The Vietnam War was one of the largest military conflicts in military history. Today there are a lot of polar opinions about it. In our review, there are several facts about the Vietnam War that will allow you to learn about the unknown sides of that terrible war.
1 The CIA Hired Hmong During The Secret War
In 1965, the CIA, with the help of Air America (which it secretly owned), began the operation that would become known as the "Secret War". By 1961, 9,000 Hmong guerrillas in Laos had been recruited. During the Vietnam War, Laos was neutral, but the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) had a strong influence in that country. In 1965, the number of Hmong partisans increased to 20,000 and then the true cause of the "Secret War" was revealed.
The Hmong were to destroy NVA supply depots, ambush cargo convoys, disrupt supply lines, and generally cause any possible damage to the NVA. When America began withdrawing troops from Vietnam, Air America was forced to leave Laos. On June 3, 1974, the airline's last plane left Laos, leaving the Hmong to fend for themselves.
Shortly after the Lao government began arresting the Hmong for their collaboration with the CIA, many guerrillas fled to the jungle, where they have lived since the end of the Vietnam War. Many of these Hmong guerrillas still hope today that the US will one day come to rescue them from the jungle.
2. Most of the soldiers were volunteers
According to official figures, three-quarters of all American soldiers volunteered for the army. More specifically, during the entire war, 9,087,000 people served in the army, and only 1,728,344 of them were called up. This is a very low number of conscripts compared to other wars. For example, during World War II, 8,895,135 Americans were drafted into the army, which was two-thirds of the total number of all Americans involved in the war.
3. Unfair call
Another controversial issue regarding the war is social inequality in conscription. In America, it was said that the racial and social status of people were guided by the call to the war in Vietnam. But 88.4 percent of the men who served in the Vietnam War are Caucasians. So, the myth that racial minorities were "cannon fodder" is simply not true. 79 percent of military personnel received higher education, and the wealth of three-quarters of all soldiers was above the poverty line, which refutes the theory of social inequality.
4. Payments to spies
The South Vietnamese spies were very important to the United States, but their work was dangerous. The problem with recruiting these spies was that many of them lived in communities where money simply didn't exist and where barter was accepted. This led to the use of rice and other goods as payment. This scheme worked for some time, after which it turned out that the "agents" did not need more rice, and they did not need other goods.
The decision was made to provide the spies with Sears catalogs from which they could choose the goods they would be paid with. The first order was for six red velvet blazers with copper buttons, each paid for 20 days' work. The spies also ordered other items of clothing, such as oversized bras, which they used to... harvest fruit.
5. Age of soldiers
The Vietnam War caused numerous protests in American society also because young people were dying. And it was true: the average age of a soldier is 22 years old, and that of an officer is 28 years old. And the oldest person to die in Vietnam was 63-year-old Kenna Clyde Taylor.
6. Super glue
War is always death and terrible wounds. And today it seems incredible that wounded American soldiers used superglue to get a chance at salvation. The wound, filled with glue, provided invaluable time for the soldiers to get to the medical unit and wait for the operation.
7. Life after the war
At one time, it was much said that in the United States, society treated Vietnam veterans very negatively after they returned home. Allegedly, crowds of protesters met the soldiers at the airport. But in most cases, none of this happened.
8. Seeding Clouds
The United States Army did not hesitate to use sabotage and sabotage to their advantage. One of the most interesting ways that the Americans used against the North Vietnamese army was Operation Popeye. As part of this operation, the Americans conducted 50 sorties of aircraft, during which silver iodide was dispersed in rain clouds, which led to heavy precipitation in 82 percent of cases. These rains were supposed to stop the military advance of the Vietnamese in certain areas. It was also supposed, by changing the weather, to flood specific areas, causing damage to crops, which should have left the Vietnamese army without provisions.
9. US Allies in the Vietnam War
Usually, when it comes to the Vietnam War, they mostly talk about the Americans. Although the United States had the largest number of soldiers in Vietnam, it also had troops from South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand fighting on its side. South Korea alone sent 312,853 troops to Vietnam between September 1963 and April 1975.
South Korean soldiers killed 41,000 North Vietnamese soldiers and 5,000 civilians. At the same time, only 4,687 South Koreans were killed during the war. 60,000 troops came from Australia and 3,000 from New Zealand.
10. Death card
It is likely that, thanks to Hollywood films, many have begun to associate Vietnam with the ace of spades. At the same time, many do not have the slightest idea about the true history of this famous symbol. The ace of spades was left on the bodies of dead soldiers as a warning. The Vietnamese were very superstitious people, and when the American troops found themselves intimidated by maps, the practice became widespread.
Fortunately, many years have passed since that terrible time, and Vietnam has turned into a flourishing and active developing country. One of the attractions that attract the attention of tourists is. He is really wonderful.
April 11 marked the 40th anniversary of the cult film Apocalypse Now, so it was released again. A great reason to remember the Vietnam War. The theme seems hackneyed, but there are a lot of really wild things left in it. For example, the word "frag" comes from the time of the Vietnamese and meant the murder of one's own officer; the fighters of the "Tiger" detachment cut off the ears of the enemies; and the executioner with famous photo, which depicted the execution of a partisan, opened a pizzeria and quietly lived out his days in Virginia.
We have collected 10 facts for you. Some of them are film worthy in their own right.
The word "frag" came from the Vietnam War and meant the murder of one's own commander.
The current schoolchildren who use the word “frag” hardly realize how wild his story is. "Frag" is an abbreviation for the phrase "fragmentary grenade", and over time, they began to refer to the murder of their own commander during the Vietnam War.
At the very end of the war, the devil knows what was going on in the American army: discipline was cracking at the seams, many soldiers used drugs, and outright outcasts fell into the conscripts. Under these conditions, some of the rank and file went to kill especially annoying commanders - they simply threw the very fragmentary grenade into their tent. It was hard to prove that this was not the work of the Viet Cong, and the new commander, knowing the fate of the previous one, was like silk. Many soldiers liked to brag about how many "frags" they had on their account. Most often it was empty chatter, but in 1970 alone, 321 cases of fragging were recorded.
The executioner from the famous photo "Execution in Saigon" quietly lived out his days in Virginia and even opened a pizzeria
The photo "Execution in Saigon" has become one of the most famous symbols of the Vietnam War and its brutality. It depicts a police chief of South Vietnam (US allies) shooting a Viet Cong guerrilla. The photo at one time made a lot of noise, was replicated around the world, and the photographer Eddie Adams, who made it, won the Pulitzer Prize (however, voluntarily refusing it).
All the more surprising is the fate of the shooter. Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan immigrated to the United States after the war and ended up owning a small pizzeria in Virginia. The only thing that overshadowed his old age was that someone nevertheless found out the truth and once filled a pizzeria with the words: “We know who you are!”. Eddie Adams himself subsequently changed his mind about what was happening and apologized to Loan, stating that he had undeservedly denigrated him with his photograph.
One of the heroes of the Vietnamese admitted that he accomplished the feat completely stoned
Sergeant Peter Lemon received the Medal of Honor for an astonishing feat. In 1970, he served as a machine gunner's assistant guarding a base in Tai Tin Province.
When the base was attacked, killing many Americans, Peter held back two waves of the offensive, firing from a grenade launcher, machine guns, and when they failed, from a personal rifle. He threw grenades at the enemy, was wounded three times, carried a wounded comrade out from under fire, and in the end ran to finish off the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.
The feat of the sergeant became widely known and was widely replicated in the media. However, Lemon's confession was a blow to the prestige of the army: at the time of the attack, he and his comrades smoked so much cannabis that they hardly understood what was happening. Peter himself told reporters that he considered America the aggressor and added that, according to his observations, 90% of all American soldiers in Vietnam smoke marijuana.
US military recorded 'ghost voices' to scare superstitious Viet Cong
One of the methods of psychological warfare used by the US military is the "voices of ghosts." The officers learned that, according to local beliefs, unburied soldiers would forever roam the Earth, howling terribly and dragging everyone who came across to the next world.
It was decided to use these legends in the strangest way: around the bases (and sometimes just in certain places in the jungle) speakers were placed playing recordings of "ghostly and creepy sounds", many of which were simply taken from horror films. The operation was called "Wandering Soul".
- The famous "Record No. 10" is a great example of dark ambient.
Buddhist funeral music and recordings in Vietnamese were often used, in which supposedly dead soldiers howled terribly and talked about the imminent death of their comrades-in-arms. The reception, apparently, had no effect. But the contribution of the American army to it is difficult to overestimate.
125 thousand American guys immigrated to Canada, hiding from the draft. And half liked it there more than at home
Throughout the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands of draft-age guys mowed down in every possible way. Immigration to Canada turned out to be the most trouble-free way - it's close, easy to enter, there is no language barrier, and Canada refused to extradite fugitive conscripts, although in the USA they were considered criminals.
When President Carter granted an amnesty to all those who fled compulsory military service for another country, half of all fugitives returned on the first day. By the way, one of the most famous Canadian dodgers is the father of cyberpunk, William Gibson. True, he did not want to return home - he liked Canada much more than at home.
The Americans believed that the Viet Cong were afraid of the ace of spades.
But for the Vietnamese, this is just nonsense.
You may have seen in Vietnamese films (even documentaries) how American soldiers leave an ace of spades on the bodies of dead Viet Cong - as a kind of trademark. This custom really took place, but it comes from a curious mistake. One day, there was a rumor among the military that the Vietnamese were madly afraid of this card, considering it a symbol of death and a bad omen.
However, this is just a story, there is nothing like it in Vietnamese culture. The myth was so enduring that American card makers sent crates of aces of spades to the war.
Soldiers of the "Tiger" detachment cut off the ears of the enemies and made necklaces out of them
The American special forces detachment "Tiger" specialized in the fight against partisans. In the course were any methods, even the most dirty and cruel. In 2003, correspondent Michael Salla published previously classified data from the Vietnam era. The US Army conducted its own war crimes investigations into Tiger Squad and concluded that most of the rumors about it were true.
The Tiger fighters cut off the ears of the partisans and made necklaces out of them. They tortured the detainees and destroyed the civilian population in order to intimidate them. Local residents were used to clear minefields, forcing them to run through them at gunpoint. Michael Salla's investigation led to the strongest public outcry, even after so many decades. However, in the end, no one was punished: in the conclusions of the tribunal, it was about the detachment as a whole, specific names were not named.
Patrol unit "Tiger".
A similar example of the bloodthirstiness of soldiers is given in the autobiographical book "Old Men" by Gustav Hasford, which was made into the film "Full Metal Jacket". There, one of the black fighters, originally from New Orleans, cut off the feet of the Viet Cong, believing that this was how he received their strength.
During the evacuation, the Americans threw 47 million dollars into the sea
Frequent wind
After the fall of Saigon in 1975, American forces staged a large-scale evacuation of the remaining forces and allied Vietnamese. The operation was called "Gusty Wind", and during its course 7 thousand people were evacuated per day. However, everything was carried out in such a hurry that there was a catastrophic lack of space on the deck. The refugees were eventually preferred to helicopters, which were dropped from the deck to make room.
The footage of the Iroquois being thrown overboard by an aircraft carrier has become the most famous symbol of defeat in the Vietnam War. The cost of the cars that went to the bottom is estimated at $ 10 million at the rate of those years. Taking into account inflation and in terms of current money, this is about 47 million.
Agent "Orange" caused offspring mutations not only in the Vietnamese, but also in American soldiers
The use of a toxic substance codenamed Agent Orange is a well-known fact. During Operation Ranch Hand, American troops sprayed 77 million liters of herbicide over 10% of all of South Vietnam, which was supposed to destroy the jungle where the guerrillas were hiding. The consequences for local residents were catastrophic - 4 million people became victims of the "orange". Three million were directly affected by this chemical weapons, and another million - from congenital diseases.
Spraying Agent Orange.
Agent "orange" has terrible consequences for offspring - it causes body deformations in the fetus. But what is known much less is that not only the Vietnamese, but also hundreds of thousands of American military personnel suffered from the toxin. According to statistics, the children of Vietnam veterans are three times more likely to be born with birth defects and diseases.
The most dangerous specialization of the Vietnam War is not marines or "tunnel rats", but helicopter reconnaissance
Films about the Vietnam War give an extremely one-sided view of the war: because of them, it seems that there is nothing more dangerous than being a Marine and almost all of them, sooner or later, are doomed to death. In reality, infantry mortality was not that great (by the standards of the conflict, of course). In total, 2 million Americans served in Vietnam, of which more than 50 thousand. The chances of becoming dead or crippled here were 33% - incredibly high by the standards of the Vietnam War.
H-13, Sioux.
However, most of the losses, apparently, were not suffered by the Marines and tunnel fighters, but by the pilots of reconnaissance helicopters. Particularly affected were the lungs, like a glass ball with a propeller, the H-13 machines. Their losses were colossal. Military helicopter pilot Robert Mason in his autobiographical novel The Chicken and the Hawk gives the following example: in the 1/9 squadron serving next to him, 14 out of 20 reconnaissance helicopter pilots died in less than six months.
But the most surprising thing about the Vietnamese is that the most famous "facts" about its soldiers turned out to be myths. 2/3 of the Americans who served were volunteers, and when they returned home they did not become psychopaths and drug addicts. Statistics, on the contrary, show that the number of suicides, unemployed and drug addicts among them was less than among those who did not serve.
The image of the Viet Cong soldier also turned out to be a myth: most of them found themselves in the jungle for the first time in their lives and were scared no less than the Americans. And they, too, often suffered from traps, but already left by the US allies (mainly the Hmong people). And the story that American soldiers preferred captured AK-47s also worked in reverse side- the Vietnamese themselves did not have so many Kalashnikovs, so they often took captured M-16s.
The reasons why the American war with Vietnam began, in general, was the confrontation of two political systems. In an Asian country, communist and Western democratic ideologies clashed. This conflict has become an episode of a much more global confrontation - cold war.
Prerequisites
In the first half of the 20th century, Vietnam, like other countries in Southeast Asia, was a colony of France. This order was broken by World War II. First, Vietnam was occupied by Japan, then supporters of communism appeared there, speaking out against the imperialist French authorities. These supporters national independence received strong support from China. There, immediately after the Second World War, the power of the communists was finally established.
Leaving Southeast Asia, the French recognized the government of South Vietnam as legitimate. The north of the country was under the control of the communists. In 1957, an internal confrontation began between the two regimes. It was not yet America's war with Vietnam, but it was during that period that the United States first intervened in the situation in the region.
Just then, the Cold War was in full swing. Any administration of the White House with all its might opposed the establishment of another communist regime in any country in the world, whether it is supported by the USSR or China. Under President Eisenhower, the Americans openly sided with South Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem, although they themselves did not yet use their own army.
The approach of war
Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the Vietnamese communists. He organized the NLF - the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. In the West, this organization became commonly known as the Viet Cong. The supporters of Ho Chi Minh waged a successful guerrilla war. They staged terrorist attacks and haunted the government army. At the end of 1961, the Americans sent their first troops to Vietnam. However, these units were small. At first, Washington decided to limit itself to sending military advisers and specialists to Saigon.
Gradually, the position of Diem worsened. Under these conditions, a war between America and Vietnam became more and more inevitable. In 1953, Diem was overthrown and killed in a coup by the South Vietnamese army. In the following months, power in Saigon chaotically changed several more times. The rebels took advantage of the weakness of the enemy and took control of all new regions of the country.
First encounters
In August 1964, the American war with Vietnam became an order of magnitude closer after the battle in which the American reconnaissance destroyer Maddox and NLF torpedo boats collided. In response to this event, the US Congress gave permission to President Lyndon Johnson to launch a full-scale operation in Southeast Asia.
The head of state for some time adhered to a peaceful course. He did this on the eve of the 1964 elections. Johnson won that campaign precisely because of the peace-loving rhetoric, the opposite of the ideas of the "hawk" Barry Goldwater. Coming in White House, the politician changed his mind and began to prepare the operation.
The Viet Cong, meanwhile, captured more and more rural areas. They even began to attack American installations in the southern part of the country. The number of US military personnel on the eve of the full-scale deployment of troops was about 23 thousand people. Johnson finally decided to invade Vietnam after the Viet Cong attacked the American base in Pleiku.
The entry of troops
March 2, 1965 is considered the date when America's war with Vietnam began. On this day, the US Air Force launched Operation Thunderclap, the regular bombing of North Vietnam. A few days later, American marines landed in the southern part of the country. Her appearance was caused by the need to protect the strategically important Danang airfield.
Now it was not just the Vietnamese Civil War, but the US-Vietnam War. The campaign years (1965-1973) are considered the period of greatest tension in the region. Already 8 months after the start of the invasion, there were more than 180,000 American troops in Vietnam. At the peak of the confrontation, this figure increased three times.
In August 1965, the first major battle between the Viet Cong and US ground forces took place. It was Operation Starlight. The conflict flared up. A similar trend continued that same autumn, when the news of the battle in the Ia Drang valley spread around the world.
"Find and destroy"
The first four years of the intervention until the very end of 1969, the US military waged a large-scale offensive in South Vietnam. The strategy of the US Army was consistent with the "search and destroy" principle developed by Commander-in-Chief William Westmoreland. American tacticians divided the territory of South Vietnam into four zones, called corps.
In the first of these regions, located directly next to the possessions of the communists, the marines operated. The war between America and Vietnam was waged there as follows. The US Army entrenched itself in three enclaves (Phu Bai, Da Nang and Chulai), after which it began to clear the surrounding areas. This operation took the whole of 1966. Over time, the fighting here became more and more complicated. At first, the Americans were opposed by NLF forces. However, then on the territory of North Vietnam itself, the main army of this state was waiting for them.
A big headache for the Americans was the DMZ (demilitarized zone). Through it, the Viet Cong transferred a large number of people and equipment to the south of the country. Because of this, the marines had, on the one hand, to unite their enclaves on the coast, and on the other hand, to contain the enemy in the DMZ area. In the summer of 1966, Operation Hastings took place in the demilitarized zone. Its goal was to stop the deployment of NLF forces. Subsequently, the Marine Corps concentrated entirely on the DMZ, placing the coast under the care of fresh American forces. The contingent here increased without stopping. In 1967, the 23rd US Infantry Division was formed in South Vietnam, which sunk into oblivion after the defeat of the Third Reich in Europe.
War in the mountains
The tactical zone of the II Corps affected the mountainous areas adjacent to the border with Laos. Through these territories, the Viet Cong penetrated the flat coast. In 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division began an operation in the Annam Mountains. In the area of the Ya Drang valley, she stopped the advance of the North Vietnamese army.
At the end of 1966, the US 4th Infantry Division entered the mountains (the 1st Cavalry moved to Bindan Province). They were assisted by South Korean detachments, who also arrived in Vietnam. The war with America, the reason for which was the unwillingness of Western countries to tolerate the expansion of communism, also affected their Asian allies. South Korea, back in the 1950s, experienced its own bloody confrontation with North Korea, and its population understood the cost of such a conflict better than others.
The fighting in the II Corps zone culminated in the Battle of Dakto in November. The Americans managed, at the cost of heavy losses, to thwart the Viet Cong offensive. The 173rd Airborne Brigade took the brunt of the blow.
Guerrilla actions
America's protracted war with Vietnam could not be stopped for years because of guerrilla warfare. The nimble detachments of the Viet Cong attacked the enemy infrastructure and freely hid in the rainforests. The main task of the Americans in the fight against the partisans was to protect Saigon from the enemy. In the provinces adjacent to the city, the III Corps zone was formed.
In addition to the South Koreans, the Australians were US allies in Vietnam. The military contingent of this country was based in the province of Phuoctuy. Here lay the most important road number 13, which began in Saigon and ended at the border with Cambodia.
In the future, several more major operations took place: Attleboro, Junction City and Cedar Falls. Nevertheless, the guerrilla war continued. Its main area was the delta. This territory abounded in swamps, forests and canals. Its characteristic feature, even during the hostilities, remained a high population density. Thanks to all these circumstances, the guerrilla war continued for so long and successfully. The United States with Vietnam, in short, lingered much longer than Washington had originally thought.
new year offensive
In early 1968, the North Vietnamese began to lay siege to the US Marine base of Khe Sanh. Thus began the Tet Offensive. It got its name from the local new year. Usually in Tet, the escalation of the conflict was reduced. This time it was different - the offensive swept the whole of Vietnam. The war with America, the cause of which was the intransigence of the two political systems, could not end until both sides had exhausted their resources. Launching a large-scale attack on enemy positions, the Viet Cong risked almost all the forces available to them.
Numerous cities were attacked, including Saigon. However, the communists managed to occupy only Hue - one of the ancient capitals of the country. In other directions, the attacks were successfully repulsed. By March, the offensive had fizzled out. It never achieved its main goal: the overthrow of the government of South Vietnam. Moreover, the Americans recaptured Hue. The battle turned out to be one of the fiercest during the war years. Vietnam and America, however, continued the bloodshed. Although the offensive effectively failed, it had a significant effect on American morale.
In the States, the large-scale attack of the communists was perceived as a weakness of the US army. Mass media played a significant role in shaping public opinion. They paid much attention to the siege of Khe Sanh. Newspapers criticized the government for spending huge amounts of money on a senseless war.
In the meantime, in the spring of 1968, the counteroffensive of the Americans and their allies began. To successfully complete the operation, the military asked Washington to send more than 200,000 soldiers to Vietnam. The President did not dare to take such a step. Anti-militarist sentiment in the United States has become an increasingly serious factor domestic policy. As a result, only small reinforcements were sent to Vietnam, and in late March, Johnson announced an end to the bombing of the northern part of the country.
Vietnamization
As long as the American war with Vietnam was, the date for the withdrawal of American troops was inexorably approaching. At the end of 1968, he won the presidential election. He campaigned under anti-war slogans and declared his desire to conclude an "honorable peace." Against this background, communist supporters in Vietnam began to attack American bases and positions in the first place in order to hasten the withdrawal of US troops from their country.
In 1969, the Nixon administration formulated the principle of the Vietnamization policy. It replaced the "search and destroy" doctrine. Its essence was that before leaving the country, the Americans needed to transfer control of their positions to the government in Saigon. Steps in this direction began against the backdrop of the Second Tet Offensive. It again covered the whole of South Vietnam.
The history of the war with America could have turned out differently if the communists did not have rear bases in neighboring Cambodia. In this country, as well as in Vietnam, there was a civil confrontation between supporters of two opposing political systems. In the spring of 1970, the power in Cambodia as a result of a coup was seized by officer Lon Nol, who overthrew King Norodom Sihanouk. The new government changed its attitude towards the communist rebels and began to destroy their shelters in the jungle. Dissatisfied with attacks behind Viet Cong lines, North Vietnam invaded Cambodia. The Americans and their allies also rushed to the country to help Lon Nol. These events added fuel to the fire of the anti-war public campaign in the States themselves. Two months later, under pressure from a disgruntled population, Nixon ordered the withdrawal of the army from Cambodia.
Last battles
Many conflicts of the Cold War in third countries of the world ended with the establishment of communist regimes there. The American war with Vietnam was no exception. Who won this campaign? Viet Cong. By the end of the war, the morale of American soldiers had fallen greatly. The use of drugs spread among the troops. By 1971, the Americans had stopped their own major operations and began to gradually withdraw the army.
According to the policy of Vietnamization, the responsibility for what is happening in the country fell on the shoulders of the government in Saigon - in February 1971, South Vietnamese forces launched Operation Lam Son 719. Its purpose was to prevent the transfer of soldiers and weapons of opponents along the partisan "Ho Chi Minh trail." It is noteworthy that the Americans almost did not take part in it.
In March 1972, North Vietnamese troops launched a major new Easter Offensive. This time the 125,000-strong army was assisted by hundreds of tanks, weapons that the NLF had never had before. The Americans did not participate in ground battles, but assisted South Vietnam from the air. It was thanks to this support that the onslaught of the communists was contained. So from time to time the US war with Vietnam could not stop. The contagion of pacifist sentiment in the States, however, continued.
In 1972, North Vietnamese and US representatives began negotiations in Paris. The parties almost came to an agreement. However, South Vietnamese President Thieu intervened at the last moment. He persuaded the Americans to set unacceptable conditions for the enemy. As a result, negotiations broke down.
End of the war
The last American operation in Vietnam was the North Vietnamese series at the end of December 1972. She became known as "Linebacker". Also, the name of the “Christmas bombings” was assigned to the operation. They were the largest in the entire war.
The operation began under direct orders from Nixon. The president wanted to end the war as soon as possible and decided to finally put pressure on the communists. The bombing affected Hanoi and other important cities in the northern part of the country. When the Vietnam War with America ended, it became clear that it was Linebacker who forced the parties to iron out differences in the final negotiations.
The U.S. Army withdrew completely from Vietnam in accordance with the Paris Peace Agreement signed on January 27, 1973. By that day, about 24,000 Americans remained in the country. The withdrawal of troops ended on 29 March.
The peace agreement also implied the beginning of a truce between the two parts of Vietnam. In fact, this did not happen. Without the Americans, he turned out to be defenseless against the communists and lost the war, although at the beginning of 1973 he even had a numerical superiority in military force. Over time, the United States stopped providing economic assistance to Saigon. In April 1975, the Communists finally established their power over the entire territory of Vietnam. Thus ended the long-term confrontation in the Asian country.
Perhaps the United States would have defeated the enemy, but public opinion played its role in the States, which did not like America's war with Vietnam (the results of the war were summed up over the course of many years). The events of that campaign left a significant imprint on the popular culture of the second half of the 20th century. During the war years, about 58,000 American servicemen died.
Our civilization is full of bloody wars and tragedies. People still do not know how to live in peace on one small planet lost in cold space. War is increasingly becoming an instrument of enrichment for some at the expense of the grief and misfortune of others. In the twentieth century, the assertion that force rules the world was once again confirmed.
In early September, in the year of the final surrender of fascism, the creation of the second people's state in Asia, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, was proclaimed. The power in the country was in the hands of the communist leader Ho Chi Minh, which radically changed the geopolitical situation in the region. However, the Europeans did not intend to leave their colonies, and soon a new bloody war broke out. British troops under the leadership of General Gracie created favorable conditions for the return of the French colonists instead of the promised help to expel the Japanese aggressors. The Allies openly violated the provisions of the Atlantic Charter, which stated that all countries that fought against fascism would receive their long-awaited freedom. Soon, French troops landed on the territory of Vietnam in order to restore their former influence in the region. However, Vietnam by this time was experiencing an incredible rise in national spirit, and the French met with fierce resistance.
On the initiative Soviet Union At the end of April 1954, a document was signed in Geneva recognizing the independence of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as restoring peace in the region. As a result, two parts of the country were formed, separated by a conditional border: North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, and South, headed by Ngo Dinh Diem. If Ho Chi Minh was a leader with real authority among the local population, supported by the countries of the socialist camp, then Diem turned out to be an ordinary puppet of the West. Soon, Diem lost even the appearance of popularity among the people, and a guerrilla war broke out in South Vietnam. Assigned by the Geneva Act democratic elections turned out to be completely unprofitable for the Europeans, since it became clear that Ho Chi Minh's victory was predetermined. It should be noted that the communists from the DRV played an important role in the development of the partisan movement. Soon the United States intervened in the conflict, but the lightning-fast conquest of the country did not take place.
The southern part of Vietnam was almost completely covered with impenetrable jungle, in which the partisans successfully hid. Military operations, customary and effective in Europe, were not applicable here, the communist North provided significant support to the rebels. After the Tonkin Incident, the US Air Force bombed North Vietnam. Black phantoms were sent to Hanoi and, exerting a psychological impact on the population, destroyed mainly military facilities. The air defense system in the underdeveloped country was almost completely absent, and the Americans quickly felt their impunity.
Help from the USSR followed immediately. To be more precise, Soviet support for the young people's state was carried out a year before the famous meeting in 1965, however, large-scale deliveries of military equipment began after the official decision was made and the issues of transportation through China were settled. In addition to weapons, Soviet military and civilian specialists, as well as correspondents, went to Vietnam. In the famous movie "Rambo", American directors cover the fierce battles between the "hero" and notorious thugs from the "Russian special forces". This work concentrates all the fear of the Soviet soldiers, who, according to US politicians, fought with their valiant half-million army. So, if we take into account that the number of soldiers from the USSR who arrived in Hanoi was only six thousand officers and about four thousand privates, it becomes clear how exaggerated such stories are.
In fact, only officers and privates were present on the territory of North Vietnam, called to train local military personnel in the management of Soviet equipment and weapons. Contrary to the expectations of the Americans, who predicted the appearance of the first results of such training only in a year, the Vietnamese entered into a confrontation after only two months. It is possible that such an unexpected and unpleasant circumstance for the American command gave rise to suspicions that Soviet pilots, and not at all local warriors. Legends of Bolsheviks with machine guns hiding in the impenetrable jungle and attacking American civilians in Vietnam are still popular in the States today. If we believe these stories, we can conclude that only ten or eleven thousand Soviet soldiers were able to defeat a half-million American army, and this is really incredible. The role of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese in this approach is not at all clear.
However, it cannot be denied that the Americans had reason not to trust the assurances of the USSR about the exclusively advisory mission of military specialists. The fact is that the majority of the population of North Vietnam was illiterate. The vast majority were starving, people were exhausted, so ordinary fighters did not even have a minimum margin of endurance and strength. Young men could only endure ten minutes of combat with the enemy. There was no need to talk about skill in the field of piloting on modern machines. Despite all of the above factors, during the first year of confrontation with North Vietnam, a significant part of American military aircraft was destroyed. MiGs outperformed the legendary phantoms in maneuverability, so they successfully evaded pursuit after the attack. Anti-aircraft systems, thanks to which most of the American bombers were shot down, were difficult to eliminate, since they were located under the cover of dense tropical forests. In addition, intelligence worked successfully, reporting fighter sorties in advance.
The first months of work of the Soviet rocket scientists turned out to be extremely tense. Completely different climatic conditions, unfamiliar diseases, annoying insects have become far from the main problem in fulfilling the task. The training of the Vietnamese comrades, who did not understand the Russian language at all, took place through a demonstration, with the involvement of translators, who were often in short supply. However, Soviet specialists did not participate directly in the battles, since there were very few of them, and they were too valuable. According to the testimony of direct participants, they did not even have their own weapons.
North Vietnamese PT-76, shot down in the battle near the Benhat special forces camp. March 1969
The American command strictly forbade shelling Soviet ships and transport, since such actions could provoke the outbreak of the Third World War, however, it was the Soviet military-economic machine that turned out to be opposed to the Americans. Two thousand tanks, seven hundred light and maneuverable aircraft, seven thousand mortars and guns, more than a hundred helicopters and much more were supplied by the USSR as gratuitous friendly assistance to Vietnam. Almost the entire air defense system of the country, later assessed by the enemy as impenetrable for any type of fighter, was built at the expense of the USSR, by the forces of Soviet specialists. The armament of the belligerent state took place in the most difficult conditions of constant bombing and open robbery by China. Over ten thousand Vietnamese were sent to the Union for military training and training in the treatment of Soviet modern technology. According to various estimates, the support of friendly Vietnam cost the USSR budget from one and a half to two million dollars daily.
There is an opinion that the Soviets sent obsolete weapons to help the belligerents. In refutation, one can cite an interview with the chairman of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Vietnam Veterans Nikolai Kolesnik, a direct participant and eyewitness to the events under study. According to him, modern MiG-21 vehicles were put into service, as well as Dvina anti-aircraft guns, the shells of which, according to the Americans, turned out to be the deadliest on earth at that time. Kolesnik also notes the high qualification of military specialists, and the incredible perseverance of the Vietnamese in learning and striving to master the science of management as quickly as possible.
Despite the fact that the US authorities were well aware of the provision of military assistance to North Vietnam, all specialists, including the military, were required to wear only civilian clothes, their documents were kept at the embassy, and they learned about the final destination of their business trip at the last moment. Secrecy requirements were maintained until the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from the country, and the exact numbers and names of the participants are not known to this day.
Relations between the USSR and Vietnam were based on the conditions of "unequal friendship". The Union was interested in spreading its influence in the region, which is why it provided such generous and disinterested assistance. Vietnam, on the other hand, cooperated with the Soviets solely for reasons of profit, successfully speculating on the position of a country fighting for independence and freedom. Sometimes help was not asked, but demanded. In addition, direct participants often describe cases of provocations by the Vietnamese authorities.
International relations with this tropical country are being built today by Russia as the immediate legal successor of the Union. The political situation is developing in different ways, but the local population has retained a sense of gratitude for the Russian soldiers, and the heroes of that secret war are still proud of participating in it.
Documentary investigation. Russian secrets of the Vietnam War
About 6360 Soviet officers worked in Vietnam as military advisers - they allegedly only helped repel American air raids with the support of air defense missile systems. 13 people were officially recognized as dead. Every day of this nine-year war cost the USSR 2 million dollars.
The Americans knew very well where the Soviet camps were located, so until there were active hostilities, they were tolerant of the Russians. Occasionally, leaflets were dropped from flying planes indicating the time of the bombing and suggesting that the Russians leave the danger zone. The feeling of complete impunity ended with the shock of the Americans on July 25, 1964. It was the first battle of Soviet anti-aircraft gunners with American aircraft. On this day, three aircraft were destroyed near Hanoi by three missiles. The Americans experienced such horror that they did not fly for two weeks. The Vietnamese shamelessly speculated on help from the USSR and even jeopardized Soviet ships.
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Vietnam War
Denis Salakhov
The full-scale participation of the US armed forces in the war began on the morning of March 8, 1965, with the landing of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Da Nang Air Base and the 173rd Separate Airborne Brigade at Bien Hoa and Vung Tau. By the summer of that year, the number of American troops in the country had increased to 50,000.
 Squad Leader of the 4th Infantry Division, 1968 Dressed in a tropical uniform of the third sample with inconspicuous stripes. A lightweight tropical backpack with a frame was used to carry the display. It contains: M18 mines in a carrying bag (1); soft flask of the second sample with a capacity of two quarts without a cover (2); folding shovel in a case M1956 (3), attached to a belt; M1942 machete in a plastic case, tucked into a backpack pocket (4); camouflage lining and poncho fastened under the backpack flap (5); cans of dry rations (6). Canned food was often worn hanging in a spare sock. Since the backpack frame made it difficult to carry equipment on a pistol belt, the latter was often not worn. By 1968, bandoliers had become one of the most common ways to carry ammunition. The receiver AN/PRR-9, AN/PRT-4 is mounted on the helmet. This system was used for communication in the platoon-squad link. |
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| Grenade launcher of the 23rd Infantry Division, 1969. The M79 grenade launcher was replaced by a combination of the M16 rifle and the M203 underbarrel grenade launcher. Along with the grenade thrower's vest, a pistol belt with pouches for ammunition for the rifle is put on. The bottom two rows of vest pockets typically carried shrapnel ammunition, while the top pockets carried longer flares. |
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Private of the 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division. Equipment - an upgraded MCLE M67 system, created specifically for Vietnam. On a tropical backpack (2)  fixed: one-quart flask (3); two-quart soft flask in a case (4); disposable 66mm M72 grenade launcher (5); on top of the backpack is a tropical panama (1); a new type shovel in a case (6) is fixed above the middle valve |
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| Platoon sergeant of the 101st Airborne Division, 1969. The backpack of the South Vietnamese Rangers was often used both in airborne operations and for regular patrols. With the same capacity, it was somewhat lighter than a tropical backpack with a frame and did not interfere with the use of equipment attached to a pistol belt. A carbine attached to the shoulder strap is a kind of chic for airborne units. A coil of rope was relied on him, which allowed him to descend to the ground in case of hanging on a tree upon landing. |
 The development of equipment mounts on the belt. The "horizontal hook" system on the M8A1 scabbard and the "sliding lock" system on the M1956 shovel case.
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| Soldiers of the 773rd Air Brigade who seized a cache of food. The two soldiers in the center used pins to turn the bandoliers into some kind of chest pouches. |
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| South Vietnamese army soldier infantry backpack, which was popular with American soldiers |
All troops arriving in the country were equipped with M1956 equipment (LCE56). The only exception was the Marine Corps, which was armed with M1961 equipment from the Second World War and Korean Wars, modified for ammunition from the M14 rifle in service. When developing the M1956 system, the experience of conducting combat operations in various regions of the globe was taken into account. The result was a set of equipment that meets the requirements of the army to the maximum extent. In the variant, designed for the rifleman-infantryman, it consisted of a pistol belt, "H"-shaped shoulder straps of an improved design, two universal pouches for ammunition small arms, a universal pouch for a compass or an individual dressing bag, one or two flasks in cases, a folding shovel in a case (a bayonet-knife in a sheath was attached to the shovel case), as well as a special satchel attached to the back. This subject deserves special discussion. Officially, it was called the "combat field pack" (Combat Field Pack), but for the specific method of fastening among the soldiers, it received the name "butt pack", which can be translated as "back pack". It was assumed that in the conditions of the "big war" the supply of troops would be established with due regularity, and what the "butt-pack" contained was just enough to fight through the day and wait for replenishment. The equipment was made of olive-green cotton tarpaulin with a special impregnation that reduces its flammability and increases resistance to decay. During the development process, experiments were carried out with various synthetic materials, but they did not give a positive result: all the synthetics presented by the manufacturers rustled too much (by the way, most of our modern "unloadings" are still made from a nylon "rag-rattle", however, cheapness is the determining factor for us).
The pouches fastening system has also changed - instead of a "horizontal hook" a "sliding lock" has appeared. The new mount not only prevented the pouches from moving along the belt, but also prevented them from jumping when running and walking.
One of the main loads carried by a soldier with the help of field equipment is ammunition. The arrival of American troops in Vietnam coincided with the rearmament of the army. The place of the 7.62 mm M14 rifle was taken by the M16 caliber 5.56 mm. This caused some difficulties with the placement of ammunition. Standard M1956 pouches instead of two 20-round magazines from the M14 contained four similar ones to the M16, but they were much shorter and literally “drowned” in the pouch. I had to put something on the bottom. As a rule, it was, for example, a broken store, laid flat, sometimes a dressing bag or other necessary thing in everyday life that did not require immediate access.
In 1968, a shortened version of the M1956 pouch was adopted, specially designed for four magazines for the M16.
However, the conditions of real combat operations are always strikingly different from what is written in all sorts of charters and planned by pre-war forecasts. In Vietnam, the type of hostilities prevailed, for which not only the troops, but also their equipment were not ready. So, often small units, setting off to patrol the jungle, did not visit their main bases for weeks, receiving supplies only by air two or three times a week. In addition, they had to fight in the dense jungle, often without even seeing their opponent. The main type of fire in such conditions turned out to be non-aimed automatic, conducted to suppress. Therefore, the soldiers had to carry ammunition on themselves, three to four times larger than the authorized one. Everything was stuffed with spare stores. Empty flask cases, all kinds of bags were used (the most popular were bags from Claymore anti-personnel mines and demolition kits). It was not without the inexhaustible soldier's ingenuity, which the "dumb-headed Yankees" turned out to be no less than our "miracle heroes".
It was all about the specific system of supplying the army with ammunition. The lion's share of the cartridges coming to Vietnam came out of the factories in the so-called "fast load option" - that is, in clips of 10 pieces. For every seven clips, there was a simple rag bandolier-bandolier with seven pockets, designed to make life easier for military ammunition carriers. Now there was no need to drag behind you on a belt (crawling, of course) a wooden box clinging to all the bumps at once or a couple of zinc, which, as you know, have no handles at all, and you won’t immediately figure out how to approach them. And here everything is extremely simple - I opened the box, hung ten bandoliers on each shoulder - and go ...
The first samples of the bandolier had small pockets - just for a clip with cartridges. Getting it in the heat of battle proved to be very problematic. But the Americans are a pragmatic people, they didn’t save much on their army and sewed new ones, with bigger pockets. It was then that an idea came into someone's bright head - to attach a standard 20-round magazine there. It turned out to be very convenient. Each bandolier had seven pockets. Usually bandoliers were worn in pairs, crosswise, but there were also those who hung four at once - two on the shoulders, and a pair around the waist. It turned out that up to 28 stores can be carried comfortably enough, and this is a total of 560 rounds! In addition, almost any ammunition was freely placed in the pockets of the bandolier - from 12-gauge shotgun cartridges to hand grenades, not to mention dressing bags, cans of Coca-Cola, Budweiser and other small delights of life. And most importantly, there was no need to worry about the safety of the bandolier, it was consumable. Unlike the same pouch, an empty bandolier could simply be thrown away, the soldiers were not responsible for their safety.
However, ammunition is far from the only cargo of a fighter. If for a short-term operation (for example, an air assault, so colorfully shown in F. Coppola's film "Apocalypse"), when in the evening the fighters returned to the base by helicopter, it was enough to grab more ammunition, a couple of flasks of water and some "hot dog" from the soldiers' canteen, then with the units going on patrol, everything was much more complicated. Here they also had to carry dry rations, bedding, spare batteries for the radio station, guided anti-personnel mines (they were fenced off when stopping for the night) and much more. It immediately became clear that the M1956 buttpack was too small for that. Back in 1961, its enlarged version Ml 961 was developed, but it did not save the situation either. Of course, the American army was armed with quite roomy backpacks - for example, the M1951 mountain backpack of the 1941 model, which was modernized in 1951, but they were completely unsuitable for the jungle. Firstly, their volume was too large, because they were intended for use, including in Arctic conditions. Secondly, they were made of thick tarpaulin, had a steel frame and, with a considerable dead weight, when wet, became simply unbearable. The situation, as it has happened more than once, was saved by commercial orders. At one time, one of the firms involved in the production of tourist equipment, under the so-called Mutual Defense Assistance Program, funded by the CIA, developed two very successful samples of backpacks for the South Vietnamese army. The sample was taken from one of the captured backpacks of the North Vietnamese army. The combined-arms backpack had three outer pockets, was made of thick tarpaulin, and was still heavy. But the option for the South Vietnamese Rangers turned out to be what you need. It was smaller, with the result that only two pockets fit on the outside, and was made from high quality, thin, but dense tarpaulin. Unlike their "enemy predecessor", both options had high-quality fittings and very light metal a frame of two "X"-shaped metal plates. Thanks to her, a gap was formed between the backpack and the back, which contributed to ventilation, and most importantly, the backpack sat high enough on the back and did not impede access to the equipment located on the belt at the back. Despite the fact that none of these models was officially in service with the American army, they were widely used, especially in intelligence and special forces. By November 1965, the troops began to receive lightweight and standard tropical backpacks made from new materials, which were developed taking into account the experience of using commercial models. But we will talk about them ahead.
Vietnam has become a testing ground for combat a large number experimental developments in the field of equipment. For some systems that are extremely popular now (and not only American ones), the "ears" are clearly growing from those times. Take, for example, the "unloading" that is so common both in our country and in the West (only it is usually called "assault vest" - assault vest). While still in Vietnam as advisers, the Americans noticed that the Viet Cong and the regular units of the North Vietnamese army made extensive use of combined chest pouches, mainly made in China. They were made for magazines for AKs (for 3-6 pieces, plus 4 grenades), all kinds of submachine guns and even for clips for the SKS carbine. By the way, the "bra" so beloved in Afghanistan is almost an exact copy of the Vietnamese one, only pockets for signal rockets have been added. American "Green Berets" used such pouches with pleasure, especially at the end of the war, when 30-round magazines for the M16 appeared in the troops. It turned out that due to the smaller bend, they "live" in the "bra" even better than AK magazines.
The South Vietnamese army was often equipped with the help of all sorts of small workshops that could take into account almost the individual wishes of each fighter. The result was the emergence of a completely insane amount of different "harness". Most often there were vests of various cuts with pockets for all conceivable types of ammunition. The Americans did not bypass this hobby, however, they approached the problem from the point of view of narrow specialization. The US Army was armed with a 40-mm M79 grenade launcher, colloquially referred to as the "elephant gun". Ammunition for it, resembling a pistol cartridge, only four times more, could be carried in a universal pouch Ml 956 (but only three pieces were placed there) or, again, in bandoliers. However, unlike flat and relatively light stores, carrying grenades in this way turned out to be much less convenient. In 1965, one of the sergeants of the special forces, who served as a military adviser in Vietnam, offered the command a grenade launcher vest developed by him on the basis of personal combat experience. After minor modifications, it was adopted. In the final version, it contained 18 grenades.
In 1969, two more vests were developed at the Natik Laboratory: for the shooter - for twenty 20-round magazines for Ml 6 and two standard flasks, and for the machine gunner - for two boxes with a tape of 200 rounds each. None of them were accepted into service. In the vest for the machine gunner, because of the boxes sticking out on the stomach, it turned out to be almost impossible to crawl, and the rifleman did not go due to the fact that the army was already receiving 30-round magazines with might and main.
All of the above types of equipment to one degree or another met the needs of the troops, but had one general disadvantage- made of cotton fabric, despite all the impregnations, they became heavy when wet, dried for a long time, rotted and quickly fell into disrepair. By the mid-60s, the US industry was finally able to give equipment developers a material that met their needs - these were special weave nylon fabrics - light, non-absorbent, durable and almost non-combustible. It was from this material that a new generation of equipment for the American army was made, some elements of which also had to fight in Vietnam.
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| EQUIPMENT M1956/M1967 INFANTRY GUN ARMED WITH M16 RIFLE. 1 - plastic flask with a capacity of 1 quart; |
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