Vietcong Tactics Flashcards
What tactics did the Vietcong use?
Guerrilla tactics
What are 5 tactics to do with guerrilla warfare?
Retreat when your enemy attacks Attack when your enemy retreats Raid enemy camps whenever you can Don't wear uniform - blend in Work in small groups
What was the Ho Chi Minh trail?
A vital supply route that ran through Laos and Cambodia from North Vietnam
Why did the enemy find it hard to find the Ho Chi Minh trail?
It ran through thick jungle
How long did it take for a porter, carrying supplies, to get from North Vietnam to Saigon
6 weeks by the end of the war
Approximately what percentage of US casualties were caused by ambush?
51%
What was ‘hanging on the belts’?
When the Vietcong soldiers would stay close to the US soldiers, meaning that it discouraged the US from bombing them as there was a risk that a US soldier may be killed
How did the Vietcong make it even harder for the US soldiers to find them?
They moved underground, creating a tunnel system that stretched for 300KM under the jungle
How did the tunnel systems help the Vietcong?
It made it easier for ambush
What did the tunnel system include?
Hospitals
Workshops
Bedrooms
Kitchens
What were punji traps?
Sharpened sticks hidden in shallow pits and covered with leaves
What were the spikes sometimes covered with on punji traps?
Human or animal excrement which would cause infection in the wound
What were ‘Bouncing Betty’ mines?
Mines that exploded 1 metre in the air, to target the stomach and groin area
Between 1961 and 1971, how many civilians did the Vietcong kill?
27,000
What was included on the propaganda posters that the Vietcong made?
Many showed the Vietcong overpowering the enemy, or women and children supporting them
