Vietcong Tactics

• Booby traps

  Used by the Vietcong to injure the American soldiers.
• Ho Chi Minh trail

  A networking trail that went through Laos and Cambodia, which were neutral countries. Used to infiltrate the South, moved supplies from North to South Vietnam through it
• Uniforms

  the Vietcong didn't always wear a uniform, so they could blend in with peasants. The US didn't know who was who.
• Give an example of a booby trap used by the Vietcong

  Punji sticks - sharpened bamboo sticks in a 3m deep pit, covered in human excrement to increase the chances of infection. 11% of all American casualties were due to these.
• Guerrilla tactics include; retreating when the enemy _?

  attacks
• Guerrilla tactics include; raiding when the enemy _?

  camps
• Guerrilla tactics include; attacking when the enemy _?

  tires
• Guerrilla tactics include; pursuing when the enemy _?

  retreats
• Why did the Vietcong use guerrilla tactics?

  they would lose a pitched battle, guerrilla tactics let them attack the US at their weakest.
• What type of warfare did the Vietcong use?

  Guerrilla
• Guerrilla tactics meant the peasants in the south could _?

  support the Vietcong
• The Vietcong could get supplies from _

  trails
• How did the land benefit the Vietcong?

  They knew the terrain well, whereas the Americans didn't
• The Vietcong would _ a conventional war

  lose
• What were the tunnel systems originally used for?

  They were used against the French
• How did the Vietcong utilise the tunnels?


  They used them to hide from the Americans
• What defense mechanisms did the Vietcong use in the tunnels?

  Booby traps
• What were the tunnels used for?

  housing troops, transport, communication, sending supplies, surprise attacks
• Tunnels linked _ and ran for _km

  bases, 250