A 122mm rocket is an unguided surface-to-surface artillery rocket delivered by a multiple rocket launcher (MRL). Further information on Vietnam war weapons of both sides: Austerity of communist force requirements, Effectiveness of the Trail despite interdiction efforts, Logistical organization inside South Vietnam, Techniques to deceive or fight US airpower and technology, Douglas Pike, PAVN: People's Army of Vietnam, (Presidio: 1996) pp. Common weapons included the French MAS-36 and other weapons left behind from the First Indochina war, the Soviet Mosin-Nagant, especially M1944 carbines, mostly by way of China. Bomb tonnages dropped on the Trail in Laos offer some indication of the scale of the American campaign: 1969 433,000 tons, 1970 394,000 tons (74,147 sorties), 1971 402,000 tons (69,000 sorties). [9] China provided an estimated $150 million to $200 million annually, along with such in-kind aid as the deployment of thousands of troops in road and railway construction in the border provinces. (1989). [1], Overall, the supplies and equipment of communist units were adequate, and their infantry small-arms were a match for those of their opponents. Katyusha multiple rocket launchers (Russian: ) are a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. The whole network was segmented, so that one part did not know the other branches. Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia. American war makers ran a restrained start-stop aerial campaign for fear of Chinese or Soviet intervention exempting MiG airfields in China, targets above certain geographical or navigational boundaries, and many dams and locks associated with North Vietnam's agricultural system. They were a little over 6' tall, more than 1/3 of it explosive charge. [53] Special trail-watching and reaction units were also used to counter infiltration by US-MACV Special Operations teams. I rolled out of bed to the floor and low crawled as fast as I could to the nearest bunker. This changed as the war went on, and the PAVN took over more responsibility in-country after the 1968 Tet offensive. By Crusader1307. It controlled civilian labor recruitment, and military recruitment including drafting men into the VC, among other things. 180213, BDM Corporation, op. Thus, 187mm (7.4-inch) super-heavy mortars were made by sawing the tops off steel oxygen tanks, while in southern Vietnam, automobile shock absorber cylinders were converted into mortar barrels. . Copyright 2013 - 2023 Stronghold Nation. galleries are progressively closed from 4 pm. Armed liaison agents, who knew only their section of the Trail, led each infiltrating group between way-stations. cit, Pike "Viet Cong", op. It almost seemed safer on a recon mission in the middle of the jungle. At noon on March 30, 1972, North Vietnam opened its spring offensive with a massive artillery barrage against South Vietnamese positions just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two countries. To purchase the entire video go to https://militaryvideo.com/ and search Rocket City or click on the linkhttps://mi. The unguided rockets appear to be in use with the Ukrainian Air Force's Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft, which have so far been extensively used for attacks on Russian positions using . The 122 mm D-74, a towed gun that entered Soviet service in 1955, was the most numerous gun in the NVA's five independent artillery regiments. United States Air Force, pp 164168, Jeffrey Record. While inaccurate compared to more . pp. A bit ungrateful of our Ukrainian friends to complain about our military aid and the thousands of Yarmuk rockets sent as they are being used from weapons which are not meant for them. Construction of what was to become the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail extended over decades, with elements put in place during the anti-French struggle of the Viet Minh. eng. PHIL M. HAUN, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF. During the bombing campaign over the north, facilities and installations were widely dispersed and concealed. North Vietnamese - Viet Cong used specialised BM 21 single round manportable tripod rocket launchers, developed by the Soviets as the Grad P which were originally intended for use by Spesnatz and other specialised users. Tonnages needed for communist forces were modest for the low-intensity protracted war style. Air Force History and Museums Program. Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains today and into the future. [36], The successful and severely damaging American Linebacker efforts however were not sustained. Action units sometimes helped with supply movement, such as floating 55-gallon drums of fuel down waterways a crude yet sometimes effective method of moving such material in bulk. 22126, JACOB VAN STAAVEREN. Population was also dispersed with massive movement of civilians out of major cities like Hanoi, into the countryside. The Vietnam War as a Vietnamese War: Agency and Society in the Study of the Second Indochina War. A courier might leave a message at a specific drop location for another courier (a stranger to him or her). According to the official People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) History: In 1964 our army began to send to the battlefield complete units at their full authorized strength of personnel and equipment By the end of 1965 our main force army in South Vietnam totaled almost 92,000 Our main force troops grew from 195,000 soldiers in early 1965 to 350,000 soldiers in May 1965 and finally to 400,000 by the end of 1965.. During 1966 the strength of our full-time forces in South Vietnam would be increased to between 270,000 and 300,000 soldiers By the end of 1966 the total strength of our armed forces was 690,000 soldiers.[56]. Su-25 attack aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Forces with Zuni rockets. Food, along with almost any other item, was also obtained on Saigon's thriving black market. Gradually, PAVN units were refitted with more modern AK-47 rifles from China, the Soviet Union, and other Warsaw Pact countries. A limited strike was authorized three days later in retaliation. The simplest and most primitive was a lanyard ''pull'', attached to a simple firing pin ring. About 7% of a typical VC/PAVN division's manpower was made up of medical personnel. 2002. The 122mm Rocket was 75-inches in length and weighted 102-pounds. Communist forces target Saigon and . Several activation systems (primers) were also used. The sheer volumes moving down the trail however meant that the PAVN effort came under severe strain. Special Operation teams were also inserted for reconnaissance and assessment, and sometimes the guidance of airstrikes on to targets. D-74 ammunition consisted of metal cartridge containing two propellant charges. [29], Food. Remnants of a misfired 9M22S incendiary 122mm Grad rocket near Ilovaisk, Ukraine in 2014. . Designated personnel were tasked with dismantling them, or watchmen kept them under observation- signaling all within blast distance to disperse when the bombs showed signs of detonating. It extends across the top and to the center of the closure plate, where it is attached to the internally mounted contact screw. Charlie started shelling the helipad area and a mortar landed within six feet of where we were standing. American rules of engagement forbid strikes against this network for fear of provoking Chinese intervention. Photo credits: Mykola Oleschuk. Another history notes that while female home front activity in war (clearing rubble, manning factories, nursing the sick etc.) hide. The BM-14 (BM for Boyevaya Mashina, 'combat vehicle'), is a Soviet-made 140mm multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), normally mounted on a truck.. Twelve to sixteen hours of work per day were expected of laborers. The unit tasked by Hanoi with organizing movement was the 470th Transport Group, which established a similar network on binh trams' and way-stations.[15]. [52] About 100,000 people were kept working on the Trail as porters, drivers, mechanics and anti-aircraft troops. They can also be used as a mobile rocket unit for the 122mm rockets, known as BM-21 Grad rockets. The ability for ruthless total mobilization of almost the entire population, for as long as the struggle required. Language. 2002. This Rocket was developed in WWII and was then mounted on a truck with multiple tubes. Moving in company or battalion sizes, units departed at two-day intervals, with most crossing into Laos along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. She has written numerous military history books, articles and book reviews and is also an award-winning author. The gap was filled primarily by China and Russia. Other weapon systems were also used. The 470th Transport group was established to move material from Cambodia. A 122mm rocket is an unguided surface-to-surface artillery rocket delivered by a multiple rocket launcher (MRL). Prepared for the Use of the Committee on Foreign Relations. and 107-mm. A STAFF STUDY BASED ON THE PENTAGON PAPERS. Local tribesmen recruited by PAVN for example would beat on pots or gongs to warn of the presence or landing of US Special Operations teams and high rewards were offered for assisting with their capture.[54]. Soviet bloc and Chinese shipments easily met ordinary communist force requirements. In all, some 320,000 Chinese soldiers served in Vietnam during the war. Ferries shuttled troops across rivers and streams. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. To this end, it deployed 3 special formations. [22], As one of the world's foremost military powers, the US could bring a massive variety of sophisticated aerial technology to bear on the communist side, ranging from heavy B-52 bombers, to carrier-based striking forces, to precision munitions. The base has been turned over to farmland. One of the first is the sound a rocket makes coming off the launcher. [4], Heavier machine guns were used in fixed mode as anti-aircraft weapons or carried disassembled due to their weight, to be used in set piece assaults. R-Han 122 is a family of rocket artillery developed by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) of Indonesia with maximum speed Mach 2.95 (3,614 km/h) and maximum range of 32 km. The 122 mm D-74, a towed gun that entered Soviet service in 1955, was the most numerous gun in the NVAs five independent artillery regiments. A major factor contributing to their success was the remarkable logistical support they created in an integrated network of bases, sanctuaries and lines of communication. The range was approx 20km . Medical care like other aspects of the logistical system was austere, and field hospitals, whether in caves, underground bunkers or jungle huts usually suffered shortages. Current use. The rockets vary . Sakr-18 [Egyptian] 122-mm Multiple Rocket Launcher. The North Vietnamese were quick to take advantage of the leverage afforded under both Johnson and Nixon. 4, Issue 3, pps. Note that all Soviet weapons also had common Chinese copies. 37169, Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History, (Viking Press: 1983) pp. The hole in the ground between the boots is the results of a small VC mortar round. [48], Movement techniques. The bombing began with the expectation that it would break the will of the enemyalthough many questioned its capability to do so. PAVN headquarters in Hanoi was responsible for the coordinating the North to South logistical effort. US policymakers made ground attack against Trail networks in these countries off limits, (until limited operations were permitted late in the War) and North Vietnamese forces took full advantage of this to move massive quantities of men and material into South Vietnam to attack US and ARVN troops. Having plenty of both time and manpower, this "relay" method economized on wear and tear upon the valuable trucks, and maximized hiding opportunities from prowling US aircraft. These attacks removed many of the restrictions upon previous American targeting, seeded Northern waters with mines that cut Soviet and Chinese imports to a trickle, exhausted national air-defenses and crippled whatever significant remaining industrial plant and transportation network was left in the North. Three more batteries were stationed around the Chu-Lai airstrips in the "Rocket Pocket", the target of 122mm rockets day and night, during '69's post TET offensive. cit, John Prados, The Blood Road, (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998), p. 2-45, Colonel Jack Broughton, Thud Ridge, (J. This video is from that back yard ceremony where Hendrickson received the award. The 559th Transport Group was the biggest of the three, numbering an estimated 50,000 troops with 100,000 civilian porters in support. United States Air Force, Taylor Branch. [Source: Washington Post] . There are a total of [ 8 ] Vietnam War Mortars entries in the Military Factory. One morning a bunch of us Blues were standing down at the helipad waiting for our choppers to arrive to fly us out for a recon mission. These rockets are launched from a LAU-10 container, with a capacity for 4 units.. [40], Dispersal of assets and pre-positioning of material. Delayed action bombs caused special problems. [26] By 1966, some 130 SAM batteries were in North Vietnam by US estimates, manned primarily by Russian crews. . A variety of ''homemade'' launching systems were developed, with the most common being a simple set of steerage wheels (metal), attached to a low elevation mechanism. The Rear Services grouping provided logistical support for military operations, such as digging bunkers or hauling supplies. 152175, Clodfelter. By 1973, gun batteries had been supplemented with Soviet-supplied surface to air missiles on various parts of the Trail. [3], Northern leader Le Duan chose to defy US airpower, arguing that though Hanoi, Haiphong or other cities were destroyed, the Vietnamese people would not be intimidated, and called for a massive war mobilization of reserves. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily primary operator. Most material movement in bulk was not by gangs of sweating laborers, but modern Soviet-supplied trucks. Many 122mm Rockets were deployed against US Air Bases as well as US Army Base Camps throughout their history. [47] Recruits were generally given an optimistic picture of conditions in the south, with claims that victory was close at hand and that they would be welcomed as liberators by their oppressed southern brethren. The 11,000 artillery rounds and several thousand rockets fired that day were a clear demonstration that the North Vietnamese Army had improved and expanded its artillery arm. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. All rights reserved. Usually, a siren would blow to indicate an incoming mortar attack. There is also a few pics of a 122mm rocket attack that punched a hole in the roof of the units hanger on 23 Feb 1969. 27 Apr 2023 08:27:47 We pay our respects to elders past and present. Movement was at night to avoid American air attacks. Defense secretary McNamara initially opposed striking the missile batteries because he feared killing Chinese or Soviet technicians working at the sites. Of all the enemy rockets fired, that was the only known dud. PAVN troops also faced US movement, auditory and chemical ("people sniffer") sensors on various parts of the Trail. [12] The Trail was a complex web of roads, tracks, bypasses, waterways, depots, and marshaling areas, some 12,000 miles (19,000km) in total. It was only after the shift to conventional warfare in the 1972 Easter Offensive, and the final conventional campaign in 1975 (when US airpower had vacated the field) that tanks and heavy batteries were openly used in significant numbers. This delay allowed PAVN defenders time to reinforce the sites with additional anti-aircraft guns, which damaged several US aircraft and shot down six. Different 122mm rockets have ranges of four to forty kilometers. [28], Medical care. They were originally designed for use against armored vehicles but it was adapted for anti-personnel use to good effect. The Zuni were used in the campaigns of the Marines and the Air Force of the US Naval Forces in Vietnam, between the years 1960-1970. Washington, D.C.: Air Force Museums and History Program, 2005, p. 39, Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People's Army of Vietnam, 19541975. Generally there was ten minutes of rest per hour, with one day of rest every five. Camouflage was used heavily. Late war PAVN special units, such as c Cng sappers, even made use of some modern SA vz. 26, French FM 24/29, Soviet DP-28, captured M1918 BAR automatic rifles and even ex-german MG-34 (for Anti-Air use). A massive American effort in the air failed to stop the men and material pushed forward by Hanoi. Steep mountain slopes had steps gouged into them for climbing. Primarily an agrarian country with little industrial and technical base, North Vietnam compared poorly with the advanced material and technical systems of its American opponent, and often invoked a David versus Goliath comparison in its propaganda campaigns. The country continued to function for war despite the aerial onslaught. Many of those who survived their time on the battlefield continue to suffer from wounds, illnesses, and social neglect decades after the war had ended. [49], Another technique used to lower casualties and loss was to separate the movement of men from the movement of material. [41], Road and bridge repair methods. VC/PAVN logistics were marked by austerity, but sufficient supplies, equipment and material were on hand to furnish final victory. Fin stabilization was used (4 on the tail of the rocket). The Wrong War: Why We Lost in Vietnam, pp 753, Bombing As a Policy Tool In Vietnam: Effectiveness. Known to the North Vietnamese as the Truong Son Strategic Supply Route, the Central Committee of the Lao Dong Party ordered construction of routes for infiltration as early as 1959, under the 559 Transport Group. Staff Sgt Dave Roger. Bridges across water obstacles were often built under water, difficult to detect from the air, and multiple crossing points were developed. The phrase was also used in Vietnam to describe similar underground sniping holes used by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese, according to the US army Military History Institute. From 1965-1972 DaNang Air Base was hit by approx 1000 122mm rockets . One US intelligence estimate puts external communist supply requirements for Communist forces in South Vietnam at approximately 100 tons per day- 15 tons via the DMZ, 35 tons from Cambodia and 50 tons from Laos.[8]. Soviet ships also aided dispersal by bringing in fuel and other material already pre-packed in drums, offloaded on to barges for quick distribution, with the ships themselves off-limits to US air attack. Esoteric American technology- such as the Calgon brand "mud maker" compounds deployed to slow movement on the Trail were met with typical PAVN practicality. This page is not available in other languages. Effective firing range. Photo: YouTube/Denver7 - The Denver Channel It handled all storage, movement, anti-aircraft defense and fortification on the Ho Chi Minh Trail which snaked through parts of Laos and Cambodia. Thesis (2004). [50], A daily march cycle might begin at 4:00am with a pause around noon, and continuation until dusk-6:00pm. There are some defeats more triumphant than victories. Data collated from the sensors were analyzed to predict the movement of PAVN convoys and units. Fighting a mobile guerrilla war much of the time, the VC/PAVN could not deploy large quantities of heavy artillery or tanks. 1968. . Unauthorised Copying of any kind is strictly prohibited. US Marines pushed the Vietnamese Communist Units back 20 Km so they could not hit DaNang AirBase. . North Vietnamese - Viet Cong used specialised BM 21 single round manportable tripod rocket launchers, developed by the Soviets as the Grad P which were originally intended for use by Spesnatz and other specialised users. Swiney was there. However overall control was always in the hands of party cadres at all levels, from province down to village. June 24: A PAVN 122mm rocket struck the Thanh Tam Hospital in Ho Nai, Bin Ha Province, killing one patient.