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Single most important factor in determining the outcome of a war.

The #1 war determining factor is:

  • Understanding the culture and the people of the enemy

    Votes: 5 21.7%

  • Wealth to fund the war

    Votes: 4 17.4%

  • Military strategy

    Votes: 8 34.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 6 26.1%
  • Total voters
    23
apdst said:
"Inflicting more damage, in less time than the enemy"
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That NEVER ensures a victory in war. Vietnam shows US that loud and clear.
 
apdst said:
Actually, there are very few examples of a successful guerilla war and no, Vietnam isn't one of them.
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Nonsense. The Vietcong were well entrenched by 1968 and were chiefly responsible for the success of Tet.
 
jet57 said:
Nonsense. The Vietcong were well entrenched by 1968 and were chiefly responsible for the success of Tet.
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You're wrong on both accounts. 1) The Viet Cong ceased to exist during Tet. VC units were either disbanded, or absorbed into The NVA. 2) The Tet Offensive of a massive failure for the Communists.
 
jet57 said:
That NEVER ensures a victory in war. Vietnam shows US that loud and clear.
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How did we win The Rev-War, The Mexican War, The Texas Revolution, The Civil War, The Indian Wars, The Span-Am War, WW1, WW2, Grenada, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan?

By, "causing more damage in less time, than the enemy".
 
apdst said:
You're wrong on both accounts. 1) The Viet Cong ceased to exist during Tet. VC units were either disbanded, or absorbed into The NVA. 2) The Tet Offensive of a massive failure for the Communists.
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Sorta, but they found success in that failure and exploited it quickly(ie the US tiring of war they seemed unable to win). And while the NVA was actually mostly responsible for the win, the reason had to do with their ability to absorb the lasses they suffered and in fact planning their strategy largely around how much they could sustainably lose. Killing the enemy does not win a war.
 
Redress said:
Sorta, but they found success in that failure and exploited it quickly(ie the US tiring of war they seemed unable to win). And while the NVA was actually mostly responsible for the win, the reason had to do with their ability to absorb the lasses they suffered and in fact planning their strategy largely around how much they could sustainably lose. Killing the enemy does not win a war.
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The Communists relied on pro-communist Left Wing elements in The United States to undermine the war effort. People like Jane Fonda, Walter Kronkite and John Kerry did a fantastic job of destroying the country's morale and resolve. Had US forces done more damage, in less time, the war would have been decided before the domestic pro-Communist forces could get organized.

Wars are one by killing the enemy and destroying his ability to wage war. You won't find a war, where killing the enemy wasn't a priority. Forcing the enemy to expensd his combat power to a point that it can't be replenished is always the objective. Its what Grant did in The Overland Campaign.
 
apdst said:
The Communists relied on pro-communist Left Wing elements in The United States to undermine the war effort. People like Jane Fonda, Walter Kronkite and John Kerry did a fantastic job of destroying the country's morale and resolve. Had US forces done more damage, in less time, the war would have been decided before the domestic pro-Communist forces could get organized.

Wars are one by killing the enemy and destroying his ability to wage war. You won't find a war, where killing the enemy wasn't a priority. Forcing the enemy to expensd his combat power to a point that it can't be replenished is always the objective. Its what Grant did in The Overland Campaign.
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So communist is like socialist, any one who you don't like.

No, you win war by doing what it takes to achieve your objectives.
 
Redress said:
So communist is like socialist, any one who you don't like.

No, you win war by doing what it takes to achieve your objectives.
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And, the objective is to do more damage to the enemy than he can do to you. Are you familiar with World War 2?
 
apdst said:
And, the objective is to do more damage to the enemy than he can do to you. Are you familiar with World War 2?
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Are you? No country was as brutally devastated as the Russia was...
 
apdst said:
How did we win The Rev-War, The Mexican War, The Texas Revolution, The Civil War, The Indian Wars, The Span-Am War, WW1, WW2, Grenada, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan?

By, "causing more damage in less time, than the enemy".
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Wrong. We won because we had the will to win.
 
jet57 said:
Wrong. We won because we had the will to win.
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And, because we destroyed the enemy's will to resist. How did we do that? By doing more damage to the enemy than the enemy did to us.
 
apdst said:
You're wrong on both accounts. 1) The Viet Cong ceased to exist during Tet. VC units were either disbanded, or absorbed into The NVA. 2) The Tet Offensive of a massive failure for the Communists.
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Wrong dude. I was talking about before and during Tet.
 
jet57 said:
Wrong dude. I was talking about before and during Tet.
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During Tet, The Viet Cong was destroyed and Tet was a massive failure. The commies didn't achieve one single objective.
 
apdst said:
During Tet, The Viet Cong was destroyed and Tet was a massive failure. The commies didn't achieve one single objective.
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SURE THEY DID! We left the country! WE didn't have the will to win.
 
apdst said:
That list is flawed, because The Viet Cong was destroyed in 1968 and Giap transitioned to a conventional force using conventional tactics.
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1.)The whole list is flawed because of your opinion?
2.)You know when Saigon fell correct? In 1975. You know when the Viet Cong dissolved? In 1976. You know why? The war was over and the country was united under another government. They won and became part of a united Vietnam.
 
TheDemSocialist said:
1.)The whole list is flawed because of your opinion?
2.)You know when Saigon fell correct? In 1975. You know when the Viet Cong dissolved? In 1976. You know why? The war was over and the country was united under another government. They won and became part of a united Vietnam.
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Those pesky facts huh.
 
Redress said:
According to wiki: World War II casualties - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Russian military deaths: 8.7 to 13.85 million
German military deaths: 4.3 to 5.5 million
Japanese military deaths: 2.12 million

Russian civilian deaths: 7 to 12 million
German civilian deaths: 1.1 million
Japanese civilian deaths 0.5 million

Want to try again?
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What percentage of the population do those numbers represent? How much damage did Germany do to Russia's manpower pool versus the damage that did to Germany's manpower pool?


Hellstorm: The Rape and Mass Murder of German Women after WWII | Veterans Today
 
For an imperialist power seeking to successfully subdue and occupy a nation: willingness and ability to kill and destroy the enemy at genocidal levels. (It worked in Germany and Japan. We haven't killed at that level since and also have not succeeded in successfully subduing and occupying anyone except Panama and Grenada.
 
apdst said:
During Tet, The Viet Cong was destroyed and Tet was a massive failure. The commies didn't achieve one single objective.
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They where greatly reduced, not destroyed. The communists did not achieve the objectives they set out to, but they did find a route to victory from Tet.

jet57 said:
SURE THEY DID! We left the country! WE didn't have the will to win.
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Not for several years and not as a direct result of Tet. Tet was Jan/Feb 1968, last troops out of Vietnam was 1973.
 
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