Vietnam War

The Vietcong fought a Guerrilla war. Using “Non-explosive land mines” to defeat their enemy: examples being deploying Booby-traps, ambushing American patrols or planting bombs. Booby-traps and tunnels were two essential methods regarding the engagement of Vietcong and American soldiers in Vietnam. Booby-traps were placed all over the Vietnamese jungle, in irregular locations thus making many soldiers feel anxious and fearful. Examples of this would be the Side Closing Panji, A spike board, the Grenade Trap and the Door Trap. Tunnels however were built primarily to help the “poorly equipped Peasant Army” against “High tech” France during their colonising years’. After Vietnam’s success, they were endured and eventually used again to fight the Americans from 1955. However In my opinion I believe the simplicity of the traps in which made by the Vietcong was undoubtedly the key factor regarding their triumph over America.
The traps were very easy to make. They were also very cheap and could be planted within a matter of minutes. The most traditional, most commonly used and cheapest trap was the Side Closing-Panji. Basically a small hole covered with leaf litter. When stood on, bamboo spikes would open from both sides, resulting in the victim's foot being impaled when stood on. This created astronomic psychological stress and anxiety amongst American soldiers because of the constant apprehension: not knowing where the traps were and if they were to become a victim of one (Though only around 17% of people actually did). It is still said that Vietnam veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder even to this day. After all of the stories: it seemed everyone was scared, and every soldier walking through the Vietnamese jungle was indefinitely paranoid. Resulting in them not being able to do their job properly – which can be linked to the effectiveness of booby-traps towards the Vietcong’s enemies. In my opinion Booby-traps were a massive factor regarding the