Starting in 1958, the Viet Cong started engaging in guerrilla warfare against South Vietnamese forces. Meanwhile, the U.S. government recently allocated more than US$13 billion to fund expanded Agent Orange-related health services in America. With the most advanced efforts of the U.S., these primitive tactics still proved effective in combat. The War in Focus. Explore the use of guerrilla warfare in the Vietnam War, learning about guerrilla combat weaponry, guerilla combat methods, and how the war was fought. There were side effects of living underground tunnels such as Flooding, disease, poor ventilation and various insects and snakes. The Vietnamese Communists, or Vietcong, were the military branch of the National Liberation Front (NLF), and were commanded by the Central Office for South Vietnam, which was located near the. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. However, Vietnam was divided into two regions: the Communist north and the anti-Communist south. The Viet Cong were separate from the Viet Minh movement, which had led the insurgency against French colonial forces in the 1940s and 1950s. By mid-1966, American planes were attacking military and industrial targets throughout North Vietnam. The Dutch-American Guerrillas of the American Revolution. In 2004, a Vietnamese group unsuccessfully attempted to sue some 30 companies, alleging that the use of chemical weapons constituted a war crime. It helped me pass my exam and the test questions are very similar to the practice quizzes on Study.com. Such was the case in the Vietnam War. Vietnam War soldiers endured many hardships and faced many problems. They also struggled with logistical problems and the complex . The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. ", "You can't tell whether someone's an innocent civilian or an enemy spy," he says in an interview in his Seoul office. Traditionally, Guerrilla Warfare was fought by a small number of armed combatants against a much large army with far superior numbers and firepower. A Face of War (1968) inspired Francis Ford Coppola to make Apocalypse Now. South Korean troops bound for Vietnam march in Seoul in the 1960s. In guerrilla warfare, he says, distinguishing combatants from innocents is always hard. Jason von Meding receives funding from Save the Children and the Australian government for disaster related research in Vietnam. Less than a month after this attack, U.S. troops massacred more than 500 unarmed civilians in the hamlet of My Lai, the worst known U.S. atrocity of the Vietnam War. As part of this Vietnam War effort, from 1961 to 1971, the United States sprayed over 73 million liters of chemical agents on the country to strip away the vegetation that provided cover for Vietcong troops in enemy territory.. The court ruled in favor of a Vietnamese woman who had sued South Korea's government over a massacre committed by South Korean soldiers in her village 55 years ago. To reveal the hidden tunnels, the US Soldiers they called tunnel rats were trained to search for any Vietcong soldiers. In the end, South Vietnam fell to communism. Brother Nam assured readers that herbicides were safe. There was even a standard handbook specifying how tunnels were to be built. Despite this support from China, the Viet Cong were at a financial and technological disadvantage to American forces, thus forcing them to rely upon guerrilla tactics. We will occasionally send you account related emails. The Viet Cong relied upon many of the traditional guerrilla tactics used in previous conflicts. U.S. companies, including Monsanto and Dow Chemical, have taken the position that the governments involved in the war are solely responsible for paying out damages to Agent Orange victims. U.S. Army Lt. William Calley Jr. was later convicted of personally murdering 22 Vietnamese civilians. This is a severe skin disease with acne scratches mainly on the face and upper body. As the sole major televised ground-conflict during the Cold War, the war . On Feb. 8, a Seoul court ordered the South Korean government to compensate Nguyen Thi Thanh $24,000. A U.S. military report on the incident noted that "there was some probability that a war crime was committed" by the South Korean marines. The war also led to an increase in inequality, as those who had served in the military were often from lower-income families and were thus less likely to have access to good jobs and education. In heavily bombed areas, people spent much of their life underground, and the Cu Chi tunnels grew to house entire underground villages, in effect, with living quarters, kitchens, ordnance factories, hospitals and bomb shelters. The American image of land warfare during the Cold War as a whole is dominated by the Vietnam War for a number of reasons. South Korea, then ruled by a military leader, sent some 320,000 troops to fight alongside the U.S. in Vietnam, the largest contingent of any U.S. ally. Vietnams natural defenses were also debilitated. 30 chapters | Derived from the diminutive form of the word "war," or guerra, in Spanish, the term guerrilla, which means "little war," has its origin in the Peninsular War of the 19th century, in which irregular forces consisting of Spanish civilians engaged in combat with the French military troops occupying Spain. What Was the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization? During the 10-year campaign, U.S. aircraft targeted 4.5 million acres across 30 different provinces in the area below the 17th parallel and in the Mekong Delta, destroying inland hardwood forests and coastal mangrove swamps as they sprayed. These factors led to a decrease in investment and an increase in unemployment. In remote swamps or forests, there were few problems, but nearer the capital, it was much more difficult. Because the effects of the chemical are passed from one generation to the next, Agent Orange is now debilitating its third and fourth generation. This was a lengthy conflict, one in which the United States, the world's leading military power, was involved most intensively. Now, with American spotter planes everywhere, it was more vital than ever to protect them. Some of the tactics used by the Viet Cong include surprise attacks, hit-and-run maneuvers, and and soldiers disguised as civilians. Guerrilla warfare was led by a leader in Vietnam called Ho Chi Minh who was . Vietnam War, and more recently in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. To get yourself some teeth. More than 40 years on, the impact on their health has been staggering. The Vietnam War - Edexcel; The Cold War 1972 . In a year, dud American bombs could leave more than 20,000 tons of explosives scattered around the Vietnamese countryside. Soldiers used these underground routes to house troops, transport communications and supplies, lay booby traps and mount surprise attacks, after which they could disappear underground to safety. "Tunnel rats," as American soldiers who worked in the Cu Chi tunnels during the Vietnam War were known, used the evocative term "black echo" to describe the experience of being in the tunnels. Available from: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/guerrilla-warfare-the-nature-of-war-in-vietnam/. This would [], The Civil War was a battle between the northern and southern states from 1861 to 1865 and initially began with the north attempting to prevent the south from becoming a separate union. The name is said to have first been used by South Vietnamese Pres. Other needs were met inside South Vietnam. Did you know? Different versions of the AK-47, along with various types of machine guns, booby traps, mortars, land mines and grenades, were provided by China. Guerrilla Warfare was a tactic used in the Vietnam War by the Vietminh army eventually named Vietcong. Not only did they meet American university graduates and attend banquets, but they also saw actual fightingat least, what they believed to be actual fighting. In addition to providing underground shelter, the Cu Chi tunnels served a key role during combat operations, including as a base for Communist attacks against nearby Saigon. On Feb. 12, 1968, South Korean marines entered the village of Phong Nhi in South Vietnam's Quang Nam province. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Guerrilla warfare is a term referring to when a smaller army fights against a larger one. Former marine Ryu Jin-sung testified about hearing fellow platoon members discuss killing "in vivid detail, as if they were some sort of heroic tales," he says. Guerrilla Warfare was used in the Vietnam War by the Vietminh army (later named Vietcong). The United States eventually entered the conflict to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia in response to the tensions of the Cold War. Who were the Viet Cong? Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Nguyen's mother, two brothers, a sister and cousin were among them. To ensure that the guerrillas understood why they were fighting, all training courses included political instruction. 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 1950s-1975) and the United States (early 1960s-1973). Joe Cataliotti holds a Master of Arts degree in World History from Northeastern University. But in terms of mastery of the battlefield as well as the support of the community in the Vietnam war, it is a positive factor and excellence in the fight against the Americans . American troops were challenged by guerrilla warfare due to the methods of attack, including ambushes and soldiers disguised as civilians, the locations of battles and the type of weapons used. At the deeper levels, there were chambers carved out for arms factories and a well for the base's water supply. In guerrilla warfare, the conflict ultimately becomes a war of attrition. In military terms, it refers to a smaller nation or army fighting against a larger, stronger one. For the most part, recruits were young teenagers, and while many were motivated by idealism, others had been pressured or shamed into joining. "After we had returned to the base, fellow platoon members talked about their killings in vivid detail, as if they were some sort of heroic tales.". The Cold War (1950-1973): Help and Review, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, The Viet Cong's Use of Guerrilla Warfare in the Vietnam War. The war had a lasting impact on American foreign policy. The Viet Cong often fought side-by-side with the official military of North Vietnam, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), sometimes referred to as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). France's Leadership & Tactics in the First Indochina War. France's Leadership & Tactics in the First Indochina War. It also is generally considered to be one of the greatest Vietnam War documentaries ever made. Guerrilla warfare is a term derived from the Spanish word meaning "little war." Understand who the Viet Cong were and why they chose to fight a guerrilla war. The Viet Cong relied upon the use of guerrilla tactics when fighting American military forces. The Vietcong, following the example of Chinese guerillas before them, had always given the highest priority to creating safe base areas. The biggest tunnel systems were in the Iron Triangle and the Cu Chi District, only 20 miles from Saigon. The combat involves small groups of men, at times armed civilians with limited training, attacking traditional and larger groups of military. The domino effect was based on the idea that communism would continue to spread to the surrounding countries if it prevailed in Vietnam. It will discuss the discoveries that scientists made throughout history that were vitally important to the [], Truman had just demonstrated the raw power of the nuclear bomb, in order to end World War II, in 1945. And while research in those areas is limited an extensive 2003 study was canceled in 2005 due to a reported lack of mutual understanding between the U.S. and the Vietnamese governments evidence suggests that the heavily polluted soil and water in these locations have yet to recover. An error occurred trying to load this video. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. Weapons used during the guerrilla warfare were supervised by Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese communist leader and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Where do you want us to send this sample? Reasoning and Effectiveness During Cuban and Chinese Guerrilla Warfare Essay, Solutions for disputes and disloyalty Essay, The Atomic Bomb's Impression on Scientific History Essay, Building The Atomic Bomb: History of Atomic Warfare Essay, The Waste Land: Womanhood in Wartime Essay, The Effects of the Memories of the Civil War and the Reconstruction on Americans Essay. This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before, Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. This, in turn, has caused erosion, compromising forests in 28 river basins. Guerrilla warfare is a very unconventional style of warfare; it refers to small conflicts where groups of stealthy combatants use the element of surprise to eliminate the opponent. In January 1966, some 8,000 U.S. and Australian troops attempted to sweep the Cu Chi district in a large-scale program of attacks dubbed Operation Crimp. The conflict began in 1959 and ended in 1975. Another one of Ho Chi Minh's unusual military tactics involved the building of a 200-mile tunnel. Quora - A place to share knowledge and better understand the world Guerrilla warfare: The Vietcong used the cover of the jungle, which they knew well, to their advantage. This essay has been submitted by a student. 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