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Could the US have won the Vietnam war?

Could the US have won the Vietnam war?

Geoffrey Wawro considers the question of whether US firepower in Vietnam could ever have won out against their elusive enemy

Published: April 14, 2025 at 7:00 AM

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When US forces entered Vietnam, the nation's leaders believed they could contain communism and secure victory. Instead, they found themselves trapped in a war that drained resources, divided the country, and ultimately ended in failure. Geoffrey Wawro explains to Elinor Evans how flawed strategies doomed the US campaign from the start, and why Nixon’s secret plan to end the war failed to achieve lasting 'peace with honour'.

Geoffrey Wawro is the author of The Vietnam War: A Military History (Basic Books, 2024).

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