Why were the Viet Cong tactics successful? Objective: Understand the tactics of the Viet Cong and be able to explain why they were successful. 13 June, 2016

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Viet Cong soldiers from D 445 Battalion. The Americans and their allies generally identified those wearing black as “Main Force” Viet Cong. This image nevertheless shows that the Viet Cong wore many different “uniforms,” and used a variety of weapons and equipment – there was no uniform to identify them. Source analysis – what do these photos tell you about the Viet Cong?

A militia woman defending Binh Da hamlet. Viet Cong guerrillas move through "fighting holes" in abandoned South Vietnamese houses. Such holes, dug almost a decade earlier, allowed them to pass through villages unseen (1960)

Guerrillas tunnel into the dry soil in the region known as the Iron Triangle, a Viet Cong stronghold bounded by the cities of Tay Ninh, Song Be and Saigon (1966).

Guerrilla warfare Why were the Vietcong’s tunnel networks so successful? How did it make the war harder for the USA?

The Viet Cong Tactics The Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops were used to fighting in Vietnam. They had developed guerrilla warfare against both the French and the Japanese. This meant leaving mines and booby traps, ambushing troops and then ‘melting away’ into the jungle. The Vietcong called the war the ‘People’s War’. The whole population was expected to drive out the USA. The Vietcong helped the Vietnamese people to gain their support but were ruthless with opponents too. Many women were members of the Vietcong – women were be promoted on equal terms with men. Ho Chi Minh had seen Chinese Communists use guerrilla warfare to achieve a victory there and believed that superior forces could be defeated by guerrilla warfare. The principles were simple:  Retreat when the enemy attacks  Raid when the enemy camps  Attack when the enemy tires  Pursue when the enemy retreats

Guerrilla Tactics Didn’t wear uniform Knowledge of the land Booby traps / ambushes Tunnels Close quarter fighting Communist support China and USSR Supplied equipment & weapons Leadership Ho Chi Minh Support from Vietnamese VC helped the Vietnamese peasants VC ruthless – killed opponents VC terrorised opponents Using all the information you have been give and pages 106 – 107 create an information poster /diagram /mind map to answer the question: Why were the Viet Cong so difficult to defeat? If you use this diagram as a starting point, it guides you to the key reasons, what you need is some explanation of the points to be able to expand upon reasons in an exam question.