In the 9M22M the igniter leads extend about 305 millimeters 12.00 inches beyond the nozzle and terminate in a 2-prong plug. pp. One of the first is the sound a rocket makes coming off the launcher. Thirty rounds of 122-mm. Common weapons included the French MAS-36 and other weapons left behind from the First Indochina war, the Soviet Mosin-Nagant, especially M1944 carbines, mostly by way of China. It was never a question of victory for the North, it was only a matter of time. Official post-war North Vietnamese sources claim over half a million troops in place by 1967. While inaccurate compared to more . 10 am to 5 pm daily (except Christmas Day). If such targets as the North's petroleum facilities were attacked, it was argued, Hanoi's capabilities would be sharply reduced. but it was written in the 1970s to cover the use of napalm in Vietnam, which is not how these weapons . Joined by assorted militia and self-defense forces, these quick-reaction units were often stationed along heavily bombed routes and deployed to repair bridges, roads, tracks, tunnels and other structures. 2002. Da Nang, Spring 1968. The NVA employed the gun as the long-range component of independent artillery regiments assigned to advancing forces. Binh Trams stations at intervals on the Trail, hosted the stream of men, weapons and supplies flowing to the battle zone. This is some very rare canvas. Critics of the US effort charged that it was deliberately targeting civilians, but while several instances of collateral damage did occur, US policy and practice was concentrated on strategic military targets not the elimination of civilians. and attack personnel. 12 October 1972. The Finance and Economic grouping was the chief fund raiser, banker and purchasing agent. [Source: Washington Post] . Ten thousand trucks could move at a time, and improvements were made continuously by the 559th Transport Group. Australian War Memorial, Canberra. Current use. Armed liaison agents, who knew only their section of the Trail, led each infiltrating group between way-stations. Communist forces target Saigon and . Repairs were often done at night when the enemy aircraft would be less active. It snaked through parts of North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The infamous punji sticks soaked in excrement and urine received much press, but they were of negligible effect compared to the massive quantity of anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines deployed by main communist units. The rockets vary . Copyright 2013 Stronghold Nation. Of the Sihanouk Trail and Cambodia, one American military history says:[16]. Women survivors, who often would be left sterile, disfigured, and bitterly alone in a society that treasured the extended family, adapted to the unspeakable carnage in war.[39]. Nevertheless, an enormous effort kept transportation networks open. Other types used by the less standardized VC included the Soviet PPS-43, captured or Chinese produced M1 Thompson and M3 Grease Guns, and ex-German MP 40. With more than 98,000 units produced since 1963, the traditional BM-21 GRAD saturation systems have had several variations and adaptations to different contexts and locations, such as the GRAD-P single launchers, which acted in flocks spread across the forests of Vietnam, to adaptations in armored . North Vietnamese - Viet Cong used specialised BM 21 single round manportable tripod rocket launchers, developed by the Soviets as the Grad P which were originally intended for use by Spesnatz and other specialised users. 734. The whole network was segmented, so that one part did not know the other branches. Late war PAVN special units, such as c Cng sappers, even made use of some modern SA vz. United States Senate. United States Air Force, Taylor Branch. 31157, Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam, pp. The 500th Transport Group handled movement of troops and supplies in the North in preparation for the journey south. Casualties caused by American airstrikes were low, accounting for only 2% of total losses. The bombing began with the expectation that it would break the will of the enemyalthough many questioned its capability to do so. We would see the rockets coming up out of the valley between us and the main ammo dump. Supply routes using multiple sources, (waterways, black-market transactions, cross-border sanctuaries, etc.) Every few miles stockpiles of tools and material were positioned, both on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and on key transportation routes within North Vietnam. [26] By 1966, some 130 SAM batteries were in North Vietnam by US estimates, manned primarily by Russian crews. Mines and booby traps applied significant psychological pressure on US/ARVN forces and slowed and disrupted both military operations and civilian life. Prepared for the Use of the Committee on Foreign Relations. As noted above, the risk of air attack caused men and material to move along linked, but separate routes, and truck loading operated in shuttle fashion. By 1968, activity was brisk on the Trail. The hole in the ground between the boots is the results of a small VC mortar round. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Sakr-18 [Egyptian] 122-mm Multiple Rocket Launcher. Although no longer serving with active infantry units, the Type 63 is still in People's Liberation Army service with specialized formations such as mountain infantry units and special forces detachments. US Marines pushed the Vietnamese Communist Units back 20 Km so they could not hit DaNang AirBase. The range was approx 20km . 2002. (2006) At Caanan's Edge. When it sounded you scrambled to the nearest bunker for protection. It seemed like we got hit at least three times a day, and Charlie had our Company Area zeroed in. This video is from that back yard ceremony where Hendrickson received the award. Sturdier pontoon structures were made by tying wooden canal boats together with camouflage measures to hide them during the day from aerial observation. The initial American Operation Rolling Thunder campaign while inflicting painful local damage, did not halt the continual stream of men and materiel into the south. Both of these artillery guns were used in the counter-attack against Vietnam. Estimated impact area: Rockets were fired separately to an area of approx. With volumes such as these, backed by lavish Soviet and Chinese aid, and thorough organization, PAVN persevered until final victory. They were fielded in 1966 and would remain dominant until the end of The War in 1975. Viet Cong 122 mm DKZ-B Rocket Launcher and Stand. The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) used well-organized logistics methods to supply and equip their fighting forces. The rocket was developed by engineers of the Naval . 112, Wallace Terry, Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans, (Presidio Press: 1985), Jon M. Van Dyke, North Vietnam's Strategy For Survival, (Pacific Books: 1992), pp. Edward Miller and Tuong Vu (2009). American bombing was sometimes ineffective against both the landscape and determined repair attempts. [36], The successful and severely damaging American Linebacker efforts however were not sustained. [38] American bombers caused substantial damage to Northern road and rail infrastructure, including bridges, culverts, depots, ports and docks. There are several survival skills that a person needs to learn in Vietnam. For strategic aerial defense, the North deployed one of the densest and most sophisticated air-defense systems in the world based on Soviet surface-to-air missile missiles and radar batteries. The 11,000 artillery rounds and several thousand rockets fired that day were a clear demonstration that the North Vietnamese Army had improved and expanded its artillery arm. Journal of Vietnamese Studies, Vol. In our basecamp full of rubber trees, a tree . Posted by 6 days ago. More dangerous enemies included malaria, foot infections and a variety of other maladies. Ronald Oakes collection. It almost seemed safer on a recon mission in the middle of the jungle. The Zuni were used in the campaigns of the Marines and the Air Force of the US Naval Forces in Vietnam, between the years 1960-1970. The large number of waterways in Vietnam were also put to good use in moving materiel. Collectively, both forces were part of PAVN which made up all armed forces of North Vietnam. The Vietnam War as a Vietnamese War: Agency and Society in the Study of the Second Indochina War. This Rocket was developed in WWII and was then mounted on a truck with multiple tubes. The railway network in the Chinese provinces bordering North Vietnam was of vital importance in importing war material. 5. Later ''modified versions'' claimed distances of 11,000-meters. Way stations were generally within one day's travel from each other. The Rear Services grouping provided logistical support for military operations, such as digging bunkers or hauling supplies. I rolled out of bed to the floor and low crawled as fast as I could to the nearest bunker.When the attack seemed to be over, we came out of the bunker to access the damage. . By the war's end almost a million soldiers had made the trip down the Trail and tens of thousands of tons were being transported annually.[15]. As the war progressed, the North Vietnamese expanded and improved the Trail, moving material by truck, installing missile batteries for air defense and laying fuel pipelines. The Chinese were content to provide supportive diplomatic rhetoric, manpower and material, but signaled they would not enter the fray unless the Americans invaded North Vietnam. Consumption levels were much less than those of their American/ARVN opponents. All sides of the Vietnam War utilized some form of the ages-old mortar concept. Soviet aid outstripped that of China, averaging over half a billion dollars per year in the later stages of the war, with some $700million in 1967 alone. In October and November, Human Rights Watch documented a country-wide increase in the . Moving in company or battalion sizes, units departed at two-day intervals, with most crossing into Laos along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. They were a little over 6' tall, more than 1/3 of it explosive charge. Within SVN, the PAVN/VC military HQ, COVSN, had responsibility for overall logistical coordination. And magnesium is a key component of 9M22S rockets, which is a special munition for the BM-21 "Grad" multiple rocket launcher, a truck-mounted system that can launch a salvo of 40 122mm rockets . Defense secretary McNamara initially opposed striking the missile batteries because he feared killing Chinese or Soviet technicians working at the sites. South Vietnamese units trying to move came under fire as nightfall and cloud coverage limited the use of air power. [31] The largest repair organization was the Youth Shock Brigades Against the Americans for National Salvation. Laos was still a wide-open corridor, and U.S. forces were withdrawing. They were area rather than precision weapons and not very accurate. r/shittytechnicals. Great pains were taken to camouflage movement. A Romanian LAROM multiple rocket launcher which can fire 122mm rockets, as seen here, or 160mm types., DoloresRKT via Wikimedia Any of the dozens of existing 122mm rocket launcher operators could . 2023 [46] PAVN infiltration routes were keyed to the military regions the infiltrators were assigned to. The Viet Cong's full-time soldiers were referred to as the "Main Force" (Chu Luc). Description. Effective firing range. Those headed further beyond might travel through Laos. Many of those who survived their time on the battlefield continue to suffer from wounds, illnesses, and social neglect decades after the war had ended. [52] About 100,000 people were kept working on the Trail as porters, drivers, mechanics and anti-aircraft troops. [24], Communist forces also made extensive use of Vietnam's large network of rivers and waterways, drawing heavily on the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, which was also off-limits to American attack. Not enough time to do anything except die a little inside. 61 and PM-63 RAK machine pistols of Czech and Polish origin. Traffic was regulated by numerous civilian helpers, often young girls. Total war was preached from the beginning of the US intervention and a huge mobilization started as early as 1965 with population evacuation and construction of massive air defenses. Laos, Vietnam: US forces make extensive use of cluster munitions in bombing campaigns. Accurate, powerful, easy to maintain and repair, the D-74 remained in service with the Peoples Army of Vietnam through about 2010. Many suggested that this failure was because there were too many restrictions. PAVN troops also faced US movement, auditory and chemical ("people sniffer") sensors on various parts of the Trail. Delayed action bombs caused special problems. It controlled civilian labor recruitment, and military recruitment including drafting men into the VC, among other things. About 7% of a typical VC/PAVN division's manpower was made up of medical personnel. [13], The Trail had over 20 major way-stations operated by dedicated logistics units or Binh Trams, responsible for air and land defence, and delivery of supplies and replacements to fighting points in the South. It carried the launch motor, flight motor, warhead and fuze for the 122mm Katyusha Rocket. The ICRC estimates that in Laos alone, 9 to . Continue browsing in r/shittytechnicals. It handled all storage, movement, anti-aircraft defense and fortification on the Ho Chi Minh Trail which snaked through parts of Laos and Cambodia. Napalm, widely used during the Vietnam War, is the most well-known incendiary . The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-Soviet border conflict. However overall control was always in the hands of party cadres at all levels, from province down to village. PAVN possessed privileged enclaves in Laos and Cambodia, immune from ground attack creating vital sanctuaries and strategic depth, Friendly socialist allies that provided a massive pipeline of war material off-limits to US strikes until it had entered North Vietnam, including the vital border with an unassailable China, Heavy tropical vegetation and periods of poor weather in the battle zone, that facilitated the movement of men and material and hindered aerial attacks. Like many Soviet artillery pieces of the 1930s-50s, the D-74 had sights for direct fire missions, those aimed at a specific target, and a shield to protect the gunner and pointer from small-arms fire and shell fragmentation. Early units of PAVN had also made use of the Soviet RP-46 machine gun and the variety of weapons of the VC also included Chinese made ZB vz. In Vietnam this rocket comprised one of the primary means of inflicting standoff attacks against airfields and other . They also made use of the Soviet/Chinese 122mm rocket which was used effectively against populated areas and large installations such as airfields. is familiar to Westerners, less is known about the tens of thousands of teenage girls and young women (ages 13 to 22) sent south: the young women warriors Hanoi sent to fight and die along the Ho Ch Minh Trail struggled daily not only with American bombs but also with hunger, disease, sexual abuse, and death. Several activation systems (primers) were also used. [7] Total requirements to run the insurgency in the south were relatively small compared to the needs of US opponents, well below port and rail capacity. As one historian notes "Knowing that the Vietnamese could replace their losses indefinitely, and were doing so, the American war planners counted on the psychological wear and tear of modern air-power upon a land-bound adversary. (AP Photo) Full size 3000 2058 On the night of July 14, the new 122mm launchers were set up in six . save. Chinese Type 24, Soviet Maxim, SG-43 and DShK, as well as captured Browning M1919 were used in these roles. No official information was published by the Czech government regarding the delivery of BM-21MT to Ukraine, but since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Czech Republic has already supplied Ukraine with a large quantity of MLRSs (Multiple Launch Rocket Systems) including 12 122mm RM-70, an undisclosed number of modernized 122mm RM-70 Grad . [28], Medical care. Infiltration numbers increased yearly. and 107-mm. [18] However, with only about 100 tons a day required, PAVN could keep its troops supplied indefinitely. To this end, it deployed 3 special formations. North Vietnamese - Viet Cong used specialised BM 21 single round manportable tripod rocket launchers, developed by the Soviets as the Grad P which were originally intended for use by Spesnatz and other specialised users. The gap was filled primarily by China and Russia. By 1969 the Ho Chi Minh Trail was a sophisticated logistical web with paved roads, truck parks, maintenance and supply depots, and well organized and defended terminuses and bases, moving thousands of men per month into the battle zone. Usually, a siren would blow to indicate an incoming mortar attack. This was lit to provide guide lights to moving men and material, invisible from the air. The B-52 has been used in Vietnam, the . V. This article appeared in the October 2021 issue of Vietnam magazine. Labor was recruited primarily by impressment/draft, or as a way to pay off VC taxes, although volunteers motivated by ideology also took part. As noted above, supplies, equipment and material was pre-stocked along roads, and near various choke points like ferry crossings so that repairs could be made quickly. 18 kg warhead. Soviet bloc and Chinese shipments easily met ordinary communist force requirements. Fighting a mobile guerrilla war much of the time, the VC/PAVN could not deploy large quantities of heavy artillery or tanks. Charlie started shelling the helipad area and a mortar landed within six feet of where we were standing. These quantities increased vastly as the North stepped up infiltration into the South. This included large quantities of American food aid to South Vietnam, a phenomenon sometimes observed by US troops that found enemy supply caches. Way-stations were located deep in the forest, and contained caches of supplies for use by the infiltrators. All visitors require a free timed ticket to enter the Memorial Galleries and attend the Last Post Ceremony. In 1968 with the Tet Offensive and other major operations, these numbers surged but still weighed in at a modest daily 120 tons. Logs and bamboo were laid over the quickly dissolving mud and the Northern fighters moved on. Truck lights were dimmed or mounted under vehicles, and at regular intervals on some routes, spaces were cut into the jungle trees, forming small cups into which kerosene or some other flammable liquid was poured. Guided by two men, the specially modified bikes could move 300400 pounds, several times that of a single porter. Format. In terms of stopping Hanoi's ruthless drive for reunification, the overall US bombing campaign, with its varied stops and starts, was ultimately ineffective in the face of cascading imports from socialist allies, political restraints on American action, the remorseless marshaling of the populace and the stoic endurance of the North Vietnamese. cit, John Prados, The Blood Road, (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998), p. 2-45, Colonel Jack Broughton, Thud Ridge, (J. United States Government Printing OFfice. 27119, John H. Hay Jr., Vietnam Studies: Tactical and Materiel Innovations (Washington D.C., Department of the Army: 1989) pp. If you saw a curve in the red arc it was hitting the ARVN base camp or the Air Force base. nose, main body, tail An example of the Russian made 122mm rockets that were fired by the North Vietnamese army into Saigon during the two years that Air Cmdre. The VC/PAVN used a wide variety of grenades from explosives inserted into discarded American C-ration cans to modern Chicom types. Remnants of a misfired 9M22S incendiary 122mm Grad rocket near Ilovaisk, Ukraine in 2014. . Conflict. A female fighter, Ngo Thi Tuyen', was hailed as a model of patriotic resistance and devotion for heroic repair efforts to the important Thanh Ha Bridge, a structure that stood up against several attempts to destroy it, until laser-guided bombs knocked it down in 1972. rockets, fired without warning from the surrounding area, rained down on the U.S. camp. PAVN soldiers were limited to old pathways, while trucks were increasingly routed along newer, improved stretches of road. GRADUAL FAILURE: THE AIR WAR OVER NORTH VIETNAM 19651966. VC/PAVN logistics were marked by austerity, but sufficient supplies, equipment and material were on hand to furnish final victory. An incoming round exploding is a noise forever embedded in your brain and for years to . Subsequent US analysis indicated skillful movement and dispersal by the North Vietnamese, with one of the missile sites a decoy, and another left empty deployed as bait to lure the American pilots to their doom.[43]. The unit tasked by Hanoi with organizing movement was the 470th Transport Group, which established a similar network on binh trams' and way-stations.[15]. Estimative products on Vietnam, 19481975. The bulk of VC/PAVN foodstuffs was procured within South Vietnam via purchase, taxation on peasants in controlled areas, and personal farming by troops in remote areas. The National Liberation Front (NLF) was a united front designed to encourage non-communists to support the insurgency in the south. This article is about the weapons used in the Vietnam War, which involved the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) or North Vietnamese Army (NVA), National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (NLF) or Viet Cong (VC), and the armed forces of the China (PLA), Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and the Australian, New Zealand defence forces .
