tactics used in the Vietnam war
US and South Vietnamese Tactics
American and South Vietnamese fought a hi-tech war, using bombers, artillery, heavy weapons and chemical weapons against North Vietnamese. They also worked closely with South Vietnamese government, with the goal was to make it difficult for North Vietnamese to gain support from the South Vietnamese citizens. For instance, one of the projects called Operation Strategic Hamlet, which was an attempt to place Vietnamese peasants in fortified villages at night, where they could not be filtrated. Unfortunately, this backfired since Vietnamese peasants resented being so far away from their rice fields and ancestors.
Frustrated by lack of success on the ground, the US tried to win the war from the air. Operation Rolling Thunder that began with dropping millions of tons of bombs on North Vietnam, followed by phosphorous and napalm bombs. Since North Vietnamese mastered the art of building underground tunnels, this operation ultimately killed more innocent civilians.
To battle against guerrilla-type warfare, the US launched Operation Ranch Hand. This operation used chemical, such as Agent Orange and Agent White to defoliate the jungle, thus made it harder for North Vietnamese to conceal themselves. This too, created a horrendous side-effect, where the chemical got into the food chain and caused chromosome damage to humans.
North Vietnamese Tactics
Using the knowledge of their own terrain, North Vietnamese chose to engage the US and South Vietnamese forces in a Guerrilla
War. This includes launching small attacks against the US forces, then retreat into hiding. Because of their knowledge of the jungle terrain, they were able to escape quickly.
Additionally, with the exception of the Tet Offensive, North Vietnamese did concentrated their power in one place so it was hard effectively bomb them. North Vietnamese forces also maximize civilians to fight the war for them, being that the civilians can be close to US and South Vietnamese troops.
Ultimately, even with no sophisticated weapons and fighting a war where the death rate was 40 to 1, North Vietnamese was about to defeat the US and South Vietnam forces by mastering the art of war.
American and South Vietnamese fought a hi-tech war, using bombers, artillery, heavy weapons and chemical weapons against North Vietnamese. They also worked closely with South Vietnamese government, with the goal was to make it difficult for North Vietnamese to gain support from the South Vietnamese citizens. For instance, one of the projects called Operation Strategic Hamlet, which was an attempt to place Vietnamese peasants in fortified villages at night, where they could not be filtrated. Unfortunately, this backfired since Vietnamese peasants resented being so far away from their rice fields and ancestors.
Frustrated by lack of success on the ground, the US tried to win the war from the air. Operation Rolling Thunder that began with dropping millions of tons of bombs on North Vietnam, followed by phosphorous and napalm bombs. Since North Vietnamese mastered the art of building underground tunnels, this operation ultimately killed more innocent civilians.
To battle against guerrilla-type warfare, the US launched Operation Ranch Hand. This operation used chemical, such as Agent Orange and Agent White to defoliate the jungle, thus made it harder for North Vietnamese to conceal themselves. This too, created a horrendous side-effect, where the chemical got into the food chain and caused chromosome damage to humans.
North Vietnamese Tactics
Using the knowledge of their own terrain, North Vietnamese chose to engage the US and South Vietnamese forces in a Guerrilla
War. This includes launching small attacks against the US forces, then retreat into hiding. Because of their knowledge of the jungle terrain, they were able to escape quickly.
Additionally, with the exception of the Tet Offensive, North Vietnamese did concentrated their power in one place so it was hard effectively bomb them. North Vietnamese forces also maximize civilians to fight the war for them, being that the civilians can be close to US and South Vietnamese troops.
Ultimately, even with no sophisticated weapons and fighting a war where the death rate was 40 to 1, North Vietnamese was about to defeat the US and South Vietnam forces by mastering the art of war.