US and vietcong strategies/ problems

• Vietcong tactic:

  attack in small groups - minimises losses, but reduces ability to destroy large sections (places, groups of soldiers etc.)
• Vietcong tactic:

  used tunnels: difficult to find, reduced successfulness of bombing campaigns for US
• vietcong tactic:

  unpredictability
• vietcing tactic:

  Ruin US soldiers morale
• US problem: political

  could not send troops Into north vietnam, cambodia, or laos.
• US problem: troops

  early stages of the war, mostly professional soldiers; after the drafts in 1967 many only wanted to get home alive.

  also, the majority of infantry were from poor or immigrant backgrounds
• stats for soldiers:

  • 500,000 cases of desertion
  • 60% of the 56,000 troops killed in Vietnam were 17-21
• what was fragging?

  when an infantry unit / soldier would kill their officer
• what were guerilla tactics?

  surprise attacks, hit and runs, trying to avoid direct conflict
• what chemical weapons did the US use?

  Agent orange and Napalm
• how much agent orange was used?

  50 million litres.
• what was agent orange?

  a (now known) cancer causing herbicide which was used to defoliate forest area.
• how many bombs did the US drop on laos, cambodia and Vietnam

  around 7 million tonnes.
• how much napalm was dropped on vietnam

  400,000 tonnes
• what were 'zippo raids'

  search and destroy methods used by US soldiers, such as My Lai, named after the 'zippo' lighters used to burn villages down
• how long was the Vietnamese tunnel system?

  around 300 Km
• why did US troops become demoralised?

  they could not see the enemy or fight back, as Vietcong troops would surprise them and pick them off.
• what was bombing like in vietnam compared to other wars?

  using operations linebacker, and rolling thunder, the US dropped more bombs in vietnam than in all of history combined.