Help for Course Work on Vietnam Question 1 What were the tactics of the Vietnamese and how effective were they?

What were the tactics of the Vietcong? Some of the things you could mention are – Guerrilla Warfare Getting the people on their side Using the countryside to their advantage Tunnels Ho Chi Minh Trail The Tet Offensive

What was the impact of Guerrilla tactics? They had to fight this way because - USA too strong - More weapons Better technology Use the country to their advantage They could hide amongst the people Disappear on the Americans Attack when they were strong It was effective because – It was an already proven success against the Japanese and French The US soldiers did not know where their enemy was. They did not know who their enemy was. They avoided face to face confrontations since they were fighting a superior force.

Getting people on their side They lived amongst the people They treated them fairly They had a code of conduct to treat people with respect and not to bully or steal. They paid for what they needed. They did not ill treat prisoners They won over the hearts and minds of the people to communism This was effective because - The people saw them as liberators not oppressors. The Americans were seen as outsiders – colonizers like the French. They got rid of the corrupt official of President Diems government – sometimes by murder and torture.

What were their fighting tactics? General Giap was an expert in Guerrilla warfare Ambush – surprise attacks Attack at night when the Americans were at their weakest Take out the last one in the line. Set traps – tin can trap - Bouncing Betty – trip wire – Punji traps Carried side weapons – suitable for the rain forests Easy to set. Cheap – without much cost. Suitable to the countryside. Made the Americans very nervous. The Americans thought the enemy was all around them. Caused many casualties

Using the countryside to their advantage They knew their own country. They knew the Americans were not used to the tropical rain forest, the snakes and the insects. They spoke the language the Americans didn’t. They forced the Americans to travel around the vast country into the forests and flooded paddy fields and River Mekong Delta. The conditions got to the Americans. They had to walk great distances often finding nobody to fight. The Americans destroyed villages that helped the VC, but this only turned people against them.

How useful were the tunnels They dug vast networks of tunnels. 150 miles of tunnels around Saigon alone. Stored their food and weapons. Command centers. Sleeping quarters. Hospital areas. These were difficult to find and dangerous to attack for the platoons. Kept them safe from air attack. Deceived the Americans into thinking they were hiding from their strength.

How effective was the Ho Chi Minh Trail? This was the VCs supply line from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia. Supplies of side arms came from Russia and China. It went through the tropical rain forest. It avoided the American held areas and the DMZ. Thousands of routes were made. If one route was detected and bombed they moved to another. They used Donkeys and bicycles – they moved easier than American heavy equipment. When the Americans bombed the route they had 40,000 people working on the trail to make it right again.

How successful was the Tet Offensive? The ‘Tet’ Offensive was an attack by the Communist Guerrillas against the cities and American bases in South Vietnam. It was named after the Buddhist New Year. It lasted 2 weeks and led to terrible casualties on the part of the VC. They fought very hard. The Americans were taken by surprise. The American public began to think they could lose the war. Around the world the media showed the Americans in great difficulty.