Superficially the Malayan Emergency and Vietnam War seem similar yet had disparate outcomes. What differences were there that led to this?

by Cow_In_Space

Both conflicts were protracted (12+ years and 19+ years), both taking place in unforgiving terrain that benefits the communists, and both seem to have had a similar ratio of combatants although the scale of Vietnam was larger.

Was it as simple as the North Vietnamese having an organised military? Or is there more nuance?

As always, thanks to anyone replying.

Bernardito

Hi! I've written on this topic in the past. Here's a post that collects some of those threads + some additional content based upon questions in the post. If you have any specific questions beyond that, I'd be happy to answer them.