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In 1960, Dwight Eisenhower was still the US President. Only US military advisers were present in Vietnam. Special Forces (Green Beret) and regular US combat troops were yet to come. If any tactics were employed in 1960, it was strictly a field study of what (or who) was the problem, where was the problem, when could the problem be solved, how could it be solved, and why does it have to be solved. Based upon those evaluations of Who, what, where, why, when, and how, reports were submitted to higher headquarters, which approved the sending of US Special Forces (Green Beret) to Vietnam in 1961/1962 to assist the military advisers. After three more years, reports from the field indicated that things were NOT going well, and the problem was NOT going to go away...UNLESS US combat troops were sent in to do the job. This was approved, and in 1965 regular US combat troops arrived. Combat continued for 10 years after that (8 years involving US personnel), and the south fell in defeat in 1975, ending the war.

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15y ago
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12y ago

The US had just won WWII in 1945 and successfully held the line against the communists in 1953 at the 38th parallel, it still exists today. Both of these wars had been won by the use of FIREPOWER. The US out-bombed (aircraft), out-shelled (more artillery shells were fired in the Korean War than the US fired in all of WWII), and fired more automatic small arms fire than the "Reds" (communists) did. No nation, it seemed, could stand up to American Firepower!

When the Vietnam War erupted, the leadership that experienced the above VICTORIES THROUGH FIREPOWER applied the same principle. However, this time the communist forces didn't mass themselves on the battlefield to become a "target enriched environment". Armies are deployed according to terrain, and other elements. So, to be fair, the Korean War terrain didn't lend itself to easily concealed armies; Korea is EXTREMELY MOUNTAINOUS, so troop levels were often condensed in valleys or atop hill tops, or the sides of mountains...with no place to hide massive amounts of men. The same rule would apply to deserts; armies would be sitting ducks. Vietnam however was extremely vegetated, and perfect for the movement of men and material.

Therefore, one US tactic was to destroy the vegetation with chemicals, one of which was the use of "AGENT ORANGE", this turned the communist hiding places into leaf less forests. Any vehicle could now be seen from an aircraft. High activity road systems were targeted by fighter bombers, and heavily cratered into lunar landscapes. Towns (villages) were up-rooted and relocated to confirmed friendly areas and the former village position was turned into a "Free Fire Zone" (anything in it could be fired upon). Communist forces replied with guerrilla warfare for the Viet Cong (Southern Communists), while the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) infiltrated into the south and encamped in the jungles and mountains of South Vietnam, and began operating from those bases. The NVA would try to choke off our road system to interdict US/allied supply systems by blowing bridges and supply depots, and ambushes. The VC would ambush, kidnap local officials, execute some officials, and perform some ambushes. The US would locate and attack the hidden NVA staging areas, thus clashing with Battalion sized units. These often turned into big battles.

The VC (Viet Cong) were largely destroyed by the 1968 TET offensive. The NVA conducted most of the fighting after 1968. Whereas the VC had operated as a guerrilla force, most of the time, which often consisted of hit-and-run. The NVA, when his orders were to stand and fight...he stood his ground. When we ran up against the NVA, unless we or them turned back, there was going to be a fight. He knew we'd use firepower, so the NVA would hug us close knowing we couldn't call in an "Air Strike" so close to our position.

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15y ago

Mostly the tactics revolved around the same style since the second world war. Small unit organization with Non-Commissioned Officers and Commissioned Officers given higher unit mission intentions and sent out in support of those mission. Often the style involved patrols with security stops and searches of areas. Most mission were not randomly choosing an area but instead revolved around using local intelligence (and confirming that information while on the patrol). Terms such as Search and Destroy, Body Count, Village Burnings were slang picked up by the media in Vietnam. Any of which might be part of a patrol in any war.

The US Military was often put into a position in which they supported the Army of the Republic of Vietnam through either leadership (advisers), fire support (Artillery or Air), or with conventional ground forces (Infantry). Most problems on a tactical level arise from the political/military organization that the South Vietnamese government had set up. Often times fear that loses(of any kind, even in victory) would make the political situation for the South Vietnamese Government unstable made Vietnamese commanders fear reporting true figures.

The conflicts in the Malayan Emergency and Vietnam have been compared many times and it has been asked by historians how a British force of 35,000 succeeded where over half a million U.S. and others soldiers failed. However the two conflicts differ in several key points.

The MNLA was isolated and without external supporters..

The MNLA was politically isolated from the bulk of the population. It was a political movement almost entirely limited to ethnic Chinese; support among Muslim Malays and smaller tribes was scattered if existent at all. Malay nationalists supported the British because they promised independence in a Malay state; an MNLA victory would imply a state dominated by ethnic Chinese, and possibly a puppet state of Beijing or Moscow. In purely military terms, the British Army recognized that in a low-intensity war, the individual soldier's skill and endurance was of far greater importance than overwhelming firepower (artillery, air support, etc.) Even though many British soldiers were conscripted National Servicemen, the necessary skills and attitudes were taught at a Jungle Warfare School, which also worked out the optimum tactics based on experience gained in the field.

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8y ago

Led by Gen William Westmoreland, American forces used conventional warfare tactics (similar to WW2, Korea). Unfortunately Vietnam was America's first exposure to counterinsurgency, and when Westmoreland ordered the U.S Marines to fight conventionally, their success in training the South Vietnamese forces came to a halt and soon after the ARVIN forces collapsed.

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Q: Describe the military tactics used by the US and the Vietcong forces in Vietnam in 1960s?
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Which battle tactics were commonly employed by the VietCong?

There are many tactics that the VietCong used in the Vietnam war. The most common tactic used was surprise attacks and ambushes due to extensive tunneling underground.


What tactics did US use against the Vietcong?

In the Vietnam Conflict, the US Military used primarily "Search and Destroy" tactics. These involved sending troops into an area with the hope of inducing an ambush or sending them in to destroy enemy camps.


What type of tactics did the u.s use in Vietnam to defeat the vietcong?

the U.S. did not defeat the Viet Cong.


What tactics did the US use against Vietcong guerrillas?

In the Vietnam Conflict, the US Military used primarily "Search and Destroy" tactics. These involved sending troops into an area with the hope of inducing an ambush or sending them in to destroy enemy camps.


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They used guerilla tactics


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What tactics were used by the Vietcong?

Shoot and scoot (hit and run).


What types of combat were used during the Vietnam war?

For the Vietnam, they used hit and run tactics, and also dug tunnels and had dug outs so that they could easily transport weapons without being seen. The Vietcong also had a large view and sense of the land because it was their own. The US. used bombing tactics. We would bomb them all night. For the Vietnam, they used hit and run tactics, and also dug tunnels and had dug outs so that they could easily transport weapons without being seen. The Vietcong also had a large view and sense of the land because it was their own. The US. used bombing tactics. We would bomb them all night.


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What military strategies did Vietcong use against Americans?

Not being a regular army like the NVA, the VC were forced to utilize mainly guerrilla tactics (hit & run).


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