why were the limeys too chicken to fight in vietnam?

Answer 1

they knew we would do their dirty work.
they are gutless wonders

Answer 2

Perhaps they saw something that we didn't see, like a country simply fighting for its own independence. You should be asking, why was the US so blind that it couldn't see this.

Before WW II, Vietnam was a French colony. During WW II, Ho-Che-Mien was our ally. After the war ended Ho did not want his country returned to colonization and was willing to fight rather than give in to the French. The Vietnamese beat the French in 1955 at Bien Ben Phu, but the country was divided over communism and other forms of government.

This is when the US got involved. At the time, being a communist was worse than anything in the minds of US politicians. This mindset carried over to Kennedy and Johnson, and after Kennedy's demise Johnson believed that he had all the answers. Unfortunately, Johnson had none of the answers, and it cost the US 58,000 killed, plus it cost Vietnam over 1 million killed.

This is why the limey's were too chicken to fight along side the US, in this terrible and unforgivable war that was started by the democrats, I might add.

Answer 3

Probably because they had their own problems like Malay 48-60 (Which the Brits won), Kenya, Aden, Suez Crisis,Northern Ireland, Cyprus why would the Brits think the US needed any help with Vietnam, technically if the democrats had not screwed you, perhaps you would have won , and as someone else pointed out, why should they bail out the French, it was a French mess.

Brits both, English, Irish and Scots, served in both Australian and US Service, so were plenty represented in Vietnam.

No worries Gunny C, I know this person and Mary Jo W (Who normally posts good stuff, must be an off day) are not typical representatives of the US Military.

Answer 4

Not chicken their presence was necessary in NATO, they were not part of the SouthEast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) but the Australians were and fought there as did many other nations which were in that organization. They did not fight there because they had no legal right to be there and "no dog in the fight"; as a Vietnam veteran I would have been happy to have them by our sides as they already had some experience in fighting unconventional warfare in the jungle-1950's in Malaysia; the Americans were not there with them but not because we were chicken but for the same reasons they weren't in Vietnam. To the British here-I apologize for him-doesn't know what he thinks he does.

Answer 5

The Wilson Govt. was already tied up with the "Confrontation" against Indonesia and with the bloody Aden Insurgency. In both cases the United Kingdom didn't want to abrogate its responsibilities (although it eventually did in Aden in November 1967 having been defeated by the NLF/FLOSY) and was already tied up in those conflicts. Furthermore, the Wilson govt. did not want to stay East of Suez for much longer (and only remained by virtue of American support before eventually pulling the plug at the whim of the then Defence Secretary, Denis Healey) and thus would've been unlikely to get drawn into a war which may have required long term East of Suez commitment.

Moreover, the Labour Party (to which Wilson belonged and from which he drew his support) had lots of anti-war in general and esp. anti-war in Vietnam members, many of whom would not have supported British involvement in Vietnam. With a working majority between 1964-66 of very low figures, any small rebellion in Parliament by Labour MPs would have defeated the motion to declare war, rendering the exercise a waste of time and a source of embarrassment that could have potentially brought down the government - not something any politician wants to risk if he can.

Answer 6

NEVER underestimate the British. They have gallant and brave warriors and have been our ally since the Middle East terrorism began. If you check out your facts, you will find that our Navy Seal training was advised and coordinated by the Brits in it's initial stages. I will stand by the Brits and the Aussies to the end and this from a 27 year vet who was in 3 wars.

Answer 7

Because you rednecks forgot to post us and invite!!!

However, we did send some British Jungle Warfare Instructors from our Malaysian Forces to teach you guys how to fight in the jungle (seems some smart person in the US Military Administration decided to disband any US units who were Jungle experts from the WW2 period by saying "well we will never need them as WE will never be fighting in a jungle environment again!!!").

And we sent our Australian & New Zealand troops to help you out as well.

But no need to thank us as we appreciate all the help you have given us in the past.

Answer 8

They were actually doing things in other parts of the world, like Malaysia and other places in South East Asia fighting communists.

Answer 9

Rice paddies are not worth dying for. 4 million dead civilians, because they might have to share the rice with each other , rather than give 90% of the rice to the lords under the right wing system.

Answer 10

I think we should bomb France for that and all the other time we babied them.
The Brits weren't too scared, they just know when to stop sacrificing themselves for other ungrateful countries.

Answer 11

So, have you signed up to join the army and go to Iraq or are you too chicken?