Jungle Warfare The jungle created many obstacles for American soldiers.
Jungle Warfare In previous wars, American soldiers fought along defined battle lines. U. S. military planners in Vietnam quickly realized that a jungle environment erased those lines.
The Americans had to cut paths through dense jungle foliage in order to fight the Vietcong.
Among the new challenges American troops faced in Vietnam were Vietcong booby traps, which caused many U. S. casualties. Walking through a jungle, tall grasses, or streams could lead to serious injury.
One type of trap, called a Punji trap, was a pit covered in grass. When a soldier stepped on the grass covering, he would fall onto spikes covered with poison or dirt to cause injury and infection.
The Cu Chi area of Vietnam was riddled with tunnels covering 50 square miles and included space for barracks and hospitals. This protected them from the bombing raids by the Americans and gave them cover for attacking the invaders.
Some tunnels were up to 23 feet deep, and the entire complex could house 16, 000 soldiers.
The tunnels could be used to hide their movements and to plan hit-and-run attacks on American soldiers.
To patrol the narrow tunnels, the U. S. used soldiers with slim builds, called “Tunnel Rats. ”
Here, soldiers stand guard as an American “tunnel rat” investigates one such entrance.
These men encountered booby traps throughout the system, where the floor would suddenly collapse into a pit of spikes.
The Vietcong knew how to avoid the traps as they passed through the tunnels.
What other obstacles can you think of that American soldiers faced in Vietnam?
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