Vietnamization - 1968
Vietnamization was a term used to describe the policy of Richard Nixon and his cabinet. The general idea was that American troops would train South Vietnamese troops in combat, leadership, and supply them with arms and ammunition. In doing this, the South Vietnamese forces would be able to continue the fight against the North without American Involvement. American troops had already begun training with Vietnamese troops, however when Nixon introduced his Doctrine, the training became longer and more in depth. There were many different groups such as the Civilian Irregular Defence Group (CIDG), the National Police Field Forces that were composed mostly of villagers that would patrol and defend the Vietnam border. In the June of 1969, Nixon announced a plan to withdraw 25,000 troops from Vietnam, and another 60,000 by December. Nixon hoped that by training South Vietnamese and removing American troops, the conflict in Vietnam could be ended peacefully and that America could walk away unscathed. Many of Nixon’s military advisors did not believe that Vietnamization was the answer to ending the war through peace. Many people believed that if the US left South Vietnam, the National Liberation Front and the North Vietnam Army would take South Vietnam when American troops left.
Vietnamization was a policy that was a very good idea in theory, however, once applied, the policy failed to bring a definitive and peaceful end to the conflict. The policy was not able to be followed through on and with invasion of Cambodia, it was clear that the US would not be able to remove all forces from Vietnam in the time they had hoped to.
Vietnamization was a policy that was a very good idea in theory, however, once applied, the policy failed to bring a definitive and peaceful end to the conflict. The policy was not able to be followed through on and with invasion of Cambodia, it was clear that the US would not be able to remove all forces from Vietnam in the time they had hoped to.