Battlefield victory is not measured by assaults repulsed, by territory seized/held, or by bodycounts. It's measured by imposing your will upon your opponent. The US failed categorically in this respect, ergo Vietnam is by definition a battlefield defeat.
Had the US been capable of imposing its will upon the North, the South's shortcomings and the discontent on the homefront would have been irrelevant. Instead, the US's inability to break the North's dogged determination made all of America's tactical successes irrelevant instead.
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