General Westmoreland Leadership Style Analysis

Vietnam War Summary The Vietnam War lasted about two decades. The United States was engulfed in a civil war between North and South Vietnam and wanted to assist the south with preventing a hostile takeover by North Vietnam under the Communism banner. The Vietnam War was not only America’s longest War, but also costliest and deadliest. We spent over $150 billion and suffered close to $58 thousand American deaths and nearly 300 thousand wounded. By the time we decided to withdraw from the war, North Vietnam easily swept through the south and unified Vietnam under Communism. Still to this day, one of the most debated topics regarding the Vietnam War is why the United States got involved and why, when and how we should wage future wars. (Dunn, 2001)
Leadership Assessment of Gen Westmoreland
American Forces were led by General Westmoreland and for 77 days, roughly six thousand American forces held off twenty thousand Northern Vietnamese. Both sides claimed victory due to many counterattacks. However, General Westmoreland’s biggest critique was his overreliance on military calculations. Understanding the nature of General Westmoreland’s decisions and leadership style at the Battle of Khe Sanh are provided in the examples below:
Knowledge. Westmoreland’s preemptive planning and utilization of intelligence gave American forces the upper hand. Westmoreland convinced the President the Khe Sanh needed to be defended not abandoned. The Khe Sanh outpost split critical supply infiltration routes for North Vietnam. General Westmoreland decided to leave six thousand elite Marines there to defend Khe Sanh. He trusted in the Intelligence provided and had all the evidence needed to show that the North Vietnamese forces were building up for a large attack on Khe Sanh; it was just a question of when it would happen. (Flitton,