Osprey Fortress 48 : Viet Cong and NVA Tunnels and Fortifications of the Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong (VC) main forces and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) were forced to hide weapons and supplies underground and to dig protective shelters to counter massive US firepower. Their field works defended villages, hidden base camps, and fortified complexes, and took the form of trench systems, individual fighting positions, crew-served weapon positions, bunkers, caches, and extensive tunnel complexes. Camouflage and deceptive measures, and the employment of obstacles and booby traps, went hand-in-hand with such works. This book takes a detailed look at the VC and NVA tunnel systems, field fortifications, base camps and camouflage and concealment measures employed during the Vietnam conflict. Text by Gordon L Rottman with illustrations by Lee Ray, Chris Taylor and Alex Mallinson.

Contents

• Introduction
• The Nature of the Land and the War
• Building and Manning the Defenses
• Construction Techniques and Materials
• Field Fortifications
• Camps and Villages
• Tunnel Systems
• Tackling the Tunnels and Fortifications
• The Test of Battle
• An Assessment of the Fortifications
• The Sites Today
• Bibliography and Further Research
• Abbreviations
• Index