Vietcong Guerrilla tactics, 1964–1968 Vietminh Directives: (1) Not to do what is likely to damage the land and crops or spoil the houses and belongings of the people. (2) Not to insist on buying or borrowing what the people are not willing to sell or lend. (3) Never to break our word. (4) Not to do or speak what is likely to make people believe that we hold them in contempt. (5) To help them in their daily work (harvesting, fetching firewood carrying water, sewing, etc.) (6) In spare time, to tell amusing, simple, and short stories useful to the Resistance, but not to betray secrets. (7) Whenever possible to buy commodities for those who live far from the market. (8) To teach the population the national script and elementary hygiene. These directives of the Vietminh offer an insight into the way that they approached Guerilla warfare. A key part of their tactics was to do as little as possible to upset the local population. There is a clear policy of trying to help villagers, to get them ‘on side’ so that the Vietminh can work in the area more effectively. Why was this neccessary? A guerilla campaign relies on reMyning hidden, often behind enemy lines, for much of the time. Working with the local population helps to make sure that they will be less likely to give the US forces information about the whereabouts of the enemy and means that tunnels and depots can be built close to villages. Methods used by the Vietcong: In Southern Vietnam the Vietcong operated in small cells of 8-10 men. These units would dig tunnels in and around towns and villages from where they could launch attacks. These tunnels had booby trapped entrances and often were sufficient in size to house bomb making factories, conference rooms and large stores. The largest of these tunnel systems were Iron Triangle and Cu Chi. The Cu Chi tunnel system contained over 200 miles of tunnel and was only 20 miles away from the South Vietnamese capital city, Saigon. By laying out minefields the Vietcong made patrolling incredibly difficult for US forces as they would have to slowly clear a way through difficult terrain. This made the patrols easier targets for the Vietcong and resulted in some 10,000 US personnel having limbs severed by bombs. The Vietcong also made use of mines laid by US and Australian Forces! In 1967 the Australian Forces constructed a barrier and minefield some 11 kilometres long in an attempt to stop regular units of the NLF attacking from North Vietnam. The Vietcong, with the help of sympathetic local peasants, lifted many of these mines and relaid them on patrol routes, or in the case of M16 mines, they laid them close to roads and shot at them as patrols walked past – similar to moder day uses of roadside bombs. These tunnel systems were regularly resupplied from North Vietnam. The Ho Chi Minh trail was a series of routes along the Vietnamese borders with Cambodia and Laos. It ran through dense jungle and was particularly difficult for US forces to patrol. In places the series of supply routes was 80 kilometres wide and in ttal the route ran for over 1000km in length. It is thought that some 40,000 people were involved in Myntaining the supply routes. Battlefield Vietnam: Guerilla Tactics. Part of a larger exhibition about the war in Vietnam from PBS. An Australian experience of Vietcong minefields. Guerilla Tactics, from the Spartacus encyclopedia. History Learning Site. Article about the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Home > GCSE History > How did the Viet Cong fight the Vietnam war? The Viet Cong mainly used guerrilla tactics to fight in the South. This is because the US had more advanced weapons, resources and equipment to beat the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army (the NVA) in a pinched fight or in open warfare. It would also be effective as the support from peasants meant that they were able to hide themselves in peasant villages. They also had knowledge of the jungles of the south and essential supplies were coming from the north to the south through the Ho Chi Minh Trail. What were the guerrilla tactics?
Ho Chi Minh wanted to use these guerilla tactics because he had learnt about it succeeding when used by Mao Zedong in the 1930/40s in his struggle against the Chinese Nationalist Party. It also worked against the Japanese in WW2 and also against the French after that. The aim of guerilla warfare was to wear down the US army and wreck their morale. It was effective as the US were in constant fear and 11% of the deaths were caused by booby traps. What did these tactics rely on to be successful? For this to work, however, they needed peasants support so that they could hide the VC when they were retreating. Since they had no uniform they could blend in with the peasants. This meant that the Americans did not know who their enemy was because after they had struck, they blended back into the population. Tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous North Vietnamese fighters. How important were the tunnel systems? The tunnels were important because it was a vital way of staying safe from the US air raids which were very powerful. It also kept them hidden and were dangerous ground for the US since they were rigged with traps. It had the necessities to keep the NVA and the VC going (it was self-contained). US and ARVN forces died here if they got too close because of its dangerous traps. Landmines- Landmines were used by placing bombs on the ground that would be activated by a soldier stepping on it. It would activate when the foot is taken off and would kill. There were different types such as bouncing betties, or toe poppers (shown later) Booby traps- Booby traps were non-explosive traps that were used to harm the enemy. They often consisted of a layer of ground that could be penetrated so that when the foot of an enemy soldier lands on it, it goes right through to the stakes or spikes beneath. Sometimes the spikes were poison-tipped to cause an infection. Booby traps include the Punji stake pit or the Punji bear trap. Trip wires- Trip wires were either explosive or not explosive. Sometimes they were used to trigger a poison tipped arrow into firing at the enemy, or sometimes they were used to trigger a grenade into exploding or a spiked ball to fall onto the enemy. They were very harmful. They could be used to cause a chain reaction of explosives as well. Hiding- Hiding was used by the VC to disguise themselves from the US. It was needed by the VC to use their guerilla tactics. It was very effective in hiding them and only one American soldier could go in at a time to search them, and if there were VC there, they would be dead as the VC would outnumber the American and the American would be “staring at the gun of his enemy”. Sometimes they were man made tunnels, other times they were natural hiding spots. The main objectives and aims of the Vietcong were to use guerilla warfare to achieve victory against the USA. This meant that they had to retreat when the enemy attacked, pursue when they retreated, attack when they tired and raid when they camped. The objectives of this was to wear down the enemy and wreck their morale.This relied on peasant support as they relied on the peasants hiding them. Without being able to hide with the peasants, they wouldn't have been able to blend in so well and attack the US so secretly. There was no telling who was an enemy and who wasn't. It also depended on being able to build intricate tunnels and finding good hiding places naturally or building their own. This helped them attack the US with secrecy. It also helped them counter the enemies air raids. With their impressive tunnels, they were able to stay safe from the US bombings and also create a dangerous environment for the enemy since their tunnels were filled with bombs and traps. Traps made up eleven percent of American deaths, which made them very useful.These guerilla tactics, bombs and traps were extremely successful as the Americans were constantly in fear of stepping on bombs or traps, or activating an enemy tripwire. They were also in fear of ambushes from the Vietcong or North Vietnamese Army since that was how they fought.They were extremely successful because they had very good and vital knowledge of the forests and jungles and were able to protect their supplies from damage by using the Ho Chi Minh Trail. They were hard to distinguish and won the support of the peasants of south Vietnam because they were mostly courteous and respectful to the peasants, and also helped them out with their work. In contrast to this, the Americans used tactics such as 'Search and Destroy' which heavily increased support for the Vietcong due to the ridiculous amount of damage and unnecessary casualties of the peasants.All of these factors added up to increasing fear for the Americans and a winning war effort on part of the North-Vietnamese and the Vietcong. |
What was the main tactic used by the Viet Cong?
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