Chinese 60 mm mortar rounds captured by 1st Cav Quan Loi May 69Photo by Jim Beck, Radar unit on the wooden tower was used to pinpoint the origin of incoming rounds for retaliation purposes. It seemed like we got hit at least three times a day, and Charlie had our Company Area zeroed in. [57] A post-war analysis by the BDM Corporation, a think-tank contractor in Vietnam, summarized the efficiency and effectiveness of VC/PAVN logistics as follows: Subsequently the Communist Vietnamese leadership outlasted America's eight-year combat effort in Southeast Asia, and finally reunited Vietnam by force of arms. U.S. Government Printing Office, Ray Bonds, ed., "The Vietnam War, (Salamander Books: 1979), pp. Other missile salvos damaged accompanying aircraft. The BM-21 Grad has 40 launching tubes for 122mm rockets. Medical care like other aspects of the logistical system was austere, and field hospitals, whether in caves, underground bunkers or jungle huts usually suffered shortages. [23] Older men made up many of the long-term laborers as those younger were drawn off into combat and female labor was used extensively in a wide range of logistics tasks. Food, along with almost any other item, was also obtained on Saigon's thriving black market. [4], Heavier machine guns were used in fixed mode as anti-aircraft weapons or carried disassembled due to their weight, to be used in set piece assaults. 27 Apr 2023 08:27:47 On 1 April 1972 in the face of the PAVN's Easter Offensive the base was abandoned by the ARVN. nose, main body, tail An example of the Russian made 122mm rockets that were fired by the North Vietnamese army into Saigon during the two years that Air Cmdre. Later ''modified versions'' claimed distances of 11,000-meters. 2. . A major factor contributing to their success was the remarkable logistical support they created in an integrated network of bases, sanctuaries and lines of communication. When the attack seemed to be over, we came out of the bunker to access the damage. Labor was recruited primarily by impressment/draft, or as a way to pay off VC taxes, although volunteers motivated by ideology also took part. [50], A daily march cycle might begin at 4:00am with a pause around noon, and continuation until dusk-6:00pm. These trucks were also a staple of the Iraqi insurgency when US forces were present in large . A "dead drop" system for couriers was also extensively used for intelligence communications. They also made use of the Soviet/Chinese 122mm rocket which was used effectively against populated areas and large installations such as airfields. Armed liaison agents, who knew only their section of the Trail, led each infiltrating group between way-stations. The Toyota Hiace with 122mm rockets that was used to attack Ain al-Asad air base, January 2022. PHIL M. HAUN, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF. Different 122mm rockets have ranges of four to forty kilometers. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. This Rocket was developed in WWII and was then mounted on a truck with multiple tubes. but it was written in the 1970s to cover the use of napalm in Vietnam, which is not how these weapons . Firing . The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) used well-organized logistics methods to supply and equip their fighting forces. Duplication also produced a wider range of alternative sources for supplies, and made the whole structure more resilient. And there was no mention of this on the pic but after doing a little research the units only enlisted KIA in Vietnam was killed that day inside the hanger. The 603rd Transport Battalion handled sea infiltration and supply movement. Language. Thats when you had to be careful because Charlie could also hear the siren, and he would lob a few more in. She received an award from the National Federation of Press Women in 2022 for her editing work on Vietnam Magazine. Movement was in column, with point and rear elements. The North Vietnamese were quick to take advantage of the leverage afforded under both Johnson and Nixon. Date. Impressed labor groups of civilians also hauled ammo and supplies for the Front. These military airbases were off-limits to American retaliation.[11]. Early units of PAVN had also made use of the Soviet RP-46 machine gun and the variety of weapons of the VC also included Chinese made ZB vz. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-Soviet border conflict. [12] The Trail was a complex web of roads, tracks, bypasses, waterways, depots, and marshaling areas, some 12,000 miles (19,000km) in total. The 122 mm D-74, a towed gun that entered Soviet service in 1955, was the most numerous gun in the NVAs five independent artillery regiments, https://www.historynet.com/north-vietnam-d-74-gun/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, Day One at Chancellorsville Hookers Big Mistake, Why? When it sounded you scrambled to the nearest bunker for protection. Estimative products on Vietnam, 19481975. Within the DMZ, there was a rest pause of several days as infiltrators staged for the crossing. About 7% of a typical VC/PAVN division's manpower was made up of medical personnel. A Romanian LAROM multiple rocket launcher which can fire 122mm rockets, as seen here, or 160mm types., DoloresRKT via Wikimedia Any of the dozens of existing 122mm rocket launcher operators could . [9] Prepositioning was essential to PAVN tactics. All rights reserved. It controlled civilian labor recruitment, and military recruitment including drafting men into the VC, among other things. [4], The most common infantry weapons of the PAVN was the Soviet SKS carbine or its Chinese variant. This page is not available in other languages. According to the official People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) History: In 1964 our army began to send to the battlefield complete units at their full authorized strength of personnel and equipment By the end of 1965 our main force army in South Vietnam totaled almost 92,000 Our main force troops grew from 195,000 soldiers in early 1965 to 350,000 soldiers in May 1965 and finally to 400,000 by the end of 1965.. During 1966 the strength of our full-time forces in South Vietnam would be increased to between 270,000 and 300,000 soldiers By the end of 1966 the total strength of our armed forces was 690,000 soldiers.[56]. Copyright 2013 - 2023 Stronghold Nation. Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Throughout a large portion of the War, North Vietnam denied that any of its soldiers were even in the south, but it is clear that they were able to place tens of thousands of troops in the southern war zone, including complete units of regular PAVN, rather than simply individual fillers. [13], The Trail had over 20 major way-stations operated by dedicated logistics units or Binh Trams, responsible for air and land defence, and delivery of supplies and replacements to fighting points in the South. GRADUAL FAILURE: THE AIR WAR OVER NORTH VIETNAM 19651966. A limited strike was authorized three days later in retaliation. Copyright 2013 Stronghold Nation. Many 122mm Rockets were deployed against US Air Bases as well as US Army Base Camps throughout their history. Data collated from the sensors were analyzed to predict the movement of PAVN convoys and units. Type. Both weapons used the same intermediate 7.62mm cartridge, which eased logistics. Different 122mm rockets have ranges of four to forty kilometers. Those headed further beyond might travel through Laos. June 19: In Phu My, Tha Thin Province, the VC assassinated a 54-year old man and his 70-year old mother. Exceptions were the set piece siege battles such as the battle of Khe Sanh or heavy artillery duels against US batteries across the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. Air Force History and Museums Program. Such variation and diversity lessened and standardized as the war went on. A VC rocket attack on Bien Hoa Air Base on May 12, 1967, caused only moderate damage but provided a major breakthrough. At noon on March 30, 1972, North Vietnam opened its spring offensive with a massive artillery barrage against South Vietnamese positions just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries. and attack personnel. Her book Bernard Montgomerys Art of War won a Silver Medal from the Military Writers Society of America. The 559th Transport Group was the biggest of the three, numbering an estimated 50,000 troops with 100,000 civilian porters in support. Medical supplies used on the battlefield came from several sources, including Soviet bloc and Chinese shipments and humanitarian donations earmarked for civilian use from neutral countries, including Scandinavian nations. Truck lights were dimmed or mounted under vehicles, and at regular intervals on some routes, spaces were cut into the jungle trees, forming small cups into which kerosene or some other flammable liquid was poured. [28], Medical care. Gradually, PAVN units were refitted with more modern AK-47 rifles from China, the Soviet Union, and other Warsaw Pact countries. PAVN headquarters in Hanoi was responsible for the coordinating the North to South logistical effort. Three more batteries were stationed around the Chu-Lai airstrips in the "Rocket Pocket", the target of 122mm rockets day and night, during '69's post TET offensive. Captured stocks were also exploited. Note that all Soviet weapons also had common Chinese copies. For a 122, you have seven seconds to get hidden before impact. This video is from that back yard ceremony where Hendrickson received the award. Communist bloc support was vital for prosecution of the war in the South. The NVA employed the gun as the long-range component of independent artillery regiments assigned to advancing forces. Segmentation enhanced security and was also sometimes used in moving troops with guide units only knowing their section of the trail or transport network. Chemical sensors were neutralized by leaving buckets of urine hanging on trees over the transportation network. Internal supply from within South Vietnam was also crucial, particularly food supplies. Fear of massive Chinese intervention in Vietnam continually caused a number of restrictions on US options. The Turkish T-300 Kasirga is perhaps the only NATO rocket artillery system that could truly be considered a "heavy" system like the Russian/Soviet BM-30 Smerch. The term NVA identifies regular troops of the North Vietnamese Army as they were commonly known by their Western opponents. [19] Amounts ten times or more this size however, were entering the top of the logistical pipeline before trickling down into South Vietnam, Laos and adjoining border regions. Tet Offensive '68 - the 122mm rocket. By the time of the aerial offensives, most US forces (over 500,000 troops) were already out of the Vietnam theater. As with the RPG-7, the BM-21 Grad can exhaust various ammunition types, including high-explosive, cluster, and incendiary rounds. rockets, fired without warning from the surrounding area, rained down on the U.S. camp. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. Each binh tram had its own force of porters, guides, engineers, specialists, transportation units and infantry. By Crusader1307. My pillow got peppered with shrapnel holes along with an Iowa State flagthat was hanging on the wall above my bed, Remains of Red platoon hoochPhoto by Nathan D. Shaffer (Charlie Troop Scouts, 1969-70). ARVN and US sources were also significant localized conduits of arms. Several activation systems (primers) were also used. If you heard them overhead they were no threat. There are some defeats more triumphant than victories. Encyclopdia Britannica, "Warfare, Conduct of", 1984 ed, pp 595597, John Prados, The Blood Road, (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998), p. 62139, John Prados, The Blood Road, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998, pp. Party membership was strongest in the Forward Supply Council. Booby traps were the province of guerrilla level forces more so than the VC/PAVN regulars. In our basecamp full of rubber trees, a tree . A bit ungrateful of our Ukrainian friends to complain about our military aid and the thousands of Yarmuk rockets sent as they are being used from weapons which are not meant for them. 3 km 2 with varying level of impact. The VC/PAVN relied heavily on heavy machine guns and standard Soviet-designed anti-aircraft batteries like the ZPU-series for air defense functions. [40], Dispersal of assets and pre-positioning of material. PAVN troops also faced US movement, auditory and chemical ("people sniffer") sensors on various parts of the Trail. The country continued to function for war despite the aerial onslaught. The supplies were unloaded and then transferred to trucks which transported them to the frontier zones that served as PAVN/NLF Base Areas. Vietnam war, 1972 [916x608] 709. By 1969 the Ho Chi Minh Trail was a sophisticated logistical web with paved roads, truck parks, maintenance and supply depots, and well organized and defended terminuses and bases, moving thousands of men per month into the battle zone. The warhead is painted light or dark gray, and the rocket motor is painted light or silver gray. Rolling Thunder imposed several limitations on US operations, and allowed Soviet and Chinese ships freedom to continuously deliver munitions and supplies into the battle zone. Usually, a siren would blow to indicate an incoming mortar attack. There are several survival skills that a person needs to learn in Vietnam. There was a row of barrels filled with sand between us and where the mortar landed. Designated personnel were tasked with dismantling them, or watchmen kept them under observation- signaling all within blast distance to disperse when the bombs showed signs of detonating. The Vietnam War Commemoration is conducted according to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act to help honor and pay tribute to Vietnam . The 122mm Rocket was 75-inches in length and weighted 102-pounds. Our hooch did not take a direct hit, but a Red platoon hooch across the road did and was on fire. Australian War Memorial, Canberra. US policymakers made ground attack against Trail networks in these countries off limits, (until limited operations were permitted late in the War) and North Vietnamese forces took full advantage of this to move massive quantities of men and material into South Vietnam to attack US and ARVN troops. I then went back to check my AO ( sleeping area). On May 2-3, 1995, an NSAG uses Orkan M-87 multiple rocket launchers to attack civilians in Zagreb. More dangerous enemies included malaria, foot infections and a variety of other maladies. Close. Fighting a mobile guerrilla war much of the time, the VC/PAVN could not deploy large quantities of heavy artillery or tanks. Coverage. Bridges across water obstacles were often built under water, difficult to detect from the air, and multiple crossing points were developed. [10] China also provided radar stations and airfields where Vietnam People's Air Force aircraft could marshal for attack, or flee to when in trouble against American air forces. The simplest and most primitive was a lanyard ''pull'', attached to a simple firing pin ring. The Trail covered a wide diversity of rough terrain. Esoteric American technology- such as the Calgon brand "mud maker" compounds deployed to slow movement on the Trail were met with typical PAVN practicality. Su-25 attack aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Forces with Zuni rockets. The National Liberation Front (NLF) was a united front designed to encourage non-communists to support the insurgency in the south. The base has been turned over to farmland. The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) used well-organized logistics methods to supply and equip their fighting forces. As noted above, the risk of air attack caused men and material to move along linked, but separate routes, and truck loading operated in shuttle fashion. [48], Movement techniques. The Type 63 multiple rocket launcher is a towed, 12-tube, 107mm rocket launcher produced by the People's Republic of China in the early 1960s and later exported and manufactured globally. . The Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia was opened in 1966 to enable PAVN to infiltrate and resupply COVSN in the southernmost zone of South Vietnam. The 122 mm D-74, a towed gun that entered Soviet service in 1955, was the most numerous gun in the NVA's five independent artillery regiments. Mines and booby traps applied significant psychological pressure on US/ARVN forces and slowed and disrupted both military operations and civilian life. This article is about the weapons used in the Vietnam War, which involved the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) or North Vietnamese Army (NVA), National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (NLF) or Viet Cong (VC), and the armed forces of the China (PLA), Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and the Australian, New Zealand defence forces . Logs and bamboo were laid over the quickly dissolving mud and the Northern fighters moved on. Thomas Newdick. Casualties caused by American airstrikes were low, accounting for only 2% of total losses. Soviet aid outstripped that of China, averaging over half a billion dollars per year in the later stages of the war, with some $700million in 1967 alone. It is similar to the BM-13 "Katyusha" and was partly replaced in service by the 122 mm BM-21 Grad. Sub-sections of these operated at different levels, from Interzone to village. [53] Special trail-watching and reaction units were also used to counter infiltration by US-MACV Special Operations teams. Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains today and into the future. 26, French FM 24/29, Soviet DP-28, captured M1918 BAR automatic rifles and even ex-german MG-34 (for Anti-Air use). 37169, Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History, (Viking Press: 1983) pp. United States Air Force, pp 164168, Jeffrey Record. It has a silver painted body and tail assembly, with a green . cit, John Prados, The Blood Road, (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998), p. 2-45, Colonel Jack Broughton, Thud Ridge, (J. Moving in company or battalion sizes, units departed at two-day intervals, with most crossing into Laos along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The ICRC estimates that in Laos alone, 9 to . The bulk of VC/PAVN foodstuffs was procured within South Vietnam via purchase, taxation on peasants in controlled areas, and personal farming by troops in remote areas. Thousands of Chinese troops (the PLA's 1st and 2nd Divisions) made important contributions to Hanoi's war effort- building or repairing hundreds of miles of track and numerous other facilities such as bridges, tunnels, stations and marshaling yards. [8] These Base Areas also served as sanctuaries for PAVN/NLF troops, who simply crossed the border from South Vietnam, rested, reinforced, and refitted for their next campaign in safety. The sheer volumes moving down the trail however meant that the PAVN effort came under severe strain. Night movement was almost constant, with drivers being guided on the roads by white poles painted by the Youth Shock Brigades, or personnel dressed in white. PAVN sources claim that the 559th Transport Group camouflaged some 2,000 miles (3,200km) out of the 12,000 miles (19,000km) of trail. Vietnam, 1962-1975. Sick soldiers were left to recuperate at various way-stations. B. Lippincott Publishing: 1969), pp. [34] On the vital China to Hanoi corridor, most major bridges, roads and rail lines were back in operation within five weeks after the American bombing halt in 1968. Mauser Kar98k rifles, both of captured German origin by way of Soviet Union or Chinese-made Chiang Kai-shek rifles were also provided as military aid. There the crews slept with rats . The Rear Services grouping provided logistical support for military operations, such as digging bunkers or hauling supplies. His name was Lance Corporal Thomas G. Stevenson. 96172, William Rosenau, Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets: Lessons from Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, (Rand Corporation Monograph: 2000) pp. The unguided rockets appear to be in use with the Ukrainian Air Force's Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft, which have so far been extensively used for attacks on Russian positions using . One Central Intelligence Agency study in 1966 found that the bulk of supplies needed were generated within South Vietnam. A large number of small supply depots, widely dispersed to guard against attack, furnished units on the move. The Viet Cong's full-time soldiers were referred to as the "Main Force" (Chu Luc). The limits of air power.. pp. The stage was now set for the battle under the new Union commander, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. Ronald Oakes collection. RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-080728-0018. [17] The need for massive amounts of manual labor for construction actually decreased on the Trail as heavy equipment like bulldozers and rock crushers were deployed, and both miles of road built and truck traffic expanded. Yet, the VPA also managed to produce copies of 50mm, 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars employed by the French, thus facilitating the use of captured ammunition. The railway network in the Chinese provinces bordering North Vietnam was of vital importance in importing war material. [47] Recruits were generally given an optimistic picture of conditions in the south, with claims that victory was close at hand and that they would be welcomed as liberators by their oppressed southern brethren. Households in areas under VC control were required to keep a certain minimum supply of rice on hand, and a large number of secret caches and supply dumps honeycombed the countryside. US MACV estimates posited a more modest total of around 280,000. [20] Food was always had locally, taxed away from peasants, purchased or even grown by VC units. [38] American bombers caused substantial damage to Northern road and rail infrastructure, including bridges, culverts, depots, ports and docks. Within SVN, the PAVN/VC military HQ, COVSN, had responsibility for overall logistical coordination. It was only after the shift to conventional warfare in the 1972 Easter Offensive, and the final conventional campaign in 1975 (when US airpower had vacated the field) that tanks and heavy batteries were openly used in significant numbers. One of the most helpless feelings I experienced in Vietnam is when our firebase was being mortared (incoming) and hoping the next rocket wouldnt be a direct hit. Consumption levels were much less than those of their American/ARVN opponents. 152175. 18 kg warhead. Not enough time to do anything except die a little inside. While outside material was vital to the war effort, much of the resources needed were obtained inside South Vietnam. A massive 1966 bombing mission by thirty B-52's for example attempted to pulverize vital stretches of the strategic Mu Gia Pass. Guided by two men, the specially modified bikes could move 300400 pounds, several times that of a single porter. Female brigadiers, many of whom were scarcely teenagers when they were sent down the Trail, suffered from inadequate training, shelter, and clothing, and from chronic shortages of food and medicine. An incoming round exploding is a noise forever embedded in your brain and for years to . If such targets as the North's petroleum facilities were attacked, it was argued, Hanoi's capabilities would be sharply reduced. The Type 85 single-tube launcher is not a necessity in this regard, although using it makes the rocket more accurate. Fin stabilization was used (4 on the tail of the rocket). To purchase the entire video go to https://militaryvideo.com/ and search Rocket City or click on the linkhttps://mi. Special Operation teams were also inserted for reconnaissance and assessment, and sometimes the guidance of airstrikes on to targets. [2] Contrary to some popular impressions of simple peasant farmers armed with low quality or obsolete weapons, the VC and PAVN main units (as well as the local forces in the latter years) were well equipped with modern arms either from Soviet bloc or Chinese sources. The phrase was also used in Vietnam to describe similar underground sniping holes used by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese, according to the US army Military History Institute. The Chinese were content to provide supportive diplomatic rhetoric, manpower and material, but signaled they would not enter the fray unless the Americans invaded North Vietnam. The initial American Operation Rolling Thunder campaign while inflicting painful local damage, did not halt the continual stream of men and materiel into the south. pp. They were guarded by detachments of the 559th Transport Group. Laos was still a wide-open corridor, and U.S. forces were withdrawing. Other types used by the less standardized VC included the Soviet PPS-43, captured or Chinese produced M1 Thompson and M3 Grease Guns, and ex-German MP 40. It almost seemed safer on a recon mission in the middle of the jungle. The limits of air power: the American bombing of North Vietnam. A courier might leave a message at a specific drop location for another courier (a stranger to him or her). In 1968 alone, some 200,000 PAVN troops made the journey south according to some American estimates. Throughout most of the conflict the US generally enjoyed air superiority, although this was often challenged in the north by MiG fighters and especially modern Soviet surface-to-air missiles. Since July 3, 1863, there have been many calls for Confederate flags to be returned to their home states, and in particular, for the 28th Virginia Infantry Regiment flag return to Virginia. The gun had a horizontal sliding-wedge breech block, a hydropneumatic recoil system, a muzzle brake and a split tail carriage. Captured 122mm Tripod Launcher. Thirty rounds of 122-mm. The Nixon regime forbade the bombing of dams and dikes for example, along with POW camps, hospitals and religious shrines. Washington, D.C.: Air Force Museums and History Program, 2005, p. 39, Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People's Army of Vietnam, 19541975. Some 500,000 workers were mobilized to repair bomb damage as needed, with an additional 100,000 constantly at work. Wherever possible PAVN units minimized disturbances to the jungle cover, and even transplanted foliage from elsewhere to cover and conceal signs of movement. Primarily an agrarian country with little industrial and technical base, North Vietnam compared poorly with the advanced material and technical systems of its American opponent, and often invoked a David versus Goliath comparison in its propaganda campaigns. Total losses to disease are estimated at around 10 to 20%. In all, some 320,000 Chinese soldiers served in Vietnam during the war. [4], Extensive use was made of the very effective Soviet-designed rocket propelled grenade anti-tank grenade launcher, the RPG-2 and RPG-7, commonly known as the B-40 and B-41, respectively. eng. With volumes such as these, backed by lavish Soviet and Chinese aid, and thorough organization, PAVN persevered until final victory. The 122mm had an amazing range of between 3,000 and 7,000-meters, which a ''kill range'' (blast radius of 163-meters). The most active Zuni 127mm unguided air-to-surface rockets were used by the United States Navy and Marine Corps aviation in military campaigns of the 1960s-1970s, in particular in Vietnam. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, [].
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