The trail was a combination of truck routes, bike paths and footpaths. It was
16,000 km
long and even consisted of waterways. The Americans gave the trail its name, after Ho Chi Minh, the leader of North Vietnam. In Vietnam, the road was called Truong Son Road.
Does the Ho Chi Minh Trail still exist?
Sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail still exist today
, and parts of it have been incorporated into the Ho Chi Minh Highway, a paved road that connects the north and south regions of Vietnam.
What happened when the Ho Chi Minh Trail was cut off?
Dubbed the “Ho Chi Minh Trail,” the American military reasoned that if it could be sufficiently damaged, the enemy would be unable to sustain itself.
Three million tons of explosives would be dropped on the Laos portion of the trail alone
.
Why was the Ho Chi Minh Trail difficult?
Mu Gia and other strategic spots along the Ho Chi Minh trail became a struggle between American attempts to shut down the supply route and Vietnamese ones to keep them going.
Defending the route was a core of committed laborers, who protected the trail by making it physically hard to bomb
.
Is Ho Chi Minh Trail Safe?
The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. Use extreme caution when on this trail.
Many ledges are slippery and unsafe
. This is a fairly technical trail that includes a lot of rock scrambling and maneuvering through rock canyons.
What made fighting in Vietnam so difficult?
The Vietcong had an intricate knowledge of the terrain. They won the hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese people by living in their villages and helping them with their everyday lives.
Their tunnel systems, booby-traps and jungle cover
meant they were difficult to defeat and hard to find.
Is Vietnam still communist?
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a one-party state. A new state constitution was approved in April 1992, replacing the 1975 version. The central role of the Communist Party was reasserted in all organs of government, politics and society.
How many died on the Ho Chi Minh Trail?
The official cemetery for victims of the Ho Chi Minh Trail contains the graves of
10,306 men and women
. But the ex-soldiers, writers and others interviewed here say that is only a small percentage of those who died along the trail.
Why didnt we invade North Vietnam?
Why didn’t the US just roll over North Vietnam and occupy the entire country?
The military was afraid of a repeat of Korea
. US leadership knew that if a full scale invasion was launched, the Chinese and possibly the Russians would retaliate; Beijing made this very clear.
What countries is it likely that the United States feared losing to communism?
In addition to Vietnam, the countries under threat were
Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaya, Indonesia and Japan
. It was related to the USA’s Cold War containment policy.
Who was impacted by the Vietnam War?
The most immediate effect of the Vietnam War was the staggering death toll.
The war killed an estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians, 1.1 million North Vietnamese troops and 200,000 South Vietnamese troops
. During the air war, America dropped 8 million tons of bombs between 1965 and 1973.
What happened to Vietnam after WWII?
After World War II and the collapse of Vietnam’s monarchy,
France attempted to re-establish its colonial rule but was ultimately defeated in the First Indo-China War
. The Geneva Accords in 1954 partitioned the country temporarily in two with a promise of democratic elections in 1956 to reunite the country.
Why couldnt US ground forces go into Laos?
The Cooper-Church amendment to the defense appropriations act in 1970 prohibited the use of US ground troops in Laos
, so the task fell to the South Vietnamese Army, supported by US airpower. The operation was called Lam Son 719. South Vietnamese forces crossed into Laos on Feb. 8, 1971.
How many bombs were dropped on Vietnam?
Between 1965 and 1975, the United States and its allies dropped
more than 7.5 million tons
of bombs on Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia—double the amount dropped on Europe and Asia during World War II.
Which group of soldiers did JFK send to Vietnam?
May 1961 – President Kennedy sends
400 American Green Beret ‘Special Advisors
‘ to South Vietnam to train South Vietnamese soldiers in methods of ‘counter-insurgency’ in the fight against Viet Cong guerrillas.
Are dogs allowed at Ho Chi Minh Trail?
1 answer.
I really think, NO
!!! It’s for your safety and for the dogs safety!!️At the end of the trail is a steep sandstone slot canyon! the steps are very washed out! over a year ago.
Can you walk the Ho Chi Minh Trail?
And a great experience!
After having a long trip in Vietnam you will have some free time to walk around Ho Chi Minh city to get more experience
or just relax at hotel before the driver drops you off the airport for taking flight departure Ho Chi Minh.
Where is Stonewall Peak?
| Stonewall Peak | Top of Stonewall Peak looking north | Highest point | Elevation 5730 ft (1747 m) | Prominence 860 ft (263 m) |
|---|
Do any French still live in Vietnam?
After 1954, French fell into disuse in North Vietnam, and maintained a high status in South Vietnam. Since the Fall of Saigon in 1975,
French has declined in modern Vietnam
: in 2018, under 1% of the population was fluent in French.
Why was Vietnam so traumatic?
Unlike veterans who fought in previous conflicts, the Vietnam veterans were never welcomed home, so many of them suffered from significant social isolation.
Jim’s PTSD was a result of his military experience in conflict and social isolation
which created a vicious circle.
Could the US have won the Vietnam War?
Is Vietnam still contaminated with Agent Orange?
Dioxin from Agent Orange, sprayed by the US military during the Vietnam war, is still poisoning Vietnamese people today, 30-40 years after spraying ended
, says Dr Arnold Schecter of the University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas.
Is Vietnam a free country?
Vietnam is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World
, Freedom House’s annual study of political rights and civil liberties worldwide.
Did America lose the Vietnam War?
America never lost any major battles in Vietnam
, yet the North Vietnamese lost many, including the 1968 Tet Offensive.
What went wrong in Vietnam?
By 1971, thousands of them were on
opium or heroin
, and more than three hundred incidents of fragging—officers wounded or killed by their own troops—were reported. Half a million Vietnam veterans would suffer from P.T.S.D., a higher proportion than for the Second World War.
How did Vietnam War end?
Finally, in January 1973,
representatives of the United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Vietcong signed a peace agreement in Paris
, ending the direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.
Why the US lost the Vietnam War?
America “lost” South Vietnam
because it was an artificial construct created in the wake of the French loss of Indochina
. Because there never was an “organic” nation of South Vietnam, when the U.S. discontinued to invest military assets into that construct, it eventually ceased to exist.
