Củ Chi Tunnels

There is no other place that encapsulates the sheer will power and lengths that

the Viet Cong were prepared to go to win the Vietnam conflict than the Củ Chi Tunnels

The Củ Chi tunnels are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi district and are part of a larger network that underlie much of the country. The tunnel system is 250 kilometres long and at one time reached from the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City to the Cambodian border. Construction was commenced in the 1940s during the war for independence from the French and continued being constructed for 25 years.

The Viet Cong guerrillas repaired and expanded the tunnels in the 1960s during the Vietnam War. The network of tunnels allowed the VC to move unchallenged underneath enemy held territory, including the US military base at Dong Du. As well as serving as communication and supply routes, there were hospitals, food and weapon strong holds, and living quarters for the fighters. These tunnels were virtually underground towns and were the location of several military campaigns. The Củ Chi tunnels were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the well know Têt Offensive of 1968.

It can be said that this tremendous engineering feat, which was largely dug with hand tools and reed baskets, was the main reason the Viet Cong were able to resist the American operations, and eventually result in the allied forces retracting in 1972. This in turn lead to the final defeat of the republic of Vietnam in 1975. It took months for the American military to work out why they were being attached from an unseen enemy. They had unwittingly built their base on top of the tunnels , which enabled the Viet Cong to carry out surprise raids. But even when their strategy was detected the VC was still unstoppable.

Life was difficult for the Viet Cong in the tunnels, the lack of food and water along with the infestation of ants, mosquitoes and poisonous spiders caused various diseases, particularly malaria, which was the second largest cause of death apart from war injuries.  During heavy combat they were forced to stay underground for many days and nights at a time, living in appalling conditions.

Most of the time the guerrilla fighters would spend the day in the tunnels working or resting, and go out at night to gather supplies and engage in combat. On these night raids, they were known to gather explosives, which had been discarded by the US military, and remodel them into devices to use against the careless army, who completely under estimated their opponent.

The Củ Chi tunnels caused great concern for the American military as the Viet Cong had been so well entrenched in the area, they were in the unique position of being able to control where and when battles would take place. To try and reverse this situation the US army commenced Operations Crimp on the 7^th January, 1966. B-52 bombers dropped 30 ton loads of high explosives onto Cú Chi and eight thousand troops combed the region looking for guerrilla activity. However, this operation was, for the most part, unsuccessful, all they managed to do was turn the once lush jungle into a baron waste land.

Determined to solve the problem of the tunnels, the U.S command decided to fight the Viet Cong on their own territory and began training an elite group of soldiers in the art of tunnel warfare. These brave young specialist, who were known as 'tunnel rats', would enter the tunnels, usually stripped to the waist, and armed only with a gun, a knife, a flashlight and a piece of string. They would enter alone and often spend hours at a time inching their way along, looking for booby traps or Viet Cong fighters, but this approach also, for the most part, failed.

In 1967 the Americans once again launched an assault on Cú Chi called Operations Cedar Falls, it was in principle exactly the same as Operations Crimp but involved many more troops. This time there were 30,000 instead of the 8,000 soldiers involved and still they failed to achieve the objective of destroying the communist stronghold.

By 1969, a full defense was implemented and B-52 bombers started 'carpet bombing' the area, which ultimately proved successful but futile. As a result of the heavy bombing, some portions of the tunnels actually caved in and other sections were exposed. But by that time, the Viet Cong no longer needed the protection of the tunnels which had severed their purpose for the duration of the war.

Today, thirty-four years since the end of the conflict, some sections of the tunnels stand destroyed or badly damaged as a reminder of the great courage and determination of an underground army that won the unwindable war. The Vietnamese government has preserved an area near, what has been named, the 'heroic village' of Ben Duoc, sixty kilometres west of Ho Chi Minh City. The tunnels are now a national monument to the Vietnam War and have become one of the country's major tourists attractions. It is ironic to think that peace did what weapons couldn't do; the tunnels are now filled with foreigners! 

The earliest seeds of what is commonly known as the Vietnam War were planted as far back as 1940. During the late 19^th century France conquered the territory that now makes up the nations of both Vietnam and Cambodia...... Read more 

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