What did American soldiers do when fighting in Vietnam?

What did American soldiers do when fighting in Vietnam?

They usually started firefights by ambushing U.S. combat patrols. After a while, some U.S. soldiers began to feel like the purpose of their endless patrolling was to serve as bait for attacks by enemy forces. After all, such attacks gave American military leaders information about the size and location of NVA troops.

What was life like for American soldiers in Vietnam?

About 75\% of the 2.5 million soldiers fighting in Vietnam worked in support roles as clerks far away from the front lines. These men had access to all the luxuries of home, including getting to sleep in a bed, eating hot meals, drinking at bars, and shopping at a well-stocked commissary.

What tactics were used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War?

For the most part, the Viet Cong fought essentially a guerrilla war of ambush, terrorism, and sabotage; they used small units to maintain a hold on the countryside, leaving the main population centres to government authorities. A Viet Cong soldier crouching in a bunker during the Vietnam War.

What did the Vietcong call American soldiers?

American soldiers referred to the Viet Cong as Victor Charlie or V-C. “Victor” and “Charlie” are both letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet. “Charlie” referred to communist forces in general, both Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.

What kind of traps did the Vietcong use?

A cartridge trap is a type of booby trap devised by the Viet Cong and subsequently used against American and other anti-Communist forces supporting South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Why did the Viet Cong hide pit vipers in their packs?

But during the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong made everything worse when they started using them as natural biological weapons. They hid pit vipers in their packs so that anyone searching through them would get an agonizingly fatal surprise.

Why did the Viet Cong use tunnels in Vietnam?

In order to combat better-supplied American and South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War, Communist guerrilla troops known as Viet Cong (VC) dug tens of thousands of miles of tunnels, including an extensive network running underneath the Cu Chi district northwest of Saigon.

Why did the military use sniffer dogs in Vietnam?

In 1966, the U.S. Army trained sniffer dogs and their human companions to track down guerrillas in Vietnam. The military kept these Combat Tracker Teams secret to hide them from the enemy—and shield reluctant allies from a potential international incident.

Was sending troops to Vietnam a mistake?

In December 1967, a Gallup poll found the American public almost evenly split on the question of whether sending troops to fight in Vietnam was a mistake. By August 1968, 53 percent thought sending troops was a mistake, versus 35 percent who said it wasn’t. Tet was one big factor that had swayed hearts and minds.