Acquiring the support of the local populace was crucial to all armies involved in the conflict. Great efforts had been made to gain the backing of the peasants by the US and even earlier by the Diem government by using policies known as strategic hamlet program and the winning hearts and minds policy (WHAM). The theory behind the strategic hamlets program was that the isolation of the Viet Cong from the villages of the South would deny the enemy the supplies and recruits necessary for their survival. Villagers were relocated into heavily fortified ‘hamlets’ to prevent further Viet Cong infiltration; however, they could easily access the villages as they were virtually melted into the local populace. The Viet Cong also provided food, goods and a means of escape for the trapped villagers. Therefore the US objective was not accomplished, and perhaps even caused the reverse effect – the creation of communist sympathisers. The ‘winning hearts and minds’ policy (WHAM), was another campaign which aimed to obtain the support of the locals. The US and its allies provided technical, medical and educational aid, built roads and infrastructure, and encouraged pacification and Viet Cong desertions. Although the WHAM policy was greatly beneficial for the peasants, it was not enough to win their support, loyalty and trust, as many viewed the Americans as invaders and aggressors. Despite the western effort, it was ultimately the Northern forces that were successful in gaining the allegiance of the majority of the civil population. Unfortunately other US and ARVN strategies were not as constructive.
One of America’s most significant tactics against the Viet Cong and the Northern forces was ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’, the controversial mass carpet bombing of North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh trail. In March 1965, in response to a North Vietnamese attack, President Johnson unleashed a continuous bombing programme over North Vietnam and communist positions in the south. The operation rained death upon both soldiers and civilians and continued for over three years. On average, the Americans had dropped 800 tonnes of bombs on a daily basis, as well as rockets and missiles on military positions, bridges, roads, fuel storehouses and other key establishments. Artillery bombardments were also used to weaken targets before soldiers and weaponry vehicles entered the area. In total, 7 million tonnes of bombs were dropped over Vietnam – over twice the bomb tonnage dropped during World War II.
As well as explosive bombs the US air force dropped a considerable number of incendiary devices. The most infamous of these was , a mixture of petrol and a chemical thickener which produces a tough sticky gel that attaches itself to the skin. The igniting agent, white phosphorus, continues burning for a considerable amount of time. A reported three quarters of all napalm victims in Vietnam were burned through to the muscle and bone. The pain caused by the burning is so traumatic that it often causes death. The US also made considerable use of anti-personal cluster bombs, particularly in populated areas. The bombs contained hundreds of pellets which burst out at extremely high velocities, ripping open the body of anyone within range. The bombing and shelling of Operation Rolling Thunder was horrifically devastating in terms of casualties, however it did little to weaken the northern advance as well as the morale and determination of the communist forces. As one North Vietnamese citizen comments, “The Americans thought that the more bombs they dropped, the quicker we would fall to our knees and surrender. But the Bombs heightened rather than dampened our spirit” [Wood].
Although the Americans had superior technology and weaponry, it was the superiority of the communists’ tactics and strategies that won them the war. The Ho Chi Minh trail, running parallel to South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia, was the lifeline of the Viet Cong-NVA alliance. It was a complex system of roads, jungle trails, transit shelters and air-raid shelters. The Ho Chi Minh trail was the vital supply line that facilitated the movement of soldiers, weapons, food, aid and many other resources from North Vietnam to the allies in the South. Despite America’s constant attempts to cut off this crucial link by means of bomb raids and defoliation, the Ho Chi Minh trail remained strong and effective. The Viet Cong had also constructed a vast and complex network of underground tunnels stretching for hundreds of miles and linking entire districts. The tunnels were used as storehouses for Viet Cong and North Vietnamese supplies including food, weapons, explosives, etc. They also contained workshops, kitchens, sleeping quarters and an array of deadly booby traps for unwelcome intruders.
Booby traps were used extensively by the Viet Cong and were a constant threat the US and southern forces. Hidden land mines, grenades, artillery shells, sharpened bamboo, deadly snakes and trip wire were all effectively utilised to destroy enemy forces. Viet Cong and NVA assaults were conducted predominantly at night time, making it even more difficult for the opposition to capture or even detect them. In response to the nature of the warfare, the US and the ARVN developed certain tactics which they believed would overcome the difficulties of fighting against guerrillas.
Due to the difficulty of the warfare the US adopted the combat strategy, ‘search and destroy’. The self explanatory term, essentially involved seeking out enemy bases and annihilating their forces. Large units of US and ARVN combat soldiers went into the villages and difficult terrain of the country to find Viet Cong troops and supplies. This strategy exposed the soldiers to booby traps or ambush. Many villages suspected of being under Viet Cong influence were completely destroyed and its inhabitants killed which in turn created bitter resentment towards the Americans. Helicopters were extensively utilised by the US for various reasons, including the ‘search and destroy’ missions. Due to the lack of roads and the versatility of the choppers, they were used to move infantry units, evacuate and treat casualties, transport artillery and ammunition and to launch missiles and other attacks. The helicopter was played a significant role in the US effort, but although the Viet Cong and NVA were ill equipped in terms of aircraft, they did possess highly effective air defence. Modern and effective anti-aircraft guns and surface to air missiles which were provided by their soviet ally caused considerable damage to US aircraft.
The impenetrability of the physical terrain for the US soldiers was another major issue that had to be overcome, and so a large scale defoliation program was commenced in order to remove the dense jungles which provided hiding positions for the Viet Cong, the NVA and the NLF. Chemical warfare was employed to clear sufficient jungle areas throughout Vietnam with the intension of exposing the enemy. This ten year defoliation campaign, named Operation Ranch Hand released 86 million litres of herbicides over about 20% of South Vietnam [Pollok]. The deadly chemical defoliant, Agent Orange, not only destroyed millions of acres of natural rainforest and farmland, but caused many occurrences of cancer and birth deformities in the local inhabitants. The defoliation program had a devastating impact on the lives of innocent civilians and almost no impact at all on communist activity or the supply of materials to the south.
The Australian troops serving in Vietnam were more familiar jungle and guerilla warfare than the Americans, having learned techniques in prior experiences in Borneo and Malaya. As a Vietnamese man, Trinh Duc recalls, “The Australians were more patient than the Americans, better guerrilla fighters, better at ambushes” [Harpur]. Australian soldiers were chiefly involved in training the ARVN, ‘search and destroy’ missions and aggressive patrolling. The tactics employed by the Australian forces included searching for enemies and their resources, utilising common guerilla warfare techniques, interrogating suspects, uncovering underground tunnel networks and destroying key enemy bases. Units consisted of tight-knit groups of young men who had higher levels of discipline and morale than the Americans as well as a strong sense of comradeship and camaraderie.
The vast array of tactics employed by the US and the South Vietnamese Army as well as the military strategies and schemes of the Viet Minh and the North Vietnamese were essentially the decisive factors of Second Indo-Chinese conflict. America’s ultimate firepower, helicopters and various tactics, including strategic hamlets program, WHAM, Operation Rolling Thunder, ‘search and destroy’ and defoliation were mostly operated in enormous scales, yet they were unsuccessful in crushing the communist advance. On the other hand, the strategies used by the Viet Cong and the Northern forces were of great sophistication and proved to be most effective in terms of demising the South. After centuries of struggle and conflict, the tenacious Vietnamese had at last gained the promising possibility of a peaceful and liberated Vietnam.
