Booby%20Traps%20used%20in%20the%20Vietnam%20War

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Booby Traps used in the Vietnam War

• Jacob Guzdek

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Thesis-Booby Traps used in the Vietnam War

• Did booby traps contribute to the war effeort for
  the VC?
• Yes, I believe they helped a lot as the VC used
  booby traps as a big advantage over the US in
  Vietnam
• I believe that booby traps helped the VC win
  the war over the US
• The US did not know the terrain of the Vietnam
  forests so the VC hid these traps well and killed
  many American soldiers

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Paraphrase

• U.S. troops were moving fast, so I knew they did
  not have any idea the booby traps were there.
  Suddenly I heard some booby traps explode. They
  were reckless and careful when they moved which
  resulted in more booby trap deaths.
• (Ewell, Julian. SHARPENING THE COMBAT EDGE.
• 1976)

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Quote

• They didn't always kill, but they were always
  physical and psychological disablers
• (Sarlin, Ray. One Step from My Grave! . 2003.)
• This quote is saying that even though the booby
  traps did not always kill the soldiers they
  infected them with diseases or just injured them
  enough to keep them out of battle. This hurt the
  soldiers moral because they werent able to fight.

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Thesis

• This graph describes the number of booby trap
  incident relevant to the time of day and if they
  were neutralized or if their were casualties. You
  can see how many booby traps incidents occurred
  everyday.

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Paraphrase

• U.S. troops were staying too close together
  during movement. U.S. troops move single file,
  too close together, causing many booby trap
  casualties. The soldiers should stay together but
  more spread out to prevent these casualties.
• (Ewell, Julian. SHARPENING THE COMBAT EDGE.
• 1976)

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Quote

• The effect mines had on fighting spirit was
  devastating.
• (Sarlin, Ray. One Step from My Grave! . 2003.)
• This was very true because the soldiers couldnt
  really defend themselves from mines. Just not
  knowing where they could be left an effect on the
  soldiers because they were so focused on mines
  they werent focused on actual fighting.

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Thesis

• METHOD OF DETECTION OF ENEMY MINES AND BOOBY
  TRAPS
• Method, number, percent
• Visual, 503, 66.4
• Detonation, 221, 29.2
• Mine Detector, 13, 1.7
• VC Mine Marker, 4, 0.5
• Scout Dog, 4, 0.5
• Informant, 3, 0.4
• Other, 10, 1.3
• Total, 758, 100.0

• This shows all the ways that the US detected
  mines and booby traps and how they stopped them.
  But, still over 240,00 soldiers died from land
  mines and booby traps.

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Paraphrase

• When rice planting time came around at the
  beginning of the wet season the enemy did not rig
  booby traps in the rice paddies so as to avoid
  casualties among the farmers tending to their
  livelihood. In a short period of time our booby
  trap neutralization rate increased from less than
  50 percent to over 70 percent. Not only did we
  increase the percentage of mines and booby traps
  detected without detonation, but by emphasizing
  proper ground formations we were able to reduce
  the number of casualties per detonation, thereby
  protecting our most important asset-the soldier.
• (Sarlin, Ray. One Step from My Grave! . 2003.)

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Quote

• Mines clobber morale because they are unseen,
  and there's no way to fight back.
• (Sarlin, Ray. One Step from My Grave! . 2003.)
• This id true because no one knew when they could
  step on one and you were defenseless because when
  you least expect it, you will set one off.

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Thesis

• LOCATION OF ENEMY DEVICES
• Location, Number, Percent
• Jungle, 274, 36.1
• Trail, 154, 20.3
• Rice Paddy Dike, 101, 13.3
• Canal or Stream Bank, 83, 11.0
• Rice Paddy, 71, 9.4
• Road, 35, 4.6
• Open Field, 21, 2.8
• Intersection of 2, 3, 4, or 6, 10, 1.3
• Structure, 9, 1.2
• Total, 758, 100.0

• This chart shows the location of booby traps
  found by US troops. This shows again that the
  booby traps could be anywhere and because the
  American soldiers did not know the terrain, they
  were at risk at all times.

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Paraphrase

• Anti-personnel mines are intended to kill or
  wound personnel with shrapnel or blast. In fact,
  wounding is often the goal, because it takes more
  men out of combat to look after the victim. There
  are numerous varieties and they are designed to
  operate on the lowest pressures. There were three
  main types of fragmenting AP mines used in
  Vietnam, Bouncing Betty, Claymore and Soviet
  POMZ-2 mine. The VC put their own feces on punji
  sticks just to infect the soldier who stepped on
  them.
• (Ewell, Julian. SHARPENING THE COMBAT EDGE.
• 1976)

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Quote

• "Once you make a false step, a hundred lifetimes
  cannot redeem it.
• (Sarlin, Ray. One Step from My Grave! . 2003.)
• This quote represents the mines and booby traps
  in the forests. One wrong step by any member in
  the company and the whole company is dead or
  injured.

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Thesis

• TYPE Of FIRING DEVICE
• Type Number Percent
• Tripwire, 549, 72.4
• Pressure, 124, 16.3
• Unknown, 27, 3.6
• Cmd Electric, 24, 3.2
• Press/Electric ,8 ,1.1
• Cmd Pull, 1, 0.1
• Other, 25, 3.3
• Total, 758, 100.0

• This is the distribution of how the booby traps
  were set off. This shows how many different ways
  the VC set off the traps and this was to their
  advantage because they kept the American soldiers
  guessing.

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Thesis

• General Statistics Vietnam Casualties
• 11 of deaths and 15 of wounds were caused by
  booby traps and mines
• 2 of wounds were caused by punji stakes

• I believe this represents just how much booby
  traps and mines contributed to the war effort for
  the VC.

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Thesis

• Improvised mines or booby-traps are normally made
  from any materials available at the time. They
  might consist of regular munitions like grenades,
  unexploded artillery rounds or air-dropped bombs
  rigged with a trip wire, pressure switch, command
  detonator or other means. Alternatively, they
  could be non-explosive, like a punji pit or
  swinging spiked log.

• This again shows the many different traps used by
  the VC.

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Works Cited

• Ewell, Julien. "Sharpening the combat
  edge." /www.history.army.mil. Department of the
  army, n.d. Web. 10 Jun 2012. lthttp//www.history.a
  rmy.mil/books/Vietnam/Sharpen/index.htmgt.
• Sarlin, Ray. "One step from my grave."
  www.ichiban1.org. N.p., 2003. Web. 10 Jun 2012.
  lthttp//www.ichiban1.org/html/stories/story_49.htm
  gt.
• "Vietnam war weapons." www.vietnamwar.net.
  N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jun 2012. lthttp//www.vietnamwa
  r.net/VWweapons.htmgt.