Why were the Vietcong hard to fight?

The Vietcong had an intricate knowledge of the terrain. They won the hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese people by living in their villages and helping them with their everyday lives. Their tunnel systems, booby-traps and jungle cover meant they were difficult to defeat and hard to find.

How difficult an enemy were the Vietcong?

The Viet Cong is a tough enemy but no tougher than his opponents. He is not a superman, nor is he invincible. It is impossible to predict how long it will take but the Republic of Vietnam and the United States are committed to stopping his aggression.

What tactics did the Vietcong use to make them hard?

They would frustrate the Americans by simple tactics: retreating when the enemy attacked; raiding enemy camps; attacking the enemy when they were tired and pursuing the enemy when they retreated. The Vietcong made sure they picked battles they would be able to win.

Who were the Viet Cong afraid of?

The destructive effects of American planes dropping napalm bombs—the Vietcong are terrified of them—are very great, and the insurgents have no answer to them.

What was Viet Cong fighting style?

The Vietcong successfully utilized guerrilla warfare to fight against the United States and South Vietnamese forces. Guerilla warfare is a type of fighting that utilizes ambushes, raids, and mobility to fight a traditional military.

Vietcong Guerilla (Vietnam war)

Why was Vietnam such a brutal war?

Why was the Vietnam War so Controversial? In March of 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the first U.S. combat troops into South Vietnam to fight the spread of Communism from North. The casualties of this long war, from both sides, were extensive and brutal due to guerilla warfare and the use of chemical weapons.

Why were the Vietcong so successful?

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.

What did the Vietcong do to civilians?

By 1969, nearly 250 civilians were being murdered or kidnapped each week. VC/PAVN terror squads committed over 36,000 murders and almost 58,000 kidnappings from 1967 to 1972 according to a U.S. Department of Defense estimate in 1973.

Did the Viet Cong ever win a battle?

The Viet Cong won its first military victory against South Vietnamese forces at Ấp Bắc in January 1963.

Why did Navy SEALs wear blue jeans in Vietnam?

Specifically during late 1970 and early 1971, SEALs donned Levi's jeans in combat. Denim could better withstand the rigors of the jungle climate, providing improved protection from leeches, mosquitos and other bugs, especially when combined with a layer of pantyhose underneath.

How many Viet Cong were killed?

In 1995 Vietnam released its official estimate of the number of people killed during the Vietnam War: as many as 2,000,000 civilians on both sides and some 1,100,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died.

What are the Viet Cong known for?

The Viet Cong were South Vietnamese supporters of the communist National Liberation Front in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War (known in Vietnam as the American War). They were allied with North Vietnam and the troops of Ho Chi Minh, who sought to conquer the south and create a unified, communist state of Vietnam.

Did the Viet Cong have well trained soldiers?

Though essentially a civilian militia, the Viet Cong also had a significant number of men who were highly trained and well drilled regular soldiers; consequently, they saw themselves as professionals.

What advantages did the US have over the Viet Cong?

The US had the most advanced war technology and was economically very powerful so they could invest heavily in the war. They also had South Vietnamese soldiers on their side. The US had a powerful air force and could use it to deploy troop support, bombing and raids.

How were US soldiers tortured in Vietnam?

Although North Vietnam was a signatory of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, which demanded "decent and humane treatment" of prisoners of war, severe torture methods were employed, such as waterboarding, strappado (known as "the ropes" to POWs), irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement.

Why are Vietnam vets so traumatized?

Many mental health professionals in Psychiatry attribute the high incidence of PTSD in Vietnam-era veterans to a lack of “decompression” time.

What was the most feared unit in the Vietnam War?

Tiger Force (Recon) 1-327th was a highly decorated small unit in Vietnam, and paid for its reputation with heavy casualties. In October 1968, Tiger Force's parent battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by President Lyndon B.

How tall is the average Viet Cong?

The average Vietnamese man is 162.1 cm tall and the average woman 152.2 cm, far shorter than their Asian peers like Chinese, Singaporeans, Japanese, and South Koreans. The averages are 170.7 cm and 157.4 for South Korean, 169 cm and 158 cm for Chinese and 172 cm and 158 cm for Japanese.

What was the average age of a Viet Cong soldier?

His unit was one of the first "main force" squadrons of Viet Cong sent from the north, and the average age of its soldiers was 35. These regular units, who operated throughout South Vietnam, were supplemented by local Viet Cong groups composed mostly of teenagers who stayed within certain areas of operations.

What did American soldiers call the Vietnamese?

Collectively the United States often called them the Viet Cong. It was commonly shortened to VC, which in military alphabet code was spoken as Victor Charlie. It was further shortened to just Charlie. American soldiers called them Charlie, they called themselves liberators.

How did the Viet Cong defeat the US?

The Vietcong had an intricate knowledge of the terrain. They won the hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese people by living in their villages and helping them with their everyday lives. Their tunnel systems, booby-traps and jungle cover meant they were difficult to defeat and hard to find.

What guns did the Viet Cong use?

In the summer and fall of 1967, all Viet Cong battalions were reequipped with arms of Soviet design such as the AK-47 assault rifle and the RPG-2 anti-tank weapon. Their weapons were principally of Chinese or Soviet manufacture.

Why is it called Viet Cong?

It comes from “Việt Nam Cộng-sản”, which just means “Vietnamese Communists”. This, in turn, was shortened to just Việt Cộng, with the first documented instances of such appearing in various Saigon newspapers in 1956.

Who was the last man killed in Vietnam?

The apparent last American to die in the war was Air Force Sgt. John O'Neil Rucker (right) of Linden, Texas, killed at Da Nang only hours before the 1/28 cease fire.

Who killed the most people in Vietnam?

Charles Benjamin "Chuck" Mawhinney (born 1949) is a former United States Marine who holds the Corps' record for the most confirmed sniper kills, having recorded 103 confirmed kills and 216 probable kills in 16 months during the Vietnam War.