Mystery of the Vietcong, underground partisans
Approximately such legends were used by American troops when they discovered a secret underground city of partisans in Vietnam and began to die in it.
In 1965, the 25 Infantry Division Q41A was deployed near the village of Cu Chi near Saigon. There was located the main center of partisan resistance in South Vietnam, the main base of the communist North. The United States planned to quickly suppress resistance, thereby gaining final control over the southern part of Vietnam and demonstrating to the "fucking mother" communists. But almost immediately, strange, mystical things began to occur in the American camp. Despite the reinforced perimeter security, shots rang out in tents at night, and in the morning they found dead officers. In the bushes, right in the center of the camp, surreal shadows flashed, which made very real shots and disappeared into the unknown. The Americans to the limit strengthened the security and began a large-scale operation to clean up the area. Thousands of soldiers demolished the jungle with bulldozers and “cleared” the area with napalm, destroying all settlements, as well as water and food sources. The ghosts continued the attack.
It took about four months to unravel the mystery: by coincidence, the base of the 25 division was located exactly above the underground partisan city! It was a network of tunnels with a total length of more than 250 kilometers, which was dug up in clayey soil, ideally suited to this by Ku Chi as early as the beginning of the 20th century, during the French occupation. However, the Americans did not enjoy their discovery for long. Yes, they discovered “holes” (more precisely, at that moment the American command was only beginning to guess about their presence, even not even knowing the scale of the tunnel system), but how to deal with them?
For several years, the destruction of Ku Chi’s underground partisans in the so-called “Iron Triangle” was a fix American idea. Let's start with the fact that just finding the entrance to the tunnel was almost an impossible task: the small holes into which people could hardly squeeze were perfectly masked by sod and leaves. However, sometimes the Americans managed to find an entrance, for example, chasing the Vietcong.
However, what to do next? Smoke partisans poisonous gases? But it was useless, as the complex system of water jams and sealed hatches that divided the levels, perfectly protected the main tunnels from the gas attack. Go down inside? For this purpose, a specially trained unit of “tunnel rats” - punctual reckless soldiers, equipped with headlamps, wire telephones, pistols with laser sights, was launched ... The Viet Cong met the “rats” with open arms and prepared for them such an underground quest consisting of traps and ambushes that only half of those who descended into the “burrows” managed to get out of the Vietnamese land alive. In the meantime, a full-fledged life went on in the tunnels: hospitals, cinema halls, and canteens worked there. Children were born there. Tactical meetings were held in the tunnels, reconnaissance was conducted from there and sabotage was planned in Saigon and throughout the South.
Americans managed to destroy Ku Chi only at the end of 60's. The carpet bombing of B-52 fell on the region, against which the partisans were powerless: the shells left craters to a depth of 20 meters, while the tunnel system most often went underground by no more than five meters. However, this was the final chord of the war. The exhausted Americans, who were weakened by domestic anti-militarist sentiment and condemnation of the world community, were forced to withdraw their troops. The ruined, but not surrendered, underground city, in which approximately 6 survived from 16 thousands of people, celebrated the victory.
Now that you have a theoretical base, we offer you an unforgettable journey through the Cu Chi tunnels with all their traps, riddles and sights, and in the midst of resistance!
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Ha that our fascinating tour of the Cu Chi tunnels ends. By the way, in the city of Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon), any taxi driver for 20 dollars will take you to see what is left of Ku Chi. Only, most likely, it will be an attraction specially dug for tourists.
And the real tunnels (more precisely, what is left of them) lie away from the tourist routes. The jungles had grown over them long ago, villages were built in the neighborhood, and local boys go to play partisans in them. On the one hand, innocent fun, but on the other ... Who knows what?
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