Who were the Viet Cong and how did they affect the war?

The Viet Cong were South Vietnamese supporters of the communist National Liberation Front in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War (known in Vietnam as the American War). They were allied with North Vietnam and the troops of Ho Chi Minh, who sought to conquer the south and create a unified, communist state of Vietnam.

What battle acted as a feint to lure US and southern Vietnamese troops away from bases prior to launching the Tet Offensive?

While the southern guerrillas absorbed the brunt of the urban combat, they were backed by the military heft of the regular North Vietnamese Army (NVA), and it was main force NVA units who would launch and maintain the four-month siege of the isolated U.S. Marine outpost at Khe Sanh, intended initially as a feint to …

What is a myth about the Vietnam War?

Much of the post-war controversy over Vietnam can be summarized in four “myths”. The first myth is that the micromanaging civilians in Washington lost an otherwise winnable conflict. A second myth deals with the degree to which the radical, countercultural anti-war movement forced President Nixon to end the war.

Who did the Vietcong fight against?

Viet Cong (VC), in full Viet Nam Cong San, English Vietnamese Communists, the guerrilla force that, with the support of the North Vietnamese Army, fought against South Vietnam (late 1950s–1975) and the United States (early 1960s–1973).

How did the North Vietnamese fight against the US?

By continuously expanding and improving the Ho Chi Minh Trial—the main conduit for supplies and replacement troops from North Vietnam to the southern battlefields—and by deploying large numbers of troops in Cambodia and Laos, the North Vietnamese defeated the American effort to isolate the battlefield from 1965 to 1968 …

What was the strategy of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong?

The aim of the NLF was to involve the enemy in a long drawn out war and thereby to wear it down. Thus the NLF, based in the thick forests of South Vietnam, began by taking control of the villages in the rural areas. As their strength grew and the enemy retreated, they began to take the smaller towns.

How many survived long tan?

Officially, 245 bodies were counted on the battlefield by Australian soldiers. However, even though additional bodies and body parts were found over the following days and weeks, the number of 245 remained the officially recorded casualty figure.

What caused the battle of Long Tan?

The catalyst for the battle was the Main Force VC (Viet Cong, an abbreviation for Vietnamese Communist) attack on the Australian operational base of Nui Dat, located in the centre of Phuoc Tuy. The attack occurred during the early hours of 17 August 1966, with the VC using mortars and recoilless rifles.

What’s the difference between Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army?

The North Vietnamese Army was the official armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). Viet Cong is a slang term for the National Liberation Front in South Vietnam, an armed group supporting the overthrow of the South Vietnamese government.