Transcript Asymmetric Warfare Warfare >
Asymmetric Warfare
< Guerrilla/Unconventional Warfare > vs.
Conventional Operations & Tactics
Asymmetric Warfare
< Guerrilla/Unconventional Warfare > Case Study: North Vietnamese/Viet Minh Strategy & Tactics General Vo Nguyen Giap
General Vo Nguyen Giap
Chief of the Viet Minh forces fighting French colonial rule and later the Americans – Architect of Vietnamese strategy and tactics
Giap’s Three Stages of Struggle 1) Building the Base 2) Guerrilla Warfare 3) Mobile Warfare
Stage 1:
Building the Base
Situate headquarters in mountainous, difficult terrain for meetings, supplies and refuge Viet Minh win hearts and minds of peasantry
Beat/Assassinate landlords/tax collectors
Redistribute land holdings
Education/literacy campaigns
Help with farming Viet Minh gain
Taxes
Supplies
Intelligence
Porters
Stage 2:
Guerrilla Warfare
Pin-prick attacks meant to frustrate the enemy and incite overblown reprisals
Guerrilla “Pin-Prick” tactics
Sabotage
(road cutting, damage to vehicles, poison)
Traps
(homemade bombs, trip wires, pungi sticks, pit traps)
Terrorism
(attacks on civilian targets, R&R sites)
Camouflage
(local vegetation, holes, tunnels) Reprisals confirm VM propaganda and drive civilians to VM for support and guidance, increasing their popularity and strength
The biggest tunnel systems were in the Iron Triangle and the Cu Chi District , only 20 miles from Saigon. This map gives an idea of the extent of the tunnel system at Cu Chi--the orange lines represent major tunnels. The base area at Cu Chi was a vast network, with nearly 200 miles of tunnels
Note the row of rocks on top of bridge beam at the foot of the bridge….typical of the warning signs used by the VC/NVA to warn of their mining activities.
Stage 3:
Mobile Warfare
By 1949, China is equipping the Viet Minh with automatic weapons, mortars, howitzers, trucks Allows for more conventional, regular forces Guerilla infrastructure allows for Viet Minh to move more quickly and more stealthily to carry out open warfare
Ho Chi Minh Trail Stage 3 cont.
Mobile Warfare
Conventional Operations & Tactics Offensive Forms of Maneuver
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Envelopment
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Turning Movement
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Infiltration
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Penetration
•
Frontal Attack
ENVELOPMENT
TURNING MOVEMENT
INFILTRATION
PENETRATION
FRONTAL ATTACK