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The Cu Chi tunnels became a popular tourist destination in Vietnam.
While some parts of the tunnel network have been destroyed, there are still 121 km (75 miles) left.
Visitors can experience the tunnels underground and a shooting range above ground.
Sources: (History) (Business Insider)
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Even babies were born in the Cu Chi tunnels during the war.
Tunnel rats were employed during the battle. They used both demolition tactics as well as acetylene gas to target the VCs.
It’s estimated that at least 45,000 Vietnamese died defending the Cu Chi tunnels during the Vietnam War.
Operation Cedar Falls was a search-and-destroy mission targeting the Iron Triangle (a VC stronghold) in January 1967. Phase II of the operation targeted the tunnels.
ANZUS troops (Australia, New Zealand, and United States) then began training some of their men to go underground and fight the North Vietnamese and the VCs at their game.
Though tunnel rats didn’t just kill the tunnels' occupants and destroy the tunnels themselves. They also gathered intelligence.
Tunnel rats, as they were called, spent hours navigating the tunnels underground, mostly in search-and-destroy missions.
They used the term "black echo" to describe the experience of being underground.
Indeed, many other booby-traps were used, as were tripwires that would set off grenades.
The tunnels became the headquarters for a number of combat operations.
In addition to malaria, intestinal parasites also affected a great part of the People's Liberation Armed Forces.
Disease also spread easily underground, with malaria in particular killing a huge number of soldiers.
Food and water supplies were not abundant, plus there were numerous natural threats, including snakes, rodents, scorpions, and spiders, to name a few.
Spikes were among the most common types of booby-traps used by the Viet Cong.
Setting up booby-traps was one of the most common ways to gain advantage over enemy forces.
Common living areas (i.e. kitchens) and facilities such as hospitals were also operating underground.
Though fresh air was scarce, sophisticated and well-camouflaged ventilation systems allowed troops to stay underground for extended periods of time.
The tunnels under the jungle were dug by hand, so only short distances were completed at first.
In the 1960s, the US sent troops in support of the non-Communist regime in South Vietnam. This was when North Vietnamese and Viet Cong (VCs) troops began to expand the network of tunnels.
The network of tunnels stretched over 250 kilometers (155 miles), from Saigon to the Cambodian border, approximately.
The Cu Chi tunnels gained a life of their own and functioned as small villages, with living quarters.
The tunnels date back to the late 1940s and the war of independence from France.
The network of tunnels can be found in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in Vietnam.
American troops were better equipped and had the advantage of aerial attacks, but the North Vietnamese and the VCs had found a way to survive: going underground.
Other types of sticking booby-traps were used, including clipping armpit booby-traps, which would inflict a lot of damage.
This is when the Viet Minh (Communist forces) began digging the tunnels in South Vietnam.
The tunnels of Cu Chi were an important tool for the Communist Vietnamese forces, most notably the guerrilla army of South Vietnam, best known as the Viet Cong. The history of the tunnel network, however, goes back even further, to the First Indochina War.
Throughout the Vietnam War, thousands of people lived and died in the tunnels, and the underground network still exists to this day. In this gallery, we delve into the history of Vietnam's Cu Chi Tunnels and the fascinating stories surrounding them. Click on to learn more.
The dark history of Vietnam's Cu Chi Tunnels
From guerilla tactics to tourist attraction
LIFESTYLE Vietnam war
The tunnels of Cu Chi were an important tool for the Communist Vietnamese forces, most notably the guerrilla army of South Vietnam, best known as the Viet Cong. The history of the tunnel network, however, goes back even further, to the First Indochina War.
Throughout the Vietnam War, thousands of people lived and died in the tunnels, and the underground network still exists to this day. In this gallery, we delve into the history of Vietnam's Cu Chi Tunnels and the fascinating stories surrounding them. Click on to learn more.