 Part of the tunnel complex at Cu Chi. The tunnels of Cu Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Cu Chi district of Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Cu Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong base of operations for the Tet Offensive in 1968. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet Cong) against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and their allies—notably the United States military in support of...
A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ...
The Tet Offensive (January 30, 1968–1969) was a series of operational offensives during the Vietnam War, coordinated between guerrilla elements of the National Liberation Fronts Peoples Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF) or Viet Cong and North Vietnams Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN), against South Vietnams...
1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...
The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The role of the tunnel systems should not be underestimated in its importance to the Viet Cong in resisting American operations and protracting the war, eventually forcing the Americans into withdrawal. Distinguish from the type of ape called a gorilla. ...
History The district of Cu Chi is located 40 kilometers to the northwest of Saigon near the so-called "Iron Triangle". Both the Saigon River and Route 1 pass through the region which served as major supply routes in and out of Saigon during the war. This area was also the termination of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Because of this, the Cu Chi and the nearby Ben Cat districts had immense strategic value for the Viet Cong. Mai Chi Tho, a political commissar stationed in Cu Chi describes the region as a “springboard for attacking Saigon.” He goes on to say: “We used the area for infiltrating Saigon-intelligence agents, part cadres, sabotage teams. The Tet Offensive of 1968 was prepared-the necessary troops and supplies assembled-in the Cu Chi tunnels.” Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam and, as Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn), was the capital of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1976. ...
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a network of roads built from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia to provide logistical support to the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. ...
The Tet Offensive (January 30, 1968–1969) was a series of operational offensives during the Vietnam War, coordinated between guerrilla elements of the National Liberation Fronts Peoples Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF) or Viet Cong and North Vietnams Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN), against South Vietnams...
1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...
In the beginning, there was never a direct order to build the tunnels; instead, they developed in response to a number of different circumstances, most importantly the military tactics of the French and U.S. The tunnels began in 1948 so that the Viet Minh could hide from French air and ground sweeps. Each hamlet built their own underground communications route through the hard clay, and over the years, the separate tunnels were slowly and meticulously connected and fortified. By 1965, there was over 200 kilometers of connected tunnel. As the tunnel system grew, so did its complexity. Sleeping chambers, kitchens and wells were built to house and feed the growing number of residents and rudimentary hospitals created to treat the wounded. Most of the supplies used to build and maintain the tunnels were stolen or scavenged from U.S. bases or troops. The Viet Minh (abbreviated from Việt Nam ộc Lập ồng Minh Hội, League for the Independence of Vietnam) was formed by Ho Ngoc Lam and Nguyen Hai Than in 1941 to seek independence for Vietnam from France. ...
 An above ground air vent disguised as a termite mound. The medical system serves as a good example of Vietnamese ingenuity in overcoming a lack of basic resources. Stolen motorcycle engines created light and electricity and scrap metal from downed aircraft were fashioned into surgical tools. Doctors even came up with new ways of performing sophisticated surgery. Faced with large amounts of casualties and a considerable lack of available blood, one man, Dr. Vo Hoang Le came up with an resourceful solution. "We managed to do blood transfusion" Vo said "by returning his own blood to the patient. If a comrade had a belly wound and was bleeding, but his intestines were not punctured, we collected his blood, filtered it, put it in a bottle and returned it to his veins.” Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
By the early 1960’s, the Viet Cong had created a relatively self-sufficient community that was able to house hundreds of people and for the most part, go undetected by large amounts of American troops based, literally, right on top of the tunnels.
Life in the tunnels American soldiers used the term "Black echo" to describe the conditions within the tunnels. For the Viet Cong, life in the tunnels was difficult. Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes, spiders and mosquitoes. Most of the time, guerrillas would spend the day in the tunnels working or resting and come out only at night to scavenge supplies, tend their crops or engage the enemy in battle. Sometimes, during periods of heavy bombing or American troop movement, they would be forced to remain underground for many days at a time. Sickness was rampant among the people living in the tunnels; especially malaria, which accounted for the second largest cause of death next to battle wounds. A captured Viet Cong report suggests that at any given time half of a Viet Cong unit had malaria and that “one-hundred percent had intestinal parasites of significance.” In spite of these hardships, the Viet Cong managed to wage successful campaigns against a professional army that was technologically far superior.
U.S. campaigns against the tunnels The tunnels of Cu Chi did not go completely unnoticed by U.S. officials. They recognized the advantages that the Viet Cong held with the tunnels, and accordingly launched several major campaigns to search out and destroy the tunnel system. Among the most important of these were: Operation Crimp and Operation Cedar Falls.
 A trap door on the jungle floor leads down into the Cu Chi tunnels. Closed and camoflaged, it is almost undetectable.
 The camoflaged trap door, now open. This photo was taken at the same location only moments later. Operation Crimp began on January 7th with B-52 bombers dropping 30-ton loads of high explosive onto the region of Cu Chi, effectively turning the once lush jungle into a pockmarked moonscape. Eight thousand troops from the 1st Infantry, 173rd Airborne, and the Royal Australian Regiment combed the region looking for any clues of Viet Cong activity. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
A B-52 in flight The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range strategic bomber flown by the United States Air Force since 1955, replacing the Convair B-36 and the Boeing B-47. ...
Cap badge of the Royal Australian Regiment The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the main regular infantry formation in the Australian Army. ...
The operation was, for the most part, unsuccessful. On the occasion when troops found a tunnel, they would often underestimate its size. Rarely would anyone be sent in to search the tunnels, as it was so hazardous. Besides being too small for most Western men to fit through, the tunnels were often rigged with explosive booby traps or punji stake pits. The two main responses in dealing with a tunnel opening were to flush the entrance with gas or water to force the guerillas into the open, or to toss a few grenades down the hole and “crimp” off the opening. The clever design of the tunnels along with the strategic use of trap doors and air filtration systems rendered American technology ineffective.
From its mistakes, U.S. command realized that they needed a new way to approach the dilemma of the tunnels. They began training an elite group of volunteers armed only with a gun, a knife, a flashlight and a piece of string in the art of tunnel warfare. These specialists, commonly known as “tunnel rats” would enter a tunnel by themselves and travel inch-by-inch cautiously looking ahead for booby traps or cornered Viet Cong. Part of the tunnel complex at Cu Chi. ...
Despite this revamped effort at fighting the enemy on its own terms, U.S. operations remained wholly unsuccessful at eliminating the existence of the tunnels. In 1967, General William Westmoreland tried launching a larger assult on Cu Chi and the Iron Triangle. Called Operation Cedar Falls, it was, in principle, exactly the same as Operation Crimp, but with 30,000 troops instead of the 8,000. General William Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a U.S. Army General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968 and who served as US Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972. ...
On January 18th, tunnel rats from the 1st and 5th Infantry uncovered the Viet Cong district headquarters of Cu Chi containing a half million documents concerning all types of military strategy. Among the documents were maps of U.S. bases, detailed accounts of Viet Cong movement from Cambodia into Vietnam, lists of political sympathizers, and even plans for a failed assassination attempt on Robert McNamara. With this one exception, Operation Cedar Falls failed to achieve its objective of destroying the communist stronghold in the region. Robert McNamara in 1964 Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916), is an American business executive and a former United States Secretary of Defense. ...
Throughout the course of the war, the tunnels in and around Cu Chi proved to be a source of frustration for U.S. military in Vietnam. The Viet Cong had been so well entrenched in the area by 1965 that they were in the unique position of being able to control where and when battles would take place, thus forcing the Americans on the defensive in a war where they clearly could have had a military superiority. By helping to covertly move supplies and house troops, the tunnels of Cu Chi allowed guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam to prolong the war and increase American costs and casualties to the point of their ultimate withdrawal in 1972.
The Cu Chi tunnels today
 A command center in the tunnels. Today, visitors to the complex can enjoy a simple meal underground, sampling foods that the underground fighters ate. The 75-mile-long complex of tunnels at Cu Chi have been preserved by the government of Vietnam, and turned into a war memorial park. The tunnels are a popular tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system. Tunnels have been made larger to accommodate the larger size of western tourists, and low-power lights have been installed to make travelling through them easier, and booby traps have been clearly marked. Underground conference rooms where campaigns such as the Tet Offensive were planned in 1968 have been restored, and visitors may enjoy a simple meal of food that Viet Cong fighters would have eaten. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Beaches make popular tourist resorts. ...
The Tet Offensive (January 30, 1968–1969) was a series of operational offensives during the Vietnam War, coordinated between guerrilla elements of the National Liberation Fronts Peoples Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF) or Viet Cong and North Vietnams Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN), against South Vietnams...
1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...
Above ground attractions include caged monkeys, the inevitable tourist trap vendors selling souvenirs, and a shooting range where visitors can fire an assault rifle for USD$1 a round. Tourist trap is a catch-all term for any establishment or set of establishments that have been created for the purpose of drawing travelers in to spend money. ...
A vendor is one who sells something. ...
A souvenir stall in London, England A souvenir (from French, for memory) is an object that is treasured for the memories associated with it. ...
A shooting range is a facility designed for firearms practice. ...
M16A2 (US). ...
A caged monkey and a free monkey groom each other trough the fence at the Cu Chi tunnels. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
| Visitors can fire an M-16 at the shooting range for USD$1 a round. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
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