Plan * What tactics the Viet Cong used against US/ARVN troops. * How the Viet Cong dealt with the decisions made by the US troops. * How guerrilla tactics were better than those used by the US troops. * How the environment in Vietnam suited the Viet Cong and how it was a disadvantage for the US troops. * How the surroundings in Vietnam were an advantage to the Viet Cong.
The Viet Cong had many tactics which they used against the US and ARVN troops in the Vietnam War, however these tactics were not those that you would expect to be used in a war.
The Viet Cong were a Guerrilla army, meaning that the people fighting for them are not proper soldiers. As guerrilla armies don’t have any rules that meant that they could do anything in the war, these tactics were often hit and miss. Whereas the US troops had to follow rules which prevented them from shooting first against the Viet Cong. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare)
The US troops were always used to fighting enemies face to face but the Viet Cong knew that if they did this then they would be beaten, so they dug a series of tunnels, a tactic and a strategy that had never been used before. The tunnels either connected from countryside to key cities or they were used to lead down to hidden bases. These tunnels allowed the Viet Cong to get to the places they wanted without the enemy detecting them. They also allowed them to fight the enemy without them seeing them, leading to the US troops calling them ‘The Invisible Enemy’. This tactic was very successful as many US troops lost their lives without ever seeing the Viet Cong. It was also successful as the Viet Cong could also get to the places they wanted quickly and without having to fight.
On the other hand the US troops were searching through the forests in Vietnam and this allowed the Vietcong to use their tactics of ambushing US patrols, setting booby-traps and