In my research I found that the Ho Chi Minh Trail was a hand
excavated system of jungle trails and mountain trails used for the
transportation of supplies and troops to the south for the allies of the North
Koreans.
The term "Ho Chi Minh Trail" was coined by
Americans naming the trail after the North Korean Leader, but in Vietnam it is
known as the Truong Son Road, named after the mountain ranges in the area.
The multiple trail system was roughly 1,000 kilometers
(around 622 miles) in length with many resting places for troops. Some times as
many as 20,000 soldiers during a months' period took the near six month
journey. As the war progressed, the trail was able to be refined to about a six
week journey for a fit soldier with underground bases and caches along the way.
There were some advantages of using the trail. First there
were "dummy" trails created to confuse enemies; second the tree
canopy provided a dense cover making it difficult for aerial surveillance of
the trail. Due to these "perks" of the trail ground movement was hard
to trace as well as limiting landing zones. In a effort to level the playing
field the Americans developed and used what they called "Agent
Orange" to thin out the forest.
The
importance of this was mainly the transportation of troops and supplies;
however, many skirmishes were fought in an effort to limit the trails
usefulness to the North Koreans thus making it a focal point during the war.
 |
| Map of the Trails' expanse for perspective |
References:
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1875.html
Thats very interesting about those trails. I never realized how long and grueling the trails were. Its crazy that it could take 6 months for a soldier to get through.
ReplyDeleteI find it fascinating that the trail was 622 miles in length. I cannot even imagine being a soldier and having to trek across the entire trail, knowing there are mines and traps present. I think it was very smart of the U.S. to use this trail to their advantage and make fake trails to confuse the enemy.
ReplyDeleteI agree, using the trails to confuse the enemy was smart for the U.S. I didn't know how long the trails were, and I can't even imagine having to go through them. Six months is a long time!
ReplyDeleteDigging all of these trails by hand would be a lot of work. The fact that 20,000 soldiers were able to travel the trails at once is kind of mind blowing considering the fact they were in the war. I find it interesting that soldiers were able to get the traveling time down from 6 months to 6 weeks.
ReplyDeleteThat fact that it took an average solider 6 months to complete this trail is mind blowing to me. I cant imagine doing something like walking a trail every single day for 6 months. Although digging 622 miles worth of trails is a pretty big feat itself.
ReplyDeleteThat fact that it took an average solider 6 months to complete this trail is mind blowing to me. I cant imagine doing something like walking a trail every single day for 6 months. Although digging 622 miles worth of trails is a pretty big feat itself.
ReplyDeleteYou provided so many facts that I didn't know about this, and its interesting to go further into detail because I definitely did not know that this trail took 6 months, thats crazy!
ReplyDeleteIt blows my mind how long it was!! That is incredible for a soldier to do!
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