>>63892978
The U.S. could've cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail to the South in Laos after the Tet Offensive obliterated the NVA. The VC were largely a meme, the NVA regulars just put on black pjs to move around in the South freely.
The NVA was cowering waiting for the blow to fall on Tchepone, severing their supply line forever. The U.S. leadership was worried about provoking China, and wussed out. The blow never came.
The rest of the war, the U.S. would send ineffective bombing runs and small MAC-V teams on basically suicide missions to try to stem the flow.
Even after the U.S. decapitated the Southern leadership and pulled out ground troops, the South was able to hold off the North with U.S. air support. When Nixon ordered the U.S. air support to stand in on the last offensive, that's what caused the South to fall.
