How Effective Were the Guerrilla Tactics of the Viet Cong free essay sample

How effective were the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong – History Plan * What tactics the Viet Cong used against US/ARVN troops. * How the Viet Cong dealt with the decisions made by the US troops. * How guerrilla tactics were better than those used by the US troops. * How the environment in Vietnam suited the Viet Cong and how it was a disadvantage for the US troops. * How the surroundings in Vietnam were an advantage to the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong had many tactics which they used against the US and ARVN troops in the Vietnam War, however these tactics were not those that you would expect to be used in a war. The Viet Cong were a Guerrilla army, meaning that the people fighting for them are not proper soldiers. As guerrilla armies don’t have any rules that meant that they could do anything in the war, these tactics were often hit and miss. We will write a custom essay sample on How Effective Were the Guerrilla Tactics of the Viet Cong or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Whereas the US troops had to follow rules which prevented them from shooting first against the Viet Cong. (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare) The US troops were always used to fighting enemies face to face but the Viet Cong knew that if they did this then they would be beaten, so they dug a series of tunnels, a tactic and a strategy that had never been used before. The tunnels either connected from countryside to key cities or they were used to lead down to hidden bases. These tunnels allowed the Viet Cong to get to the places they wanted without the enemy detecting them. They also allowed them to fight the enemy without them seeing them, leading to the US troops calling them ‘The Invisible Enemy’. This tactic was very successful as many US troops lost their lives without ever seeing the Viet Cong. It was also successful as the Viet Cong could also get to the places they wanted quickly and without having to fight. On the other hand the US troops were searching through the forests in Vietnam and this allowed the Vietcong to use their tactics of ambushing US patrols, setting booby-traps and landmines. The US troops were easy to spot for the Viet Cong as they looked different from the Vietnamese. They also wore a uniform which made them stand out to the Viet Cong. However it wasn’t the same for the US troops trying to spot the Vietcong as the Viet Cong all looked the same as the rest of the Vietnamese people and so the US troops never knew whom they were shooting, leading to many shootings of innocent people dying like the My Lai massacre, where even children were killed. These actions were caused by the frustration of the US troops who were frustrated at losing their comrades; they retaliated by feeling anxious when they went into villages where they knew that they could be killed. These methods were very effective as the booby-traps couldn’t be seen by the opposition and was a quick way of killing the enemy without fighting with them face to face. The tunnels were also effective for the Viet Cong as they could retreat to them when they had just ambushed the US troops. They could also use some of the tunnels to put trap doors and lead them to terrible ways of dying like snakes or poison spikes. A massive advantage for the Viet Cong was that the area in which they were fighting in was mainly in a forest. This helped the Viet Cong as the US could not use their air support to full affect as they could not see the combatants below. The Viet Cong also used the US’ Napalm as an advantage, as when the US alerted their commanders of a sighting of the Viet Cong forces, the Viet Cong would draw the enemies in to the sighting area leading to the US sometimes accidently killing their own forces. One of the main tactics for the Viet Cong was to ambush the troops when they were the most exhausted, like after a long march through the forest. The weather played a huge part in this tactic as the temperatures were very hot, the sort of weather the US troops weren’t used to, unlike the Viet Cong who were used to this weather every day. The heat would’ve made the US Soldiers tired, therefore allowing the Viet Cong to ambush them and the US soldiers would have hardly any energy to fight back. The Viet Cong also thought of backup tactics. These included secure sanctuaries for times when the war might go badly. These were very effective as when the US troops outnumbered the Viet Cong they could retreat to a hiding spot to then launch an ambush. (http://www. pbs. org/battlefieldvietnam/guerrilla/index. html) Also the Viet Cong were made up of people from all around South Vietnam. This made it easier for the Viet Cong to gain trust from people as many of the South Vietnamese people knew at least one person fighting for the Viet Cong. (Edexcel GCSE, History Controlled Assessment, CA5 Vietnam 1960-75). They were also nice to the South Vietnamese people unlike the US troops. With this advantage the Viet Cong used the South Vietnamese people as intelligence spies, to gather information about the enemy US troops without them suspecting a thing. This worked well for the Viet Cong as the US troops wouldn’t be able to recognise any Vietnamese people who were working for the Viet Cong, which meant that the Viet Cong could keep on finding out crucial information about the enemy without needing to capture any opposition fighters. In conclusion, I believe that the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong were much superior to those of the US troops as they were more adapted to the Vietnamese environment whereas the US tactics could not be put fully into action, and the fact that the Viet Cong knew their environment more compared to the US was a dominant factor in using tactics and methods to getting to where they wanted to be and how to get there. Bibliography 1) Ambushing US patrols, setting booby traps and landmines, and planting bombs in towns. They mingled in with the peasants, wearing ordinary clothes. The Americans couldnt identify who the enemy was. ) Their tactic was  hanging onto the belts  of the Americans staying so close to the Americans so they could not use air or artillery backup without killing their own men. Source: http://www. bbc. co. uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/vietnam/thewarinvietnam rev2. shtml 3) The Vietcong would avoid pitched battles with the Americans unless the odds were clea rly in their favour. There would be more hit and run attacks and ambushes. 4) The Vietcong, following the example of Chinese guerrillas before them, had always given the highest priority to creating safe base areas. They were training grounds, logistics centres and headquarters. They also offered secure sanctuaries for times when the war might go badly. Source: http://www. pbs. org/battlefieldvietnam/guerrilla/index. html 5) Build bases of support among the local population. Avoid open battles with the enemy. Use the local population to gather intelligence about troop movements. Use ambushes, attack at night. Withdraw from fights when outnumbered. (Page 15) 6) Attacked their opponents when they were at their weakest, for example after a long march. Attacked their enemy when they were resting or when they were in camp. They were supplied with weapons and rockets by China and Russia (Page 21) 7) The Vietcong dug themselves tunnels to provide Shelter from bombing and search and destroy missions. (Page 22) Source: Edexcel GCSE, History Controlled Assessment, CA5 Vietnam 1960-75 8) The land is full of marshes, trees, swamps, damp grass, and traps. The Vietcong could be anyone. The Vietcong were camouflaged. Concrete trapdoors, stake traps (poisoned spikes), firing posts, storage for food, weapons and explosives and wells. Sometimes the Vietcong attacked/assaulted the Americans from buildings causing them to fight back. Source: Used my own information 9) Guerrilla warfare is in which a small group of  combatants  including, but not limited to, armed civilians using  military tactics, such as  ambushes,  sabotage,  raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary  mobility  to dominate a larger and less-mobile traditional  army, or strike a vulnerable target, and withdraw almost immediately. Source: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare http://www. thefinertimes. com/Vietnam-War/15-facts-about-the-vietnam-war. html