The Vietnamese first began digging tunnels during the Indochina War.  The tunnels were used as bomb shelters or weapon storage.  The tunnels continued to be used after the Indochina War into the Vietnam War in Communist dominated areas such as South Vietnam.  Guerilla fighters and their supporters could live for a very long time in a tunnel (A few months).  The more complex tunnel systems had sleeping rooms, kitchens, ammunition depots, hospitals, and meeting halls. 

           The Vietnam War was a war that stood out more than any other wars the United States ever participated in, it was the longest, the most unpopular, and the only war the United States ever lost. The Vietnam War started in 1957 and ended in 1975. 

             Vietnam had had been a country for 2,000 years.  The small country spent most of their years fighting, to not be over taken by China.  In the 1800s, the French declared themselves the new colonial power in Vietnam, the French much like the Chinese were immediately resisted.  On May 1954, the French were defeated. After the French had been defeated representatives from Vietnam, France, the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and Britain arranged a peace treaty.  As a result of the treaty, Vietnam split into two different countries on July 1954.  A couple months later the United States and several other Nations formed the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization).  The intention of this group was to repel communism in Vietnam.  Ho Chi Mihn, a previous officer in Vietnam, became president of the totally communist dominated Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem Became president of the anti-communist South Vietnam. 

             In some ways the Vietnam War was easier on troops than previous wars.  American troops were not fighting in as bad as conditions as they had fought in World War One and World War Two.  Medical Devices and helicopter evacuations significantly increased soldier’s chances of not dieing from their wounds.  America had much more firepower that also kept casualties at a low number.  If troops got cornered they would often be protected by the destructive air strikes from planes and helicopters above.  Yet there were still many things that were very dangerous.   Most of the war was fought in the jungle and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army's used a guerilla fighting style.

           The Viet Cong lacked the sophisticated equipment that the United States had, so the Viet Cong avoided head on clashes with the United States.  Instead the Viet Cong used guerrilla tactics, such as sneak attacks and sabotage.   The many booby traps that were laid by the Viet Cong poised a constant hazard for Americans.  A soldier could step into a punji trap, a camouflaged pit with sharp stakes at the bottom.  They could also by killed with a land mine, with only the presser of a footstep, could explode.  Or they could even be killed by a by grenade, triggered by a trip wire.  These traps were at all times a threat to Americans.

           Securing the support and cooperation of the villagers was a huge goal for both sides of the war.  Most villagers didn’t care about politics or the war; they just wanted to be left alone to tend their farms.  Whatever side had the power to protect them from threats of torture and death would be the side they would support.  Support for the Communists took many forms ranging from taking part in the Viet Cong or North Vietnamese army, acting as covert agents, supplying food, or simply signaling the presence of or American or Vietnamese army’s presence. 

                 Tunnel rats were American soldiers that had one of the most dangerous and scary jobs of all soldiers.  Tunnel rats had to endanger their lives crawling threw Vietnam tunnels with only a few tools, a small gun, flashlight and knife. 

                 On the left: A group of American soldiers lower a tunnel rat into a Viet Cong Tunnel.  Above an example of an Viet Cong tunnel system

                 Americans used huge bombers to destroys bridges and roads in North Vietnam.  During air raids these enormous planes could easily destroy large areas by dropping thousands of explosives.  These devastating air strikes ripped Vietnam apart.

           Almost all of the bombs threw chunks of their thick metal incasing in every direction when they detonated.  These pieces were called fragmentation bombs.  Fragmentation bombs were not only used in the North but also in the South, where they crippled and killed numerous villagers. 

           The United States as an addition to bombs also used chemical weapons to fight the Vietnamese.  Planes dropped a herbicide called Agent Orange into the thick jungle forests.  Agent Orange reviled the Vietnamese hiding spots by killing leaves and undergrowth.  Agent Orange also killed crops and was later discovered to be hazardous to your health.   

 

 

 

           The Vietnam War ended when President Nixon, in 1969, announced a new policy, Vietnamization.  This policy removed American troops from Vietnam and replaced them with South Vietnamese soldiers.  By 1972 the American army strength dropped to only 24,000. As much as President Nixon wanted to defuse anti-war sentiment at home, he was determined not to lose the Vietnam War.  Therefore when he removed the American troops, and then he ordered secret bomb raids on the major targets in Vietnam such as Cambodia.

           In 1975 Ho Chi Mihn’s dream of a independent and united Vietnam became reality.  The government of communists began a interrogation of the south.  They then abolished private businesses and ownership of land.  All farms were reorganized into collectives that received planting orders from only the government. 

           When the Vietnamese transferred from being in war to a peaceful economy was very difficult for Vietnam.  In 1980, one third of the cost in Vietnam was for military. Vietnam had an impressive army, forth in the world with 1.2 million soldiers.  Eventually the Vietnamese government began to bend, a few private businesses were given the permission to form.  International businesses from around the world started reestablish themselves in Vietnam.  But still, to this day the country of Vietnam remains as a communist dictatorship.