What would have happened if the Laos-Vietnam border had been closed during the war?

Answer 1

If Laos had closed borders, the North Vietnamese Army would not have been able to use the Ho Chi Minh trail to supply the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. Without supplies from the NVA, the Viet Cong would not have been able to carry out terrorist attacks, thus the U.S could fight on their own terms.

Such a thing could have easily turned the war around.

Answer 2

The NVA would have penetrated into Laos anyway, and spread the war with them; probably knowing full well that the United States would do the same. The NVA didn't care; for them it was do or die. Captured NVA pith helmets were found with their own graffiti written on them; "Born in the North, died in the South." There was no way the North could have survived continuing the war by travelling through the sea, along the coastline; the USN would have sunk every craft that tried. There was no way the North would have tried to cross the DMZ...that was a channelized kill zone; they knew it, we knew it. That left Laos...and that couldn't be channeled & Laos couldn't be sunk. The NVA could get lost in that country, and nobody could find them; they knew it, so did we. So, Laos was the place.

Answer 3

If bordering nations had been organized, tough & strong enough to properly secure their borders the NVA would not have had the Ho Chi Minh Trail within their borders. Nor would the NVA have had at least 2 tank regiments stationed within those bordering countries. Thusly, the allies would have had no NVA infiltration into South Vietnam (RVN) and the enemy (NVA) would have had no reinforcements during the war. With the over-powering firepower of the US/allies, slowy but surely the NVA would have lost its strength and with it, the war.

Answer 4

If Laos had closed borders, the North Vietnamese Army would not have been able to use the Ho Chi Minh trail to supply the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. Without supplies from the NVA, the Viet Cong would not have been able to carry out terrorist attacks, thus the U.S could fight on their own terms.

Such a thing could have easily turned the war around.