Peoples war, peoples army marxists internet archive. Ospreys study of the evolving us, viet cong and nva tactics at battalion level and below throughout the vietnam war 19551975. Two days later, the american 1st brigade and a battalion of the 173rd airborne are attacked by a vietcong regiment, which is. Vietcong and us war tactics by mimi smitsy on prezi. Military tactics used by the usa and the vietcong in vietnamin during the vietnam war there were two main sides other countries were involved, giving financial support etc. The vietcong used tunnel systems to travel and live underground and to never be seen. The demolition platoon of the 514th battalion part one. The name is said to have first been used by south vietnamese pres. The story of a marine grunt in the first battle of khe sanh april 1967 duration. Background the war in vietnam lasted from the mid 1950s 1975. Moreover, per the oed, the guerrilla was an english usage as early as 1809, describing the fighters, not only their tactics e. The fighting tactics used by the viet cong during the vietnam war were. This is a moving if rather nsive account of life as a vietnamese revolutionary, written by one of the vietcongs highestranking leaders who is now in exile in the west.
His political philosophy was a not entirely intelligible blend of. The usa, despite winning the tet offensive from a attritional standing, had lost much of their experienced soldiers other the course of the war, so public support began to fade. They were training grounds, logistics centers and headquarters. For example the venus fly trap was a pit that had harpoon shaped spears that impaled victims legs as they fell, each time they tried to get out the spears would continue to tear their legs apart. Explain why the vietcong adopted guerrilla warfare tactics during the conflict in south vietnam. The tactics and methods of the north vietnamese and viet cong. Thoroughly disillusioned, the author describes how hanoi used southern bourgeois revolutionaries to overthrow the saigon government and then quickly shunted them aside after victory.
The us forces relied on high technology weaponry and massive firepower, particularly air strikes and carpet bombing of vietcong bases. As this is being written, early in 1970, the socalled vietnamization process is well under way in south vietnam. The local residents created the traps more to frighten off intruders that were coming into their village. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The viet cong had many different traps ranging from spiked pits to trip wires. Two regional command centers were merged to create the central office for south. Km5848 rm5849 rm5850 rm5851 rm5852 rm611 rm63751 vidocument of an elite viet cong delta unit. The vietcong did not win a single major battle above divisional sized in the entire vietnam w. Tactics and objectives during the tet offensive author. Key vietcong tactics guerilla war hanging onto the belts the ho chi minh trail guerilla means the vietcong used unusual tactics using in depth knowledge of local surroundings to defeat the enemy both physically and psychologically. They used the ho chi minh trail through laos and cambodia. Click the button below to get instant access to this resource for use in the classroom or at a home. Strengths and weaknesses of both sides oxnotes gcse revision. The contrast between the two sides in the vietnam war could hardly have been greater.
They were fighting for communism and the reunification of vietnam. Why were the military tactics of the vietcong so successful. The vietcong forced people to join the army starting at age, which was crazy, and hard for the americans to kill the kids which gave the vietcong another advantage. Peoples war, peoples army vo nguyen giap original title. How effective were the vietcong tactics in the vietnam war. Established at the end of 1960, the vc was created by the north vietnamese communists to escalate the armed struggle in south vietnam.
How effective were the guerrilla tactics of the viet cong. Tactics and objectives during the tet offensive, v. Pupils start by considering the sizes of the american and vietnam forces, and the impact this has on tactics. Vietcong strategy of terror 12 empirical studies of. The vietcong or vietnamese communists, were part of a political and military organization that was established in 1960 and consisted of the national liberation front nlf and the peoples.
President johnson ordered the bombing of strategic military targets in north vietnam, including air raids on the capital city, hanoi, and bases and supply routes for the vietcong. All of these factors added up to increasing fear for the americans and a winning war effort on part of the northvietnamese and the vietcong. Throughout the vietnam war, the americans used many tactics to defeat the vietcong. The peoples liberation armed forces plaf, more popularly known as the viet cong vc, was the military arm of the national liberation front nlf. These are flashcards for all 7 vc tactics that were used effectively in the vietnam war. They based their strategies and tactics on those used by mao zedongthe communist leader in china. There was the arvn army of the republic of vietnam and the u. Military tactics used by the usa and the vietcong in vietnamin. Beginning with a description of the terrain, climate and the unique nature of operations in this theatre of war, the author, a vietnam veteran himself, goes on to explain how unit organisation was broken down by combatant forces and the impact this had on the kind of tactics. The conventional warfare tactics and bombardments of us were ineffective against the hitand run guerilla warfare of the viet cong. The us and the rvn republic of vietnam were against the southernbased revolutionary movement known as the viet cong. Knowing that vietnamese soldiers were often very young, from ages 14, they need to find a way.
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. The vietcong vc used guerilla tactics, otherwise known as guerilla warfare. Third part of a short clip series about the vietnam war. The 272nd regiment of the vietcong 9th division attack a battalion of the american 3rd brigade at lo ke. The crude and effective guerrilla small arms of the vietnam war. Both of these tactics were used greatly throughout the war.
American military tactics vs vietcongs tactics prezi. This book reveals the evolving us, viet cong and nva tactics at battalion level and below throughout the vietnam war. After the airstrikes, one poll showed that johnsons approval rating on his handling of vietnam jumped from 41 percent to 60 percent. If youre talking about military success, then their tactics really cant be called successful. Viet cong vc, in full viet nam cong san, english vietnamese communists, the guerrilla force that, with the support of the north vietnamese army, fought against south vietnam late 1950s1975 and the united states early 1960s1973. The vietcong relied on hit and run tactics and were able to improvise solutions to the problem of lack of supplies. The vietcong were masters of what is known as guerrilla warfare or guerrilla tactics during the conflict in vietnam. There were many reasons why the vietcong adopted guerilla tactics against the allies. The vietcong begins to attack bases where american advisers stationed in south vietnam. They could blend in with and move through the local terrain much better than u. The vietnamese communists, or vietcong, were the military branch of the national. The vietcong, following the example of chinese guerillas before them, had always given the highest priority to creating safe base areas. This meant that many in north vietnam volunteered to fight. Divisions between the three are based pred ominantly on the great wars of the 19 th century, especially within the.
This article has been split from the article viet cong for reasons discussed at talk. A common bomb created was often built with old, dormant american bombs which were scattered of the vietnam countryside. The guerrilla tactics of the vietcong were very effective for a number of reasons. Trailer the vietcong tunnels and cu chi booby traps primary source personal experience sources united states troops briefing video. It may be release to the ctoerlnghouie, department of commerce, tar tele to the genera public. Theses tactics included a strategic and ingenious way of attacking the enemy, referred to as hit and run this tactic was a contrast with the americans search and destroy. How effective were the guerrilla tactics of the viet cong history plan what tactics the viet cong used against usarvn troops. With regard to the broad range of techniques used by the viet cong in south vietnam, the. Recruits were young teenagers, many of them were motivated to fight by idealism, but others were pressures or. They also fought a lot at night wearing dark clothes so the usas military wouldnt see them and because vietcongs knew their way around the jungles more than the usa, the usas army were. It clearly shows their tactics, basically simple 16th century old ways to kill you or at least screw your day. How effective were the vietcongs guerrilla tactics.
This video was shown to all of the troops in america before heading out to war in vietnam. Along with that came napalm bombs which caused dreadful burns to thousand of innocent civilians. Who were the vietcong and what were their tactics powerpoint. Nlf and pavn battle tactics comprised a flexible mix of guerrilla and conventional warfare battle tactics used by the main force of the peoples liberation armed forces known as the national liberation front or viet cong in the west and the nva peoples armyvietnam to defeat their u. This is a double lesson focusing on the vietcongs tactics in the vietnam war, for the new aqa gcse specification. Beginning with a description of the terrain, climate and the unique nature of operations in this theater of war, author gordon rottman, a vietnam veteran himself, goes on to explain how unit organization was broken down by combatant forces and the impact this. Operation rolling thunder that began with dropping millions of explosive bombs on north vietnam and ho chi minh trail. The vietcong main troops thought they were all professional soldiers and the local vietcong soldiers were not that confident about themselves. What military tactics were used by vietcong and how did us troops respond. The vietcong was a highly organized operation with control centers hidden throughout south vietnam that were. Common tactics used by the us forces and the vietcong guerillas during the war. Most of which stemmed from the fact that the could effectively utilise their surroundings to entrap, evade and destroy the allies from a positions which were. The vietcongs tactics were by such things as making dummy paths of the ho chi min trail when they had hidden the real ones with traps on the dummy ones.
Two of the tactics used were search and destroy and defoliation. The reason for the american involvement in the war was to prevent the spread of communism. The war was the second of two major conflicts that was spread all throughout indochina. Download who were the vietcong and what were their tactics. Explain why the vietcong adopted guerrilla warfare tactics. They pursued strategies that seemed designed to produce neither a victory nor a. Powered by pimpedfusion 2009 2020 powered by phpfusion. How successful were the military tactics used by the vietcong. With a mechanism probably inspired by the british sten, this almost toylike, greenpainted submachine gun was. It actually really depends on your definition of success. The vietcongs tactics and technology in the vietnam war. Tactical and materiel innovations army center of military history. Peoples war peoples army marxists internet archive. Later in the vietnam war, the viet cong primarily used the type 53 carbine m44, the type 56 sks, the type 56 ak47, shown and the k50 from china and north vietnam.
463 277 1208 1583 719 102 297 1587 106 1103 970 1315 1054 1222 584 1108 914 990 938 418 1467 377 1377 405 48 341 807 182 56 729 779 150 1474 1261 1382 829 1014 1098 948