The mystery of the Viet Cong, the underground guerrillas

1965 25 Infantry Division Q41A was posted near the village of Cu Chi by Saigon. There are the main focus of guerrilla resistance in South Vietnam, the main base of the communist North. US planned to quickly crush the resistance, thereby gain ultimate control over the southern part of Vietnam and the communists demonstrate kuz'kinu "mother." But almost immediately in the American camp began to happen strange, mystical thing. Despite the strengthened protection perimeter at night in tents shots were fired, and the next morning they found the murdered officers. In the bushes right in the center of the camp flashed surreal shadows, which made the very real shots and disappear to nowhere. The Americans stepped up to the limit of protection and began a massive operation to clean up neighborhoods. Thousands of soldiers and bulldozers demolished jungle "cleaned the" area napalm, destroying all the settlements, as well as sources of food and water. Ghosts continued to attack.

It took four months to solve the mystery: by coincidence Base 25th Division is located just above the underground guerrilla city! It was a network of tunnels with a total length of over 250 kilometers, which is dug in clay, perfect for this earth Cu Chi in the early XX century, during the French occupation. However, Americans long rejoiced his discovery. Yes. they found "holes" (more precisely, at the time the American command only guess at the beginning of their existence, not even close to representing the scale tunnel system), but how to deal with them?

Within a few years the destruction of underground guerrillas Cu Chi in the so-called "iron triangle" was the American idea of a fix. To begin with, just find the entrance to the tunnel was almost impossible task: little hole. in which a man pushed his way with difficulty, perfectly camouflaged with turf and leaves. Sometimes, however, the Americans managed to find the entrance, for example pursuing the Viet Cong.

But what to do? Smoked guerrillas poisonous gases? But it was useless, as a complex system of water tubes and sealed the hatches, shared the levels perfectly protects the main tunnels of the gas attack. To go down inside? For this purpose, we brought specially trained unit "tunnel rats" - puny crazy soldiers, equipped with headlamps, wire phones Gun with Laser Sight ... Vietcong met "rats" with open arms and has prepared for them a subterranean quest consisted of traps and ambushes that out from the land of the Vietnamese managed to live only half of those who went down in the "hole." Meanwhile, in the tunnels was a full life: they worked hospitals, cinemas, eateries. It had babies. The tunnels were conducted tactical meeting, there was carried out reconnaissance and sabotage were planned in Saigon and throughout the South.

Destroy the Cu Chi Americans managed only in the late 60s. The region hit carpet bombing of B-52. against which the guerrillas were powerless: the shells left funnel to a depth of 20 meters, while the system of tunnels often goes underground no more than five meters. However, it was already a final chord of the war. The exhausted Americans that weaken the domestic anti-militarist sentiment and conviction of the international community, vynuzhdeny.byli withdraw troops. Ruined, but do not pass the underground city, which survived about 6 thousand people from 16 thousand, celebrated his victory.