that we were outfought, outmaneuvered and outsmarted constantly as we did not even begin to understand the determination and dedication these people had. I named my son after my flight school buddy who came back in a box. He would be 72, but died when he was 20. Wars do that! What a bummer!
thank you for serving.
You know why I think you're a liar. Not once have I ever heard a pilot say they "drove" an aircraft.
Drove?
You meant you flew Hueys? Or you rode in Hueys?
Music in this used to creep me out. Brilliant documentary.
the only way for US to defend the South would have been what they did in Korea: invade the North, engage Chinese armies, and eventually settle around the pre-war borders. By fighting against the insurgency in the Southern territories you lose the support of the local population, prolong the conflict, lose support at home, ruin your own area, and defend instead of attack. by refusing to invade the North, LBJ ensured the eventual defeat for the ally.
Love Vietnam
This documentary is a masterpiece!
One would think the Americans would have learned about tunnel warfare from the Pacific war and went after them hard. Someone screwed up in the chain of command by not looking for tunnels.
Got to remember many of the Army commanders were from the European theater of WW2 and Korea. But i do get your point though
Good Call
Interesting. Tunnels were a major part of trench warfare from the European Theatre in WW1. You'd almost think there would have been improvements in detection, as the detection of tunnels was of paramount importance then, as it was in Vietnam. In WW1, the use of stethoscopes determined the presence of digging, and the undermining of enemy fortifications to place explosives was used to great effect . Bolometers, the advent of infrared heat scopes, were in use as far back as the end of WW2, and declassified in the middle 1950's. The idea that the technology was not being used effectively and/or being developed further, and far more rapidly than it was for the purpose of locating tunnels, is surprising.
Many Japanese soldier stay after WWII ended and teach the Viet Minh the tactics they use, even in the Pacific Campaign
It is like the US never learn
Cu Chi Town lol
Seeing Vietnamese female guerrillas fighting side by side with their male counterparts convinced me that they were the right side in this war. USA had no right to be in Vietnam. Ho Chi Mihn and his party were popular among Vietnamese people because they expelled the French colonialists from Vietnam. And in the end the right side won.
Good ol fashion documentary... Ahhh my fix
Tie one hand behind my back, tie my shoelaces together, pull my pants down... Ok. Let's go to war.
Right. Our troops were pawns. If they had the right leadership us troops would've mopped the floor with the vc
@@jarredbrooks2697 nope, your troops were brainwashed men going to other men’s lands and trying to subjugate them. Anyone can play these what if games, I bet the VC can do the same, what if we had the aircrafts, bombers, funding and weaponry that the US had? You had bad leadership, cool, the VC had bad everything else. All the cards were stacked in your favour and you still lost.
"Go ahead. Bust my ass. Send me to fuckin Long Binh".
Hello, Platoon
So intresting.
I got people always come up to my face when I debate the battles, we never lost an engagement in Vietnam, so I tell them why didn't you stay to fight with the South Vietnamese? Gets real quiet after that.
basicaly what happened in real life is very similar to what happens in battlefield games , you can kill people all you want but he who controls the flags wins
Why is there some sort of video stabilization in these? It makes everything look wobbly.
Beautiful.
whats beautiful? Death and destruction? you are an Uneducated Moron!
YouTard recently changed it so you have to send them your creditcard number to "pass" the age restriction. Yeah right! I'd still love to see this episode of the series, so if anyone, at any time, finds an "open" version: please leave a link in the comments. Thanks.
they want to know everything about you. soon they will ask for c0v1d jab confirmation, too.
wait WTF ? this is an old channel so I had no idea they were doing this
ruclips.net/video/j3S1hUXMPYo/видео.html just clicked on part 4 watched this series a few times, it'll be photo ID and a covid passport check next..
What were the ARVN doing? It's clear that this stage of the war was unlike any we are familiar with. The lack of any front line, rather areas, and areas that could change. An almost impossible war for the US to win.
... but how would such a war be won? All fighting was south of the DMZ. What plan was there to defeat the North?
+john jones: It was the purpose of the war that made it impossible to win. the US troop's mission was to secured South VN's government from the North VN Army, not to defeat the North. It involved deeply political view between Communism and Capitalism. China backed the North VN and US backed the South VN. The country became the battle field with enormous casualties from both sides. US troops served the political purpose in the VN War, not for "peace keeping" mission. The North VN determined to unite the country with the endless effort and also with massive support from China. It was the patience and determinations from both sides that decided the "victory". Whoever keep the fight longer won. US's withdrawal was because the US government didn't want to waste more lives and resources on the war that might last for decades.
Like Korea They should have launched an attack north Like at Incheon when the North Koreans took most of Korea.
In the first video in the series the reason for the eventual defeat of South Vietnam and the American forces was stated. LBJ did not want to really fight the war, it would have gotten in the way of his initiatives at home. I believe that if the US fought this war as they had all other wars to this point, with no political restrictions (keeping troop levels to the minimum and other limits placed by the administration) they could have won. War is a bloody and a disgusting thing. It must be and in fights of life and death you can not play by the "rules".
@@ox3100 And yet the government did jack shit in Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars have actually being going on for years without any change in outcome. They learnt nothing from Vietnam
Why they destroyed forest.just for their sake
They destroyed the forest everybody needed for a sake of war nobody wanted
It seems like the “tunnel rat” idea needed to be hugely expanded, where whole units of engineers and/or infantry needed to be trained to enter and clear the tunnels.
Just destroying the entrances wasn’t enough, and the Americans could never truly get at their enemy otherwise.
Interestingly, the experiences of tunnel-warfare is what directly spurred further development of Ground-Penetrating Radar technology in the 70's.
Of course today it is mostly used for detecting underground utilities and municipal infrastructure prior to digging/construction, but I digress.
@@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 Yeah that is interesting. I wonder if any of that tech was developed in time for action in the Vietnam War. I guess not enough, if any.
Lol cu chi funny name
one cant help admire the vietnamese rebels..
They were not rebels. They were soldiers defending their country from a murderous evil empire.
ruclips.net/video/j3S1hUXMPYo/видео.html here's this part without the ridiculous age restriction
If wasn't for artillery and air force?
And the U.S mindset!.. the world would be a much more peaceful place
Im, surpised that we did not use deep penatrating bombs to clear tunnels.
it runs for hundreds of kilometers and the vietnamese build it back allover again in a month. Essentially america went bankrupt already and they had to stop printing dollar based on gold and went full fiat. They americans learnt better and picked only the weakest nations in their "fighting for freedom schemes" from there on
My point exactly.
22:15 The Highlands Strategy (NVA/VC)
20:16 The Highlands
wrong movie charlie sheen is @ 46:21 LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That could have been a decent movie except for doofus Charlie Sheen. Tom Berenger was really good. When I was active anybody smoking dope would be tossed a serious beating ad reported faster than you could spit. OTW with a stoner carrying a weapon? No thanks. I don't know if guys actually did that shit back in Vietnam, but if that's actually how it was it must have been Hell on actual Soldiers and Marines dragging knuckleheads around. Be better off leaving them in their racks.
25:00 Area War
whoever scored this series should be arrested
Yup that music is so annoying
They should be horsewhipped, canned, and made to listen to this music for two weeks straight.
I dont know, I kinda got used to it. It's not bad, it's just friggin incessant.
That's the best part! Sets the mood
Lol the score is my favorite part! Like the poster above said, it sets the mood.
14:45 Tactics
why couldnt the US use flame thrower on the tunnel?
Kc12345 because in a túnel the oxigen would exhaust almost immediately.
flame doesn't bend。
@@franciscomontero9728 No I don't think so , lack of oxegen would forbid anyone from living in there. I think that flame throwers spout the fuel under pressure and firing it into a small opening would risk a blow back.
the flames couldn't react those deep tunnels, all tunnels are connected and it ain't a straight line tunnel,
A soldier should went to those tunnel himself to explore
THEY DONT REACH 100 MILES OR GO AROUND CORNERS
looking for set piece battles.....this aint the medieval era warfare......
Tahzib Hussaini I love how some Arab weab is here to comment on ‘Mericans. Incredible.
@@zoltancsikos5604 you sound like an uneducated Peasant! now go step on an ied do us all a favour Halfwith fucker
@@zoltancsikos5604 Arab weab took a big shit on America in Afghanistan in the 21st century and arab weab took a shit on your mongolian ancestors my hungarian friend somewhere in the 11th - 12th centuries so hush now and enjoy being irrelevant in Europe.
Guerrilla warfare is a bitch
It's quite clear the reason why America failed was the tactical ineptitude of Westmorland and other top brass 4 years still won't adapt to the situation busy chasing a wild goose for a victory when the North Vietnamese had had victory everyday the past 4 years
The whole series is really great, just one thing: this shitty, too loud, ever repeating 'music' in the background is maddening. It's a VERY high price to pay for watching these otherwise great documentaries!
the music is great moron
@@desoztoppieter9895 I thought the narrator was doing the music on his synthesizer?
It kind of reminds me of this ruclips.net/video/sIj09c_QwsE/видео.html
That's the best part SoundofLife!
This originally aired in the late 90's on the military channel, I remember watching it then at least. So yes, the music seems a bit cheesy, but the content is amazing.
Should have used poison gas in the tunnels. Would have evened the playing field.
They did but then it’s was deemed inhuman.
Excellent Battlefield Documentary, but why this shitty 1993 sci-fi music, jeez
Michael S. Its from 1999
The music is eerie. Kind of Apocalypse Now-ish.
Jesus Loves You All
fantastic news, Satan loves us all too
jeebus crust?
25:00 Area War