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Secrets Of The Viet Cong Summary

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The brutal and vicious strategies used during the second Indochina war eloquently were brought to light by James W. McCoy in “Secrets of the Viet Cong.” McCoy describe the stories and acts that occurred during the second Indochina war that had taken place on all sides of the field. The main focus of this book is the U.S pitted against the V.C as well as the many other obstacles faced in the country of Vietnam. War in general is a very interesting topic, especially the Vietnam war. The fact that the superpower America had failed to compete and to win against the small country of North Vietnam makes this specific war as interesting as it is. Not to mention the warfare tactics and strategies used by either side makes it an enthralling topic to…show more content…
The book is separated by four parts that go into great detail about how, what,when, and why the troops of both the V.C and American troops acted as they did. The first part of the book spanning the first 163 pages focusing on the organization and control of the battlefield and supplies. Within the first chapter, McCoy details the training and behavior throughout the history of this war. The V.C used many tactics that involve guerrilla warfare obtained from war doctrines and other war strategies, some coming from Sun Tzus’ “Art of War” Liddell Hart’s “ Strategy of Indirection Approach.” The V.C had strange strategies to combat the American forces, some of which would sacrifice several of their own men for the sake of demoralizing the U.S troops. To Start the V.C wasn’t about the full frontal assaults and fair fights that America had been known to use. They would set booby traps that involved mines, spike pits, claymores and many other traps that would take a large heap of a squadron sent in by the U.S. In this war the V.C and N.V.A had the home advantage not to mention it was a very difficult place to navigate or even stand if you were…show more content…
It includes the offensive, defensive and ambushes that the N.V.A had used in the war. In order to be successful in the offensive, the Chu Luc followed these five principles of battle; The speed of movement, the element of surprise, undermine the enemy morale, security, and calibration with the local population. In short, the Chu Luc wanted to deliver their attacks in a fast, effective manner that incorporated a surprise attack all while making sure they had a back up plan.The Chu Luc were very thorough with how the delivered attacks, especially the ambushes that had happened. The Chu Luc would follow the doctrine of not being obvious with the layout of the attack and to minimize the retreating space of the American troops. The Chu Luc would sometimes allow the American troops to separate and allow a large portion to fall into another ambush later down the
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