The Vietnam War became an infantry war. American infantry operated everywhere, from wooded mountains to swampy river valleys. 81 infantry battalions of various types took part in the fighting.
Hundreds of thousands of American guys passed through Vietnam as part of infantry units. Soldiers of the military specialty IIB (I - combat operations, I - infantry, B - light infantry) bore the brunt of the Vietnam War.
Not all foot soldiers climbed the jungle, at least not always. Many infantrymen fought in armored vehicles and even as part of air cavalry crews - helicopters.
Infantrymen also acted on the rivers in the crews of monitors and armored boats, they fell down on the enemy from the sky with parachutes over their shoulders. But still, the bulk of the infantry, like centuries ago, measured distances with their feet ...
In 1965, when the American military presence in Vietnam began to grow sharply, only a third of the army was recruited. Of the 9,087,000 people who served in 1964-1973. 2,594,000 went to Vietnam, of which there were only 1,766,910 conscripts in the army, and just under 42,700 in the Marine Corps.
There were no conscripts in the Navy and Air Force at all (at least in Vietnam).
Each soldier received personal tokens - "Dog Tag" (dog tag). The token was a rectangle with rounded corners, which was made of stainless steel. Each was supposed to have two identification tokens, which were worn around the neck on a chain.
It was allowed to wear religious amulets around the neck, but not jewelry. In the event of the death of a soldier, the token on the long chain remained on the body, and the second, on the short chain, which was attached to the long one, was torn off for reporting.
"Dog Tag" was part of uniforms and was supposed to be worn all the time.
The surname, first name and initials were stamped on the tag, personal number, blood type, Rh factor, religion were stamped below the first name.
To prevent the tokens from ringing when colliding with each other, they were enclosed in plastic frames.
For most soldiers, the seven-digit personal number was preceded by the letters RA - Regular Army (three-year volunteer contract soldiers), US - United States (conscripts), ER - Enlisted Reserve, NG - National Guard.
From January 1968, the letters were canceled, and instead of a personal number, they began to apply the social card number.
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olive green a uniform made of cotton was simply called "fatigues". This uniform was worn by all countries located in places with a hot climate, including Vietnam, until the tropical uniform appeared in 1963. |
| 3a | |
| 3b |
M1 helmet. The plastic earplugs were stored in a plastic container that was tied to the buttonhole of a shirt with string. |
| 3s | Bottom view of the M1 helmet with strap system. |
| 4a | A sapper shovel in a case and an M6 bayonet. |
| 4b |
M6 bayonet (blade length 6.75 inches, total length -11.5 inches). The M8 bayonet for the M16 A1 rifle was almost identical to the M6 bayonet. |
| 4s | A combination of a sapper shovel and a pickaxe. |
| 5a | Pouch for a gas mask, worn on the left shoulder. |
| 5b | Gas mask M17. |
| 6 |
M1956 universal cartridge for small caliber cartridges, it was placed two 20-round magazines for the M14 rifle, or four 20-round magazines for the M16 rifle, or four 30-round magazines for the M2 carbine, or eight 8-round clips for the M1 rifle or three 40 mm grenades for the I79 grenade launcher, or 24 rounds for a 12-gauge shotgun, or two hand grenades. |
| 7 | First Aid Kit M1956. |
| 8 | Flask M1956 with cup lid. |
| 9 | Cutlery set M1910. |
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Poncho in a roll. During garrison exercises, when a backpack was not required, a rolled-up poncho was attached to a belt between the harness at the back. |
Casual or work a uniform olive green, better known as "fatiques", was meant to be worn daily. Spacious a uniform consisted of a shirt that tucked into trousers. Trousers tucked into boots.
A uniform khaki color was sewn from 100% cotton. She needed to starch strongly and carefully iron the folds. Three pleats at the back: one in the center and two parallel to the center from the shoulders. The ironed uniform looked only a few hours, after which it looked as if they had slept in it.
Tropical later appeared a uniform made of woolen fabric (TW), much more practical than a cotton uniform. The winter set was sewn from 100% woolen fabric and was loved by the soldiers.
The helmet - "steel pot", "piss pot", "brain dome" (steel pot, urine pot, brain dome) - was worn on a liner. During basic training, camouflage covers were not worn on helmets, just "bald" helmets of olive green color. During the course of advanced training, reversible camouflage covers were worn on helmets.
The helmet with accessories weighed 3.5 pounds, but the soldiers got used to such weight in just a week.
Unpopular field caps or "baseball caps" were worn out of formation. The headgear was supposed to be removed indoors.
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Very often tropical form attached full-color emblems. The fighter is armed with an XM16E1 automatic rifle. The soldiers quickly realized that the nine 20-round magazines put on it for conducting intense firefights were not enough. |
| 3 | 40mm M79 grenade launcher |
| 4a | Bandolier for six 40-mm grenades for the M79 grenade launcher. |
| 4b |
Assortment of 40-mm grenades for the M79 grenade launcher, from left to right: |
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The platoon had several M72 anti-tank rocket launchers of 66 mm caliber. This weapon was used to fight snipers and destroy bunkers. |
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M49AI Illumination Rocket Rockets were mounted on wire fences, attached to trees, buried in the ground, or simply controlled remotely. |
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Signal rockets. Aluminum launch tube (7a), rocket (7b), package (7c). |
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Chemical grenades: |
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C-ration and C-ration packaging. |
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Compass. The compass was commonly carried in a first aid kit. Compass had platoon and squad commanders, platoon sergeants. |
| 11 | Plastic flashlight MX-911/U with color filters. |
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Maintenance kit for the M16 automatic rifle and folding bipod for the rifle. |
| Information: "US Army Infantryman in Vietnam 1965-1973." (New Soldier #101) | |
A uniform and the equipment of infantrymen in Vietnam was very different from the charter.
The recruit was issued three sets of tropical combat uniforms, two pairs of tropical combat boots, five olive green T-shirts and shorts, and two towels.
Baseball cap at will, you could buy yourself in the military store.
Spacious with many pockets a uniform for the jungle, "fatikees" was probably the most popular uniform in the army. Comfortable, lightweight, it was easy to wash and had a practical design.
Lightweight, with a fabric top, tropical boots had good ventilation and were also popular among soldiers.
Until 1968, chevrons were used as insignia, then stamped insignia appeared, which were worn in buttonholes. Also in 1968, shoulder straps were introduced.
Until 1970, while the transition period lasted, there were insignia of both the old and the new type, sometimes in a mixture.
Wearing regulations in Vietnam uniforms were not strictly observed. The reason for this was the climate, primitive living conditions and war.
Sleeves of shirts were often rolled up above the elbows, and around the neck, so that sweat from the head did not flow onto the body, a towel or scarf was tied. T-shirts were not worn at all under shirts.
Wearing a steel helmet in the field eventually became almost an inborn habit. The camouflage cover was usually worn with the green side facing out. On the covers of helmets, soldiers wrote all sorts of things with fountain pens, from the names of their units, the names of girlfriends to outright obscenities. In general, covers sometimes completely covered with graffiti. Elastic nets were used to fix branches and grass on helmets for camouflage purposes. More precisely, the nets were supposed to be used for this, but the soldiers stuffed cigarettes, matches, lighters, newspapers, marijuana and other useful little things into the nets.
There were local variants of the Vietnamese production of the standard military tropical panama with a brim. Panamas were often worn in the field, even in reconnaissance.
The use of parachute slings was considered practical as boot laces. One of the identification tokens was tied to the shoelace, sometimes both, one on the left boot, the second on the right.
A pair of universal bandoliers (ammo punch) was attached to the waist pistol belt in front, a first aid kit and a plastic flask on one side and a small combat kit (bull or ass pack) in the back.
A pair of belts were thrown over the shoulders, they were attached to the waist belt. On each shoulder strap were attached two pouches for 20 natrons each for an M14 rifle and small pouches for grenades.
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Shown here is the SP4 (Specialist) with a new tropicalized nylon backpack that was designed specifically for Vietnam. |
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The backpack holds its shape thanks to an elastic steel X-shaped insert, which also more evenly distributes the pressure of the load on the back of the soldier. |
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An / APRC-25 radio station with a set of spare parts and tools was worn by a platoon radio operator. |
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The platoon commander, his deputy, squad leaders were often supplied with a "head radio" - AS / PRR-9 helmet-mounted receivers and AN / PRT-4 transmitters. |
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A new version of the flask made it easier to fill it with water from streams. |
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The light diet consisted of water-disinfecting tablets, food, and supplies. |
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Many of the platoon's soldiers were carrying 100-pound Cleasemore mines. |
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Grenades: |
| 9 | M9 gas masks were often used in smoky rooms. |
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The M60 machine gun was the backbone of an infantry platoon's firepower. Ammunition for the machine gun - tapes for 100 rounds. |
| Information: "US Army Infantryman in Vietnam 1965-1973." (New Soldier #101) | |
The lid of the flask served as a glass for coffee or cocoa, and was also used for shaving - water was poured into it. If necessary, a sapper shovel was worn on the left thigh, more precisely, a “trench tool”.
This "tool" was taught not only to dig trenches, but also to kill the enemy. The possibility of attaching a bayonet-knife was provided for the shoulder blade.
The M1956 kit was the base kit for Vietnam. Even the nylon kit that appeared in 1967 repeated the M1956 kit in design.
Three things distinguished "Vietnamese" equipment from "authorized" equipment in the first place:
1) the soldiers took dry rations for several days;
2) according to the charter, the regular ammunition load for the M14 rifle consisted of five 20-round magazines, and nine 20-round magazines were supposed to be for the M16 rifle (modern 30-round magazines were not used at that time).
This ammunition was not enough to conduct an intense battle, and usually the soldiers tried to take two to three times more cartridges.
3) Water is another vital necessity. Under normal conditions, it was supposed to have one flask, but in Vietnam it was typical to have four to six flasks.
Officially, due to the high temperature, the soldier's load was limited to 65 pounds and was supposed to have only one C-ration (lunch ration).
Most unnecessary items in Vietnam were excluded from wearable equipment (sleeping bag, gas mask, bayonet, fork), but absolutely necessary things were included: additional flasks of water, dry rations, ammunition, grenades, mosquito nets. We often slept on air mattresses.
Small backpacks in Vietnam turned out to be impractical, everything you need did not fit into them. Instead, they began to use tropical backpacks on lightweight aluminum frames.
The rucksack was loaded with rations for at least three days, at least a gallon of water in large flasks, ammunition, including Claymore mines.
Cartridges for the M16 rifle were placed in canvas bandoliers for seven magazines each. Usually each took two bandoliers. All pistol accessories turned out to be superfluous, a pistol belt was not taken at all, and flasks were placed in a backpack.
Also, on the field trip, the soldier took with him personal hygiene items (a toothbrush with toothpaste, soap, a towel, a razor, a shaving brush), several pairs of socks.
The soldiers went home in brand new uniform class A in green with all awards and distinctions.
The army paid for travel home, including airfare.
On April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War ended. The Americans called it "hellish disco in the jungle." Many films have been made about it and hundreds of books have been written, but the truth about that war will remain only in the memory of those who survived it.
Domino theory
The Vietnam War became the longest local war of our time. It lasted almost 20 years and cost the United States very dearly. In 1965-1975 alone, 111 billion dollars were spent. In total, over 2.7 million US military personnel took part in hostilities. Vietnam veterans make up almost 10% of their generation. 2/3 of the Americans who fought in Vietnam were volunteers.
The need for war was explained by the "domino theory". The US seriously feared that the "communist contagion" could spread to the entire Asian region. Therefore, it was decided to make a preemptive strike.
guerrilla war
The Americans were ill-prepared for the conditions of guerrilla warfare. For the Vietnamese, this was the third war in a row and they perfectly mastered the experience of the previous two. The Viet Cong successfully compensated for the lack of military supplies with ingenuity and hard work. In the impenetrable jungle, they set up bamboo traps and land mines stuffed with American gunpowder from unexploded shells, set up "Vietnamese souvenirs."
The war went on underground. Vietnamese guerrillas unearthed a whole network of underground communications, in which they successfully hid. To combat them in 1966, the Americans created special units called "tunnel rats".
It was an extremely difficult task to smoke the Viet Cong out of the ground. In addition to fire and traps of "tunnel rats", snakes and scorpions, which the partisans specially set on, could also wait. Such methods led to the fact that among the "tunnel rats" there was a very high mortality rate. Only half of the composition returned from the holes.
The Iron Triangle, the area where the catacombs were discovered, was eventually simply destroyed by the Americans with B-52 bombing.
Military experiments
The Vietnam War was a testing ground for new types of weapons for the United States. In addition to the well-known napalm, which destroyed entire villages, the Americans also "tested" chemical and even climatic weapons. The most famous case of the use of the latter is Operation Popeye, when US transport workers sprayed silver iodite over the strategic territories of Vietnam. From this, the amount of precipitation increased three times, roads were washed away, fields and villages were flooded, communications were destroyed.
With the jungle, the US military also acted radically. Bulldozers uprooted trees and topsoil, and herbicides and defoliants (Agent Orange) were sprayed on the rebel stronghold from above. This seriously disrupted the ecosystem, and in the long run led to mass diseases and infant mortality.
"Turntables"
On average, an American soldier spent 240 days a year in combat. This is a lot. Such "productivity" was provided by helicopters. The Iroquois helicopter (UH-1) became one of the symbols of this war. Helicopter pilots often rescued soldiers from encirclement, sometimes the pilots had to perform maneuvers right in the jungle, lifting the plane along the "lawn mower" system, breaking the rudders and propellers.
The number of American helicopters grew at an unprecedented rate. Already in the spring of 1965, there were about 300 cars alone "Iroquois". By the end of the 60s, there were more American helicopters in Indochina than in the armies of all states. There were 2500 "Iroquois" alone.
There were many "Iroquois", but they did not always become salvation. The low carrying capacity and low speed made the helicopters an easy prey for machine gunners and rocket launchers. There were also accidents for almost random reasons. There were cases when the pilots made mistakes, the helicopter "led" and it crashed.
According to M. V. Nikolsky, over the 11 years of the war in Southeast Asia, American helicopters made 36 million sorties, flying 13.5 million hours, 31,000 helicopters were damaged by anti-aircraft fire, but only 3,500 of them (10%) were shot down or made an emergency landing.
Such a low ratio of losses to the number of sorties is unique for aircraft in conditions of intense hostilities - 1:18,000.
Russians in Vietnam
American films like "Rambo" portray the Soviet special forces as almost the main enemy of American soldiers, but this is not so. The USSR did not send special forces to Vietnam. Moreover, Soviet officers officially did not even take part in the clashes. Firstly, there was no order for this, and secondly, Soviet military specialists were too valuable to be "scattered".
More than six thousand officers and about 4,000 privates arrived from the USSR in Vietnam. These figures clearly show that a "Soviet commando" could not be the "main enemy" for the half-million-strong US army.
In addition to military specialists, the USSR sent to Vietnam 2,000 tanks, 700 light and maneuverable aircraft, 7,000 mortars and guns, more than a hundred helicopters, and much more. Almost the entire air defense system of the country, impeccable and impenetrable for fighters, was built by Soviet specialists at Soviet funds. There were also "exit training". Military schools and academies of the USSR trained Vietnamese military personnel.
The Russians also fought on the other side of the barricades. These were emigrants drafted into the US and Australian armies. So in the Brussels magazine "Sentinel" in 1968, among the obituaries, one can read the following laconic lines: "Captain of the Australian service Anatoly Danilenko († 1968, Vietnam, died a heroic death in battles with the communists)".
It became one of the largest local conflicts of the Cold War period. According to the Geneva Accords of 1954, which ended the Indochina War, Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel into northern and southern parts. On July 16, 1955, the Prime Minister of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, announced that he would not comply with the Geneva Accords, and an anti-communist state would be created in South Vietnam. In 1957, the first detachments of the anti-Ziem underground appeared in South Vietnam, which began a guerrilla war against the government. In 1959, the support of the South Vietnamese partisans was declared by the North Vietnamese communists and their allies, and in December 1960, all underground groups merged into the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF), which in Western countries was often called the "Viet Cong".
The weapons used by the South Vietnamese guerrillas were very diverse. It had to be obtained in battles, by introducing secret agents into the enemy camp, as well as by deliveries from communist countries through Laos and Cambodia. As a result, the Viet Cong was armed with many samples of both Western and Soviet weapons.
Echoes of the previous war
During the Indochina War, which lasted from 1946 to 1954, the French army, which fought to preserve the French colonial possessions in Indochina, enjoyed the support of Great Britain and the United States, and the Viet Minh national liberation movement - the support of communist China. Thanks to this, the arsenal of the Vietnamese partisans in the early 60s was rich and varied in composition. The Viet Cong had submachine guns MAT-49 (France), STEN (Great Britain), PPSh-41 (China), PPS-43 (China), Mosin carbines and rifles (USSR), Kar98k carbines (Germany), MAS- 36 (France), Browning machine guns (USA), DP-28 (USSR), MG-42 (Germany). The most popular Viet Cong small arms were MAT-49, Kar98k, Mosin and PPSh rifles.
Viet Cong fighters with small arms
Source: vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net
American machine guns
Since the US entry into the conflict, American material support for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARV) has increased. Thompson and M3 submachine guns, M1 and BAR carbines began to enter the country. Some of these weapons immediately fell into the hands of the Viet Cong guerrillas, since many ARV servicemen were disloyal to the current government and willingly supplied their friends from « Viet Cong » . It is worth noting that after the AK-47 fell into the hands of the Vietnamese partisans, they happily abandoned American and British weapons, since Soviet machine guns outnumbered the enemy’s small arms. The only exception was the M3, which was very effective in close combat.
American soldier with an M3 assault rifle, Vietnam, 1967
Source: gunsbase.com
From factory to jungle
With the advent of the new American M-16 rifle in 1967-68, it also appeared in the arsenal of the Viet Cong. The "Black Rifle" (as the soldiers dubbed it) showed low efficiency during the fighting in the Vietnamese jungle. The barrel and action group of the emka supplied to Vietnam were not chrome plated, and there were no cleaning kits. All this led to the fact that the machine quickly clogged with soot and failed. For this reason, the M16 was not particularly popular with the Viet Cong guerrillas either. The new modification M16A1 was finalized taking into account the feedback received from the soldiers who fought in Vietnam, and in 1967 began to enter service with the American army. Unlike its predecessor, the M16A1 was readily used by both the Americans and the Viet Cong. The advantage of the modified emka was that it had a bayonet-knife, but it was significantly inferior to the AK-47 in hand-to-hand combat, since its butt often split after a blow, which did not happen with the butt of a Soviet machine gun.
Partisan girl with M-16
Source: historicalmoments2.com
The controversial symbol of the "Viet Cong"
The M-1 carbine and the M3 submachine gun are considered symbols of the early guerrilla warfare in Vietnam - this primarily refers to units of local forces that did not enjoy sufficient support from North Vietnam. The light but powerful M-1 carbine was easy to operate and repair, and the M3 submachine gun was indispensable in close combat. You can find quite conflicting reviews about the M1 carbine. In the Vietnamese museum exhibitions dedicated to the guerrilla war in the jungle, it is presented as the main weapon of the Viet Cong at the initial stage of the war. At the same time, a number of experts point out that the M1 is more correctly called the best among the weapons available to the guerrillas, and with the advent of other types of small arms, the Vietnamese began to abandon the M1.
Partisan girl with M-1 carbine
Source: pinterest.com
"Red" weapons
The third stage in the development of the Viet Cong weapons base falls on the period of the Tet offensive of 1968. During the offensive, the guerrillas suffered heavy losses, and to make up for them, the People's Army of North Vietnam sent some of their soldiers with weapons to the south. The North Vietnamese soldiers were armed with the new SKS carbines, AK-47 assault rifles, and RPD machine guns made in China. The downside of this weapon was the high aiming range (for the AK-47 it was 800 meters, for the RPD and SKS - 1 kilometer) - excessive in Vietnam, where most of the shots were fired point-blank or from a very short distance. At the same time, the SKS proved to be excellent when firing from unprepared positions, which was very important for the Viet Cong fighters. The RPD used in Vietnam was significantly lighter than its predecessors, making it easy to carry. And the AK-47 became the most effective small arms of the Vietnam War in terms of the totality of its characteristics.
Vietnamese partisan with SKS carbine. Wax figure at the Vietnam Partisan Movement Museum
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Partisan air defense
The main weapon of the Vietnamese partisan air defense was the DShK heavy machine gun, which extremely poorly coped with the task of shooting down American aircraft. Partisan air defense worked more effectively against helicopters, but this efficiency was achieved more due to good camouflage. The Viet Cong machine gunners managed, without being noticed, to let the American helicopter into close range and release the first round. After that, the partisans lost their advantage and became a good target for helicopter pilots.
North Vietnamese soldiers with DShK. With the same machine guns that came to South Vietnam, the Viet Cong partisans tried to shoot down American helicopters
During the operation to capture the Spanish Philippines, American soldiers quickly adopted the habit of smoking opium from the local population.
But neither before nor after the Vietnam War did the use of drugs, including heroin, reach such proportions, acquiring the features of an epidemic. This fact was a trump card in the hands of the opponents of the war and proof of its senselessness.
For all the prevalence of drugs, soldiers rarely used them during combat operations, it was obvious to everyone the need to have a sober head in battle.
Thus, the American military machine as a whole suffered little from the corrupting action of drugs and alcohol, which cannot be said about its living components - soldiers and officers.
Marijuana was widespread in Vietnam by the time the Americans arrived. A study conducted by the American command in 1966 identified 29 marijuana outlets in the vicinity of Saigon alone.
For the manufacture of "jambs" used original American cigarettes, such as "Craven A". Marijuana was smoked by all sides of the conflict: the Americans, and the South Vietnamese army, and the communist North Vietnamese, and the "Viet Cong" supporting the communists.
Availability and cheapness made its use commonplace. Street vendors were constantly selling weed to passing American patrols.
The command tried to fight drugs with the methods of punishment and propaganda. But until 1968, there was no laboratory in Vietnam that could determine the presence of cannabinoids and other substances in urine and blood.
The analyzes were sent to Japan, and the whole process took 45 days. Only in the Marine Corps were they tried for the use of marijuana, in simple army units they turned a blind eye to the problem - those who took "hard" drugs were put on trial.
However, after a series of publications in the press, drastic measures were taken. Compulsory conversations were held with the soldiers about the dangers of drugs.
Arrests began, with up to 1,000 arrests a week for selling and drinking in 1968. Under pressure from the US authorities, South Vietnam banned the cultivation of hemp, the fields were destroyed by South Vietnamese units.
But, despite all the prohibitions, there was mutual responsibility in the units, which, in the conditions of low trust in the command, and the frequent change of junior officers, made the struggle unproductive.
Alcohol, as well as marijuana and hashish, became widespread. However, opioids have become the biggest problem.
In 1967, opium in Vietnam could be obtained for a dollar, and morphine for $5. Binoctal tablets cost between $1 and $5 for a pack of 20.
Demand among American soldiers gave rise to supply, already in 1970 the underground laboratories of the Golden Triangle launched the production of high-quality heroin. Moreover, its use grew like a snowball, gradually replacing lighter drugs and alcohol.
At this time, the Americans were trying to get out of the Vietnamese trap with all their might, and there was no end in sight to the war, which further undermined the morale of the troops. In 1971, the number of arrests for the use and sale of hard drugs increased 7 times compared with the previous year.
In 1971, the medical service estimated that between 10 and 15 percent of military personnel were heroin addicts. Approximately one third got hooked on it in the first month in Vietnam. Heroin was mostly smoked or snorted, and syringes were used much less frequently.
When the command was faced with a heroin problem, all that remained was to remember marijuana as childish pranks.
Here are the words of one officer: "If it helped my guys get off hard drugs, I would buy up all the marijuana and hashish in the Mekong Delta."
It is very interesting to compare data on heroin use by US troops in Thailand (1%) and Vietnam (10-15%) in the same period. Which eloquently speaks of the brutal nature of that war. The peak of heroin use occurred in 1973, then in Vietnam there were units covering the departure of the main forces.
Just over a third of American soldiers used heroin that year. It is safe to say that the drug traffickers were the losers from the end of the war. That's who exactly cried during Operation Gusty Wind.
After returning home, "G.I's" again found themselves in a relatively healthy social environment, however, they could no longer get off heroin, thus replenishing the army of drug addicts in their homeland. This gave rise to various social problems in the already troubled American society of the 60s and 70s.
Source: Article by Peter Brush "U.S. Forces in Vietnam Drug Use".
From an article by V.A. Gavrilov - retired colonel, leading researcher at the Research Institute (military history) of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, candidate of psychological sciences.
Some time ago, George Lepre's book Why American Soldiers Blowed Up Their Officers in Vietnam with Grenades was published in the United States.
The book is interesting in that it is the only complete study of the phenomenon of attempts by American soldiers to undermine their commanders with grenades during the Vietnam War.
The author attempts to explain the very phenomenon of attacks using hand grenades, the motivation for such attacks and the measures taken by the army to stop them or at least reduce the public outcry that accompanied them.
One of the conclusions of this book is that the cases of killing or threatening officers and sergeants of the US Army and Marine Corps with grenades or other weapons, in most cases, did not occur during combat operations, but while in the rear.
In addition, the author of the book refutes the claims of activists who protested against the Vietnam War, and some researchers and historians, that anti-war sentiment and political opposition to the American presence in Southeast Asia had a direct impact on these attempts to attack officers and NCOs.
The author admits at the outset that soldiers attacked or killed "unpopular comrades from the very beginning of the armed conflict".
As American military involvement in Southeast Asia escalated, such incidents became so frequent that the New York Times and Newsweek informed their readers that attacks with hand grenades were far from isolated, and "on average, there were up to 20 such cases per month. ".
It should be said that the author contradicts himself from the very beginning when he claims that anti-war sentiments had no effect on the armed attacks by American military personnel on their comrades and commanders.
The book begins with a general explanation of how the draft system, a strong anti-war movement, student protests and discord in American society led to the fact that by the 1970s the US Army and Marine Corps were unable to recruit the best part of the youth. .
As a result, they had to reduce the high standards of discipline that five years ago existed in both branches of the United States Armed Forces.
The author, based on a thorough study of archival materials of the military police and the courts of the military tribunal, shows that virtually all explosions or attempts to undermine took place not in a combat situation, but in rear areas.
But then what were the motives of those ordinary soldiers who tried to kill or intimidate their commanders? Several reasons emerge here.
First, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara proposed the "Project 100,000", which made it possible to recruit young people who had not previously been selected for the level of intellectual development and, accordingly, were less able to adapt to military conditions, as well as having mental problems.
Secondly, the degradation of junior sergeants caused a crisis in the ability to lead small units - inexperienced sergeants were too "kind", sought popularity among their subordinates and, accordingly, could not deal with violations of discipline.
Third, drug use (a 1971 US Department of Defense study found that 50.9% of US Army personnel in Vietnam smoked marijuana).
Alcohol abuse (beer was cheap and hard liquor readily available) also played a role, as it reduced the soldiers' ability to comprehend their actions, which in turn led to attacks on fellow soldiers.
In fairness, those who served in Vietnam are still arguing about whether the use of drugs and alcohol was a cause or a consequence of a general decline in discipline. However, no one argues that this factor played a role in cases of attacks using hand grenades.
An additional motivating factor was dissatisfaction with those officers and sergeants who demanded vigorous combat, although President Richard Nixon had already announced the withdrawal of American troops from Southeast Asia. And the motive was simple: "No one wanted to die on the last day of the war."
Finally, according to the author, racial animosity has been the cause of some hand grenade attacks involving black soldiers and white enlisted men and sergeants.
Black soldiers became increasingly irritated by what they saw as unfair treatment and racial discrimination, especially after the shocking assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and this anger sometimes led to attacks on senior commanders.
The racial strife in Vietnam was no doubt spurred on by statements by high-profile black activists such as Black Panther member Eldridge Cleaver.
In his message of January 4, 1970 entitled "To my black brothers in Vietnam", for example, Cleaver called for "start killing the racist pigs who give you orders. Kill General Abrams and all his officers. Destroy food and equipment or give them to the Vietnamese ".
Although no attempt was made to assassinate Abrams or other officers of the US Military Assistance Command in Vietnam, Cleaver's calls alarmed many white officers in Saigon.
After all, the attacks with hand grenades show that they were the result of many causes, and Lepres carefully examines these causes.
On the basis of an analysis of the materials of the military tribunals, he concludes that "the main reason for the majority of attacks using hand grenades was harassment and abusive treatment of subordinates by superiors."
A separate section of the book is devoted to "attacks and anti-war activities." The author makes an attempt to prove that there was no direct connection between anti-war sentiments and these attacks.
In the study of archival materials, Lepr found only two cases where there were "anti-war and anti-government statements."
While acknowledging that the Vietnam War was unpopular among many American servicemen, as well as in American society in general, and that anti-war sentiment certainly affected conscripts (and therefore those who attacked senior commanders), the author nonetheless concludes that that there is no evidence that these attacks were part of a widespread "rebellion by the rank and file or part of a larger political struggle against immoral US policies at home and abroad."
This conclusion raises serious doubts, since it is known that, while in custody, undoubtedly under pressure from the judicial authorities and in the face of the gravity of the charges and the severity of the punishment, the accused often try in every way to alleviate their situation.
And under these conditions, anti-war statements could only aggravate the guilt and lead to an even more severe sentence.
Therefore, the anti-war sentiments that underlay the motivation for armed attacks on superiors were most likely hidden, and the attacks themselves were motivated by completely different reasons.
It is interesting to note that, according to American experts, although hand grenade attacks rarely occur in the current American professional army, they nevertheless happen today.
Evidence of this is the trial of Staff Sergeant Alberto Martinez on charges of killing two officers with a mine planted outside their office window in Tikrit, Iraq, in 2005. Martinez was acquitted by a military jury at Fort Bragg in 2008.
In another case, Sergeant Joseph Bocisiewicz was convicted of killing two fellow soldiers after they criticized him for a series of blunders in combat in Iraq in 2008.
He was convicted by a Fort Stewart jury of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Both of these cases show that the phenomenon of hand grenade attacks in the US military is not a thing of the past.
On the whole, George Lepre's book is a fairly complete and professional study of such a phenomenon as armed attacks by colleagues on their comrades in a combat situation.
However, the author lacked, perhaps, the courage, and perhaps the depth of penetration into the essence of the phenomenon under consideration.
Hence the contradictory conclusions and ignorance of the obvious and long recognized fact that the unjust and inhumane nature of the United States aggression in Vietnam contributed to the growth of anti-war sentiment in American society and underlay both conscious and unconscious motives for armed attacks by American military personnel on their comrades and commanders.
And it is quite understandable that this happened more often not in battle, but in the rear, where discipline was weakened and alcohol and drugs began to play their role.
AT The war in Vietnam began with the shelling of the USS Maddox. This happened on August 2, 1964.
The destroyer was in the Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnamese territorial waters where no one called the US) and was allegedly attacked by Vietnamese torpedo boats. All torpedoes missed, but one boat was sunk by the Americans. The Maddox fired first, explaining it as a warning fire. The event was called the "Tonkin Incident" and was the reason for the outbreak of the Vietnam War. Further, by order of US President Lyndon Johnson, the US Air Force attacked the naval facilities of North Vietnam. It is clear for whom the war was beneficial, he is a provocateur.
The confrontation between Vietnam and the United States began with the recognition of Vietnam as an independent state in 1954. Vietnam was divided into two parts. The South remained under the control of France (Vietnam had been its colony since the 19th century) and the United States, while the North was dominated by the Communists with the support of China and the USSR. The country was supposed to unite after democratic elections, but the elections did not take place, and a civil war broke out in South Vietnam.
The US feared that communism could spread throughout Asia in a domino fashion.
Representatives of the communist camp waged a guerrilla war on enemy territory, and the so-called Iron Triangle, an area of 310 square kilometers northwest of Saigon, became its hotbed. Despite such proximity to the strategic settlement of the South, it was actually controlled by communist partisans, and the underground complex near the village of Kuti, which had been significantly expanded by that time, became their base.
The United States supported the South Vietnamese government, fearing the further expansion of the Communists in Southeast Asia.
The Soviet leadership at the beginning of 1965 decided to provide the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) with large-scale military-technical assistance. According to Alexei Kosygin, chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, aid to Vietnam during the war cost the Soviet Union 1.5 million rubles a day.
To eliminate the partisan zone in January 1966, the United States decided to conduct Operation Crimp, for which 8,000 US and Australian troops were allocated. Once in the jungle of the Iron Triangle, the allies faced an unexpected surprise: in fact, there was no one to fight with. Snipers, stretch marks on the trails, unexpected ambushes, attacks from behind, from territories that, it would seem, had already (just!) been cleared: something incomprehensible was happening around, and the number of victims was growing.
The Vietnamese sat underground and after the attacks again went underground. In the underground cities, the halls were without additional supports and they were designed for the miniature constitution of the Vietnamese. Below is a plan-scheme of a real underground city explored by the Americans.
Much larger Americans could hardly squeeze through the passages, the height of which was usually in the range of 0.8-1.6 meters, and the width was 0.6-1.2 meters. There was no obvious logic in the organization of the tunnels; they were deliberately built as a chaotic labyrinth, equipped with a large number of false dead-end branches that complicated orientation.
Viet Cong guerrillas throughout the war were supplied through the so-called "Ho Chi Minh trail", which ran through neighboring Laos. The Americans and the army of South Vietnam tried several times to cut the "path", but it did not work out.
In addition to fire and traps of "tunnel rats", snakes and scorpions, which the partisans specially set on, could also wait. Such methods led to the fact that among the "tunnel rats" there was a very high mortality rate.
Only half of the personnel returned from the holes. They were even armed with special pistols with silencers, gas masks and other things.
The Iron Triangle, the area where the catacombs were discovered, was eventually simply destroyed by the Americans with B-52 bombing.
The fighting took place not only underground, but also in the air. The first battle between anti-aircraft gunners of the USSR and American aircraft took place on July 24, 1965. The Soviet MiGs, which the Vietnamese flew, have proven themselves well.
During the years of the war, the Americans lost 58,000 people in the jungle killed, 2,300 went missing and over 150,000 were wounded. At the same time, the list of official losses did not include Puerto Ricans who were recruited into the US army in order to obtain United States citizenship. North Vietnamese losses amounted to over a million killed military personnel and over three million civilians.
The Paris ceasefire agreements were signed only in January 1973. It took a few more years to withdraw the troops.
Carpet bombing of cities in North Vietnam, carried out by order of US President Nixon. On December 13, 1972, a North Vietnamese delegation left Paris, where peace talks were being held. In order to force them to return back, it was decided to launch massive bombing attacks on Hanoi and Haiphong.
A South Vietnamese Marine wearing a special bandage among the decomposing corpses of American and Vietnamese soldiers who died during the fighting on a rubber plantation 70 km northeast of Saigon, November 27, 1965.
According to the Soviet side, 34 B-52s were lost during Operation Linebacker II. In addition, 11 aircraft of other types were shot down. North Vietnamese losses were about 1,624 civilians, military casualties are unknown. Aviation losses - 6 MiG 21 aircraft.
"Christmas bombing" is the official title.
During Operation Linebacker II, 100,000 tons were dropped on Vietnam! bombs.
The most famous case of the use of the latter is Operation Popeye, when US transport workers sprayed silver iodite over the strategic territories of Vietnam. From this, the amount of precipitation increased three times, roads were washed away, fields and villages were flooded, communications were destroyed. With the jungle, the US military also acted radically. Bulldozers uprooted trees and topsoil, and herbicides and defoliants (Agent Orange) were sprayed on the rebel stronghold from above. This seriously disrupted the ecosystem, and in the long run led to mass diseases and infant mortality.
The Americans poisoned Vietnam with everything they could. They even used a mixture of defoliants and herbicides. From what freaks are still born there already at the genetic level. This is a crime against humanity.
The USSR sent to Vietnam about 2,000 tanks, 700 light and maneuverable aircraft, 7,000 mortars and guns, more than a hundred helicopters, and much more. Almost the entire air defense system of the country, impeccable and impenetrable for fighters, was built by Soviet specialists at Soviet funds. There were also "exit training". Military schools and academies of the USSR trained Vietnamese military personnel.
Vietnamese women and children hide from artillery fire in an overgrown canal 30 km west of Saigon on January 1, 1966.
On March 16, 1968, American soldiers completely destroyed a Vietnamese village, killing 504 innocent men, women, and children. For this war crime, only one person was convicted, who three days later was "pardoned" by the personal decree of Richard Nixon.
The Vietnam War also became a drug war. Drug addiction in the troops has become another factor that crippled the combat capability of the United States.
On average, an American soldier in Vietnam fought 240 days a year! For comparison, an American soldier during the Second World War in the Pacific fought an average of 40 days in 4 years. Helicopters performed well in this war. Which the Americans lost about 3500 pieces.
From 1957 to 1973, about 37,000 South Vietnamese were shot by Viet Cong guerrillas for collaborating with the Americans, most of whom were petty civil servants.
Civilian casualties are unknown to date - about 5 million are believed to have died, with more in the North than in the South. In addition, the losses of the civilian population of Cambodia and Laos are not taken into account anywhere - apparently, here they also number in the thousands.
The average age of a dead American soldier was 23 years 11 months. 11,465 dead were under the age of 20, and 5 died before reaching the age of 16! The oldest person to die in the war was a 62-year-old American.
The Vietnam War was the longest military confrontation in modern military history. The conflict lasted for about 20 years: from November 1, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
But Vietnam won...
Our crimson flag proudly flies,
And on it - the stars of the victory sign.
Like the surf
Thunderstorm -
The power of friendship is fighting,
To new dawns we go step by step.
This is Lao Dong, our party
Us forward from year to year
Leads!
— Do Ming, "Lao Dong Party Song"
Soviet tanks in Saigon ... this is the end ... The Yankees do not want to remember this war, they no longer openly fight with the radicals and generally revised their methods of fighting the "red plague".
The basis of information and photos (C) is the Internet. Main sources:
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