how did vietcong want to fight the war?
Answers
The Vietnamese Communists, or Vietcong, were the military branch of the National Liberation Front (NLF), and were commanded by the Central Office for South Vietnam, which was located near the Cambodian border. For arms, ammunition and special equipment, the Vietcong depended on the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Because the US had more advanced weapons, resources and equipment to beat the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army (the NVA) in a pinched fight or in open warfare. It would also be effective as the support from peasants meant that they were able to hide themselves in peasant villages. They also had knowledge of the jungles of the south and essential supplies were coming from the north to the south through the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
What were the guerrilla tactics, and what were the basic principles?
The guerilla tactics were that they:
Retreat when the enemy attacks
Raid when the enemy camps
Attack when the enemy tires
Pursue when the enemy retreats
Ho Chi Minh wanted to use these guerilla tactics because he had learnt about it succeeding when used by Mao Zedong in the 1930/40s in his struggle against the Chinese Nationalist Party. It also worked against the Japanese in WW2 and also against the French after that. The aim of guerilla warfare was to wear down the US army and wreck their morale. It was effective as the US were in constant fear and 11% of the deaths were caused by booby traps.
What did the tactics rely on to be successful?
For this to work, however, they needed peasants support so that they could hide the VC when they were retreating. Since they had no uniform they could blend in with the peasants. This meant that the Americans did not know who their enemy was because after they had struck they just blended back into the population.