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Mine Warfare as waged by the Viet Cong & NVA |
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Figure l.--Enemy equipment captured by Marines on sweep operations in ICTZ Note US M-26 grenade in center of picture. Other grenades are locally produced using C-ration cans. |
| INTRODUCTION:
SECTION I ENEMY MINE WARFARE The history of mine and booby trap warfare is almost as long as the history of war itself. Although these devices were once considered an unfair and cowardly manner of fighting an enemy, nations continued to develop and employ mines and booby traps because they provided an effective and simple means of inflicting casualties upon an enemy force. During the war with France, 1946-1954, the Viet Minh used improvised explosive mines and booby traps effectively against the French forces. The VC/NVA have continued to improve upon these techniques and are employing mines and booby traps as an effective weapons system against free world military forces in SVN today. The number of Marine casualties, perhaps better than any other example, illustrates how effective the enemy is with these devices. Marines landed in force in SVN during March 1965 and during the first months of fighting approximately 65-75 percent of all Marine casualties were caused by mines and booby traps. Much has been learned about the enemy's methods of employing mines and booby traps since March 1965, but despite this knowledge, Marines, at an alarming rate, continue to become casualties as a direct result of enemy mines and booby traps. During 1968, 37.7 percent of all Marine casualties were caused by the accidental detonation of a mine or booby trap. In other words, more than one of every three Marines killed or wounded in SVN becomes a casualty as the result of a mine or booby trap. Although a great many detection means, ranging from intricate electronic devices to specially trained dogs, have been developed, experience has shown that an alert Marine, aware of what to look for and where to look, is the most effective detection device. |
| ENEMY DOCTRINE Although modified by past guerrilla warfare experience in Vietnam, VC/NVA mine warfare doctrine continues to closely parallel that of the Chinese Communist Army. Extensive deliberate minefields have not been encountered in Vietnam. Rather, the enemy employs mines singly or in clusters to achieve his purposes In areas occupied and protected by free world forces, the enemy employs mines to delay and disrupt the use of roads and paths and to cause the allies to divert forces to guard and clear those routes. In addition to the threat to military traffic and lawful civilian movement, the free world personnel and equipment employed in patrolling the roads and in detecting and removing mines are prime targets. In contested areas where friendly offensive operations or patrol activities are conducted, the enemy employs mines and booby traps to inflict casualties, delay and channel movement, and damage or destroy equipment.  |
| ENEMY SOURCES OF SUPPLY The enemy uses a very limited number of modern machine-produced mines. The majority of enemy mines are handmade by the VC using U.S. duds, discarded ammunition and equipment, and materials thrown away by U.S. forces as trash. Ninety percent of all the material in enemy mines and booby traps is of U.S. origin (see fig.1). Of all the explosive devices produced locally in VC mine factories, 95 percent are antipersonnel booby traps. All dud ammunition is a source of enemy supply. After air strikes and artillery and mortar missions, enemy salvage teams make sweeps to collect duds. Lighter ordnance is carried away to preparation areas; large bombs and projectiles are broken down and stripped on the spot. In some cases the larger duds are rigged as booby traps where they have fallen. This is especially true when the enemy feels the strike or fire mission was a preparation for an infantry attack. However, dud ammunition is not the only source of enemy supply. Carelessly discarded ordnance of all sizes and in any quantity is collected by enemy salvage teams. Mortar rounds, rockets, LAAW's, grenades, and small arms ammunition abandoned to lighten the load (or improperly secured and lost by fast-moving Marines) have value as the explosive element in booby traps. Even a single M16 round ejected to clear a stoppage can be used by the enemy. Additionally, materials discarded as trash and improperly destroyed such as ration, ammunition, beer and soda cans, batteries, waterproof packaging materials, bandoliers, etc., provide the enemy a valuable source of supply to support his mine warfare operations. These items have, on numerous instances, been employed successfully against Marines and their equipment. Thorough policing of friendly positions upon departure and complete destruction of trash are mandatory to deny the enemy this source of supply. |
| VC MINE FACTORIES Primitive VC mine factories are usually located in the areas they supply. Great care is taken in the camouflage and dispersal of these facilities. Usually constructed underground, effort is made to disperse the workshops and storage throughout a series of tunnels. These limit destruction by working accidents or free world force artillery, air and naval gunfire and protect against discovery. As important as concealment of the mine factory, is the mobility of its personnel and equipment. Even while the mine factory is being settled in one position, new positions are being prepared for rapid displacement. Rarely does a mine factory remain in one place any longer than a few weeks. There is no distinct pattern of movement. Factories have been known to return to previous positions even after that position has been discovered and destroyed by Marine forces. NVA-trained engineers provide the skilled nucleus for the enemy mine factories, but supervision and labor are primarily VC. The typical output of a local VC mine factory is about 135 mines and explosive devices per month. |
| ENEMY TACTICS ANTITANK AND ANTI VEHICULAR MINES As we improve in our ability to detect mines, the enemy counters with new twists such as increased use of booby traps attached to a basic mine to create casualties among mine-clearing personnel; larger mines buried deeper with reduced activation pressure; and pressure electric detonators with offset devices to explode mines under vehicles. Command-detonating mines are normally used in densely populated areas and pressure-type devices in less populated sections. The heaviest mining is along lines of communications near fixed installations.
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ANTIPERSONNEL MINES AMD
BOOBY TRAPS
Remember: Any place a Marine frequently walks, takes cover, rests, or draws water is a likely location for enemy antipersonnel mines and booby traps. |
