Vietnam tunnel rat

The Army vietnam tunnel rat two different threats in the Vietnam War, preventing it from focusing on exceptional performance in either conventional or unconventional warfare. The conventional forces of the North Vietnamese Army demanded respect from the U, vietnam tunnel rat. At the same time, the unconventional insurgency of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam known as the Viet Cong presented a very real threat to Soldiers throughout the conflict.

Hi, my dad just passed away and an ex cop partner of his told us my dad was a "Tunnel Rat" during the war. My dad only mentioned a couple of vague hand to hand combat situations he and his guys got into but never mentioned anything about being a Tunnel Rat. One aspect of the Vietnam War that contributed to the difficulty in defeating the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army was their extensive use of tunnels and underground fortifications to avoid losses to massive American firepower. Both the VC and NVA built tunnel complexes when the terrain was suitable, the most infamous example being the extensive tunnels around the village of Cu Chi, near several bases of the 1st Infantry Division. The existence of the tunnels in many regions of South Vietnam required Army and Marine units to develop a capability to fight underground.

Vietnam tunnel rat

The tunnel rats were American , Australian , New Zealander , and South Vietnamese soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, "tunnel rat" became an unofficial specialty for volunteer combat engineers [1] and infantrymen from the Australian Army and the U. Army who cleared and destroyed enemy tunnel complexes. In the early stages of the war against the French colonial forces , the Viet Minh created an extensive underground system of tunnels, which was later expanded and improved by the Viet Cong. By the s, the tunnel complexes included hospitals, training areas, storage facilities, headquarters, and barracks. These diverse facilities, coupled with sophisticated ventilation systems, allowed VC guerrillas to remain hidden underground for months at a time. The men of the 3 Field Troop, an Australian combat engineering unit that served in Vietnam from to , have made a convincing argument that they were the first allied troops to enter the tunnels. Typically, a tunnel rat was equipped with only a standard issue M pistol or M revolver , [4] a bayonet , a flashlight , and explosives. Many tunnel rats reportedly came to dislike the intense muzzle blast of the relatively large. But these weapons were very few in number and wanted by a number of other special units. Personal weapons were used by the rats, ranging from. Besides enemy combatants, the tunnels themselves presented many potential dangers to tunnel rats. Sometimes they were poorly constructed and they would simply collapse.

While only one tunnel rat could fit abreast in the tunnel, vietnam tunnel rat, occasionally a second rat would enter behind to provide assistance to the lead rat particularly when the lead rat was new.

The film is based on the factual duties of tunnel rats during the Vietnam War. In a documentary for the film, Boll revealed the film did not have a script, and instead the actors improvised their lines. A group of US Army soldiers, trained in underground warfare , arrive at base camp in the jungle of South Vietnam. The soldiers spend the first day and night getting to know each other. Armed with nothing more than bayonets , pistols, grenades and flashlights, the US soldiers take to the tunnels in search and destroy operations, and begin to encounter dangers including primitive but lethal booby traps , such as punji sticks , grenades rigged with tripwire , as well as roving Viet Cong troops. Meanwhile, Garraty and Johnson are killed first, and later Sergeant Heaney and Verano are both killed as Green escapes, and up on the surface Harris and Lidford escape to the bottom of the tunnel, and Lidford is killed later on, Porterson successfully escapes through the tunnels. On the surface, the Viet Cong also attack the US base.

The Army faced two different threats in the Vietnam War, preventing it from focusing on exceptional performance in either conventional or unconventional warfare. The conventional forces of the North Vietnamese Army demanded respect from the U. At the same time, the unconventional insurgency of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam known as the Viet Cong presented a very real threat to Soldiers throughout the conflict. Tunnels were particularly useful in the insurgency and a series of tunnel networks provided the Viet Cong with manufacturing, resupply, and planning space within easy striking distance of their targets. Few Soldiers could fit into the tunnels and follow the guerillas into their lairs.

Vietnam tunnel rat

The Viet Cong amassed around kilometers of underground tunnels. This network connected villages, cities, and districts. The tunnels also hosted armament workshops, training depots, headquarters, and a variety of other facilities. They helped conduct military operations on behalf of communist forces. Though Americans, Australians, and New Zealanders claim to know these hideouts existed, they overlooked their size and importance. Equally , these countries failed to understand how difficult it would be to detect and neutralize such networks.

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Based on tactics derived from World War II, Americans often either sealed, blew up, or poured smoke, tear gas, or napalm into the tunnels to render them unusable. Batten joined Cpt. Leaders speculated that the enemy had fled in the face of the initial allied advance. The tunnel rats were American , Australian , New Zealander , and South Vietnamese soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. Six men of the 12th Platoon were wounded, including their commander Lt. January MacGregor led the Australian sappers of the No. Another time, the rats used pounds of C-4 to blow the top off of a tunnel system when one of their number had been injured. On Jan. Williamson of the rd Airborne Brigade. He suffocated to death from a combination of tear gas and carbon monoxide when he removed his respirator in his struggle to get free. Read Edit View history. According to a former Viet Cong officer, the tunnel rats eliminated over 12, guerillas and captured many more.

The Viet Cong were well known for their devious jungle ambushes and cruelly ingenious booby traps. Operation Crimp, undertaken by U.

In the amorphous world of the Vietnam War the exact impact of the tunnel rats was sometimes difficult to determine but the rats found and exploited things no one else did. Underneath the ground an entire army could plan, train, and move without disturbance even when, as was the case in Cu Chi, the U. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. While only one tunnel rat could fit abreast in the tunnel, occasionally a second rat would enter behind to provide assistance to the lead rat particularly when the lead rat was new. It soon became obvious to the Australians that these enemies were lurking below ground. Eventually they came upon an underground dispensary with 30 Viet Cong inside. Finding an entrance did not guarantee entry: Viet Cong often booby trapped the doors or placed grenades in nearby trees to kill Soldiers trying to gain entry to the tunnel systems. These diverse facilities, coupled with sophisticated ventilation systems, allowed VC guerrillas to remain hidden underground for months at a time. Staff Sgt. Another time, the rats used pounds of C-4 to blow the top off of a tunnel system when one of their number had been injured. The subterranean nest was complete with medical supplies, rudimentary transfusion equipment, and important military documents. Tunnel construction occasionally included anti-intruder features such as U-bends that could be flooded quickly to trap and drown the tunnel rat.