What weapons and strategies were used in the Vietnam War?

Answer 1

Here's an example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre

Answer 2

Do a Yahoo Search on The Vietnam Experience
1965 - 1975!!
Also check on Vietnam - The History and the Tactics!! Might still be able to get it on Google
or Yahoo!!

Answer 3

you might have to be a little more specific....

weapons for the infantrymen was ak-47's for the NVA and vietcong, and m-16's for the US and ARVN

strategies for the NVA was to wait out the war and hang on while the US lost the war on the homefront

The vietcong strategy was more guerilla like

The US and ARVN strategy was attrition, body counts. Why we would fight hard for a hill, and then abandon it the next day. the territory wasnt as important as destroying the enemies assets.

Answer 4

A look back, Strategies of Vietnam:...

During the Vietnam war, with the politics of government and politics of the joint chiefs, every strategey known to man, with the exception of nuclear weapons was put to bear.

We saw both an attempt at conventional warfare, jungle and garilla warefare, and the most awsome of all "Air Power".

Lets look at conventional warfare.:

Our advisers were sent to train ARVN troops in combat tactics and orginization. Because the U.S. was accustomed to conventional warfare and tactics, that's what was originally brought to bear.

This was good for a while. It taught them some basic orginizational skills, but did not do much for the corruption that infiltrated the ranks. As the V.C. and the NVA watched, they quickly learned that garilla tactics were the best.

Our advisors were not up to speed in this avenue of combat, and could do very little to get them on track.

O.K., now we look at Garilla warfare.:

Here we have the un conventional aproach to fighting. The enemy could be standing right next to you, and you would think he/she was a civilian or farmer. They would conduct small to medium strikes, retreat to resupply, and be back in your face before you knew what hit you.

The intelligence network they had was awsome. They could live in tree's or underground for months, gathering supplies from farmers, i.e., rice, grain, coffee, tea, ect. to maintain the energy to fight. They would recruit from villages that were destroyed by "OUR" aircraft or troops, making VC out of most. They could be killed in "WHOLESALE" amounts, and be back with a whole new force by weeks end.

Our training was not up to par for this type of activity, so we were forced to "On The Job Training" by the conventional troop. We were forced to learn from vets serving before us. This worked out well, but was costly, very costly. As the techniques were taught, new ones were being placed into action by the VC and NVA.

Weapons:

We saw the development and trial's and success's of many of the weapons we use today. The M-14 was replaced by the M-16, the older recoiless rifle was replaced by the M-72 LAWS Rocket, (I Believe That is Correct). The M-79 was replaced by the M-203, which is a 40mm grenade launcher mounted below an M-16, making it a real effective "Crew-Serve" weapon.

We saw the development and use of "Helicopters" as a real life saver in both Agressive and Defensive postures. The lives saved by the use of these aircraft is un-countable. There were transports, Gunships, Medi-Vac (Dust-Off), Observation, Patrol, and on and on.

We saw the M113 - M113A1 - M-60, all armored vehicles. These were hard to move in this type of terrain. However, they were effective, and did save many lives.

The only real sted-fast weapon of the war, was probably the good ole Model 1911 .45 caliber pistol. This pistol has served in the U.S. for a very long time. I would have to research the exact date of inseption to the U.S. inventory, but is was loved by soldiers for many years.

Airpower: ** AWSOME **

We saw some of the most unique air strategies ever implaced. We also saw the most restricted ever encountered by U.S. airman. These restrictions made for some very displeased air combat veterans.

These veterans knew from experience how to win the war, but were restricted from performing these types of raids.

We saw the development of one of thecountries most feared slow flying weapons of all time. Sometimes called "Puff The Magic Dragon", the Air force converted an old DC-3, AKA C-47 into one of the most feared weapons. They installed chain guns and lated some higher cliber cannons into this slow flying two engine bird. The aircraft would start a procedural turn, placing the weapons onto the target and place a round every few inches for several yards, some say the size of 2 to 3 football fields. ThisI would have to research to be accurate, but you get the point of the weapon.

Later in the war, came the AC-130. Holy Moly. What a weapon. This aircraft with a larger cargo capacity, longer on station capability, and more accurate weapons sighting systems, this thing would deffinatly clean Charlies clock. What a weapon.

We could go on and on about what occured as far as strategies and weapons during Vietnam. The political stategies were some of the most topsy-turvey ever seen by both the military and the public. In actuallity, I think the term politics was lost forever after November 1963 in Dallas Texas.

Well Hope I have Helped, I love history.

Semper-Fin
Nick
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