U.S. pioneered the use of air-mobility. The main workhorse helicopter in Vietnam was the Bell UH-1 Iroquois-better known as the Huey. TWO VERSIONS I. Troop Transport II.Gunship BELL UH-1 HUEY BENEFITS: I. Troops arrive rested II.Surprise III.Better access to difficult terrain
BELL UH-1H HUEY DRAWBACKS I. Noisy-VC & NVA could hear them coming a longway off. II.Thin-skinned (over 3,000 lost) *LESSON: The number of choppers lost led to the development of the AH-1 Cobra-the first helicopter specifically designed as a gunship.
AH-1 HUEY COBRA First U.S. helicopter designed specifically as a gunship/attack helicopter.
NAPALM Jellied Gasoline I. Dropped from aircraft or sprayed from hoses on tanks or patrol boats. II.Useful against a dug-in enemy. III.Sticks to the skin causing horrendous burns and asphyxiation. Major psychological effect (MOST FEARED ALLIED WEAPON).
Grunts
Grunts Most were volunteers but one-third were draftees. Draftees had poor morale, issues with drug use and a reputation for being unmotivated and sloppy. MAJOR PROBLEM: Soldiers rotated home after one year. I. Caused motivation problems II. Took experienced personnel out of the field.
ARVN
ARVN Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) Reputation for desertion, corruption, unreliability and cowardice. REASONS: I. Many were draftees who had never been more than a mile from home; often went AWOL to help with the harvest and returned to their units later. II.Trained to fight a Korea-style, conventional war, not a guerilla war/insurgency. III.U.S. supplied them with surplus WWII weapons and equipment-outgunned.
ARVN IV.Some excellent units such as ARVN Rangers and Marines. V. U.S. media ignored successes. *Lesson: U.S. did not understand the people of Vietnam or the kind of war being fought.
ALLIES Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, The Philippines and Thailand also contribute to the U.S./South Vietnamese war effort.
Viet Cong National Liberation Front (NLF) South Vietnamese anti-government rebels; Frequently teenagers Contained a mixed bag of nationalists/anticolonials and people generally angry at Saigon, but were dominated by the communists. Not as well trained as NVA/PAVN and generally supplied with captured, stolen or discarded weapons left over from WWII.
NVA/PAVN North Vietnamese Army/Peoples Army of Vietnam. Entered South Vietnam along Ho Chi Minh Trail and operated from bases in neutral Laos and Cambodia. KEY CHARACTERISTICS: I. Advised and armed by Soviets and ChiComs. II.Highly mobile III.Use terrain to evade and escape IV.Developed hugging techniques V. Good at baiting the U.S. & ARVN into unleashing airpower and artillery against civilian areas.
FIREPOWER
M-16A1 vs AK-47 M-16A1-Main U.S. assault rifle I. Early versions jammed when they got dirty. II.Highly accurate, but rounds were too small and were easily deflected by foliage. III.Could fire semi, or full auto (10,000 roundsper-enemy kill
M-16A1 vs AK-47 Soviet AK-47 (Chinese Type-56): Main NVA assault rifle I. Less accurate than M-16 but far more reliable II.Bury it in mud and it keeps functioning. III.Fires 7.62mm round-devastating PINBALL EFFECT
COMMUNIST STRATEGY: EXHAUSTION North Vietnamese Commander: Gen.Vo Nguyen Giap Believed that if he could prolong the war as long as possible, that the U.S. would quit. PHASE I (Insurgency): I. Stay hidden and build up your strength. II.Control the countryside by killing local leaders, teachers, landlords. III.Win hearts and minds of the villagers.
COMMUNIST STRATEGY: EXHAUSTION Phase II (Guerilla Warfare): Pin-prick attacks meant to frustrate the enemy. Sabotage (Cutting roads, damage to vehicles, poison) Traps (homemade bombs, trip wires, Pungi Sticks, pit traps) Terrorism (attacks on civilian targets, R&R sites like night clubs)
COMMUNIST STRATEGY: EXHAUSTION Phase III (Full Invasion): Once strength has been built up and the enemy weakened, larger, conventional attacks involving tanks, large formations of infantry, artillery, etc would take place.
U.S. Strategy: Attrition 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley convinces U.S. Commanding General William Westmoreland that overwhelming firepower will result in victory. STRATEGY: Use overwhelming firepower to kill enough NVA and VietCong that losses will become irreplaceable. ***Success measured in body counts. *Lesson: U.S. did not understand that many Vietnamese saw the U.S. as another colonial power and that losses were irrelevant.
SEARCH AND DESTROY The basic mission for U.S. and ARVN forces was the Search & Destroy mission. STEPS: I. Receive intelligence about enemy in the area. II.Move from base camp into the area and sweep until contact is made. III.Call in artillery and airstrikes to finish the job.
PROBLEMS #VC & NVA were tough to locate-frustrating. #The VC had an excellent network of civilian informants. #Once an area had been cleared, allied forces moved on and enemy forces would reoccupy the area.
PROBLEMS "Enemy would break contact to avoid destruction. "Airpower and artillery destroyed villages, damaged crops and killed or wounded many neutral or friendly civilians. "US never had enough forces to control the countryside.
BOOBY TRAPS VC were inventive at creating booby traps out of items found in the forest and unexploded artillery rounds, bombs etc. Their traps caused frequent casualties and had a dramatic psychological effect on U.S. troops.