Life Inside the Vietcong Tunnels (Cross Section) 

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The VC even had a captured American M48 tank underground. It was still functional. They utilized its power for lighting and radio.

Visited a few of these tunnels in vietnam. They were so small that almost immediately got claustrophobic. The tunnels that I visited were even the big ones. Can't even imagine how ruff it would be to live those for months. 😵‍💫

8:21 I love how the Vietnamese soldier goes and high-fives the Americans after they failed to gas his tunnel XD

Nice touch with the insects and pests! This is no doubt a serious issue that no one ever seems to speak about regarding those tunnels. I couldn't last one hour inside one of them

huge respect to these people tbh. They literally had nothing and destroyed the most heavily funded military in the world.

From the Vietnamese perspective: You're in a hole in the dark. You just made it back from ambushing an American convoy. A few friends didn't make it back. You heard the screams of the immobilized die out as the forest burns along with them. You pause as the ground shakes and you hear American vehicles and chatter above you. You would be scared but you are too desensitized after hearing that your wife and daughter were slaughtered by a gi death squad that came through your village. Filled with rage, when the order comes you pop out of your hole and charge with fury at the GIs. From the American perspective" You walk through the jungle, a fresh GI. You don't want to be here but you got drafted. You hear stories about the awful things the Vietnamese do to captives. You've only made one friend since you've been here but he was killed by a little girl with a hand grenade. suddenly you hear yelling as many Vietnamese pop out of no where. No winners in War guys.

My uncle was a tunnel rat in Vietnam and somehow made it through three tours. I can't imagine going in a tunnel once let alone the hundreds of times he did.

Surprised the concept of a tunnel rat hasn't been used as a close quarters fps game with randomly generated tunnels to clear out. A very terrifying experience

Damn, the Vietnamese were very smart.

8:26 Nice original black ops campaign reference right here 😁 As Darlene Snell said, “Did the Viet Cong have to win? No, they just had to not lose”

"They're hiding in the trees!" no John, they're hiding in tunnels

Great respect to the VC in facing an overwhelming enemy.

its such a weird coincidence that in my history class TODAY, we discussed the vietcong tactics and their lifestyles and this vid gets posted the same day

“I cut my teeth in the trenches of the Somme, you larped your Santa Claus butt to Vietnam!” JRR Tolkien

My high school Algebra teacher served in Vietnam as a tunnel rat. He shared a few stories and how he said how he developed a six sense and how you can feel the presence when someone was near.

All Soldiers are great but the VC are next level...their dedication and the lack of tool against the enemy, they are amazing!

Anyone gonna talk about how we finally see the narrator’s face?

US Soldier: Why is there wedding music coming out of ground? 4:25

There was a large tunnel group right under a major US Army base(I think it was the 25th infantry in the CHU CHI area.

These heroes defended their home from an invasion despite the terrifying odds, severe casualties and many atrocities against them. This was the beginning of an era when the Americans stopped being the good guys.

8:22 The American and the VC just casually high five.

They’re in the ground…THEYRE IN THE GODDAMN GROUND! I’d love if you guys could cover the history of guerrilla tactics. Including the Vietcong’s methods.

I’ve always wanted to know how they lived and survived through guerrilla warfare. Fascinating stuff keep it up!!

I grew up as an army brat in the late 80s, early 90s, I was told a lot of stories about the tunnels the VC use to make and was fascinated. I really wanted to learn how to dig out a cave.

Palestinians are fighting the same kind of occupation. Free free Palestine.

It always impresses me with the sheer ingenuity of guerrilla warfare! I can only imagine all of the twists and turns of such tunnels and what booby traps to use. And yet they seem to me more creative than I could’ve ever thought possible!

The realistic art of the ending evacuation, one person getting on the chopper wearing plaid pants is so spot on!

This war taught the US that they were not invincible!

Very good job fellows throughout the 2nd century educational week of said May!! Congratulations y'all. I’d love it with you guys could cover the history of guerrilla tactics. Including the Vietcong’s methods.

Charlie didn't get much USO he was dug in too deep or moving too fast. His idea of R&R was cold rice and a little rat meat.

Best vid by simple history so far. Props to the animators for giving it a "Video Game" vibe as a means to mitigate the traumatizing gory affect's.

deserved victory, genius idea, determined soldiers

Yo thank you for making these videos! I am doing a unit in school and I thank you for this vid and keep going! I love the vids!

"It's like an ant hive!" "Bees, man, bees have hives!" "You know what I mean!"

1:52 the Vietcong were the first to discover that placing ladders and torches underwater created air pockets

Moral of the story: Never mess with nature.

They’re in the trees, they’re in the ground, and soon they’ll even be in the goddamn walls.

Great content bro

I was active in the antiwar movement, Trust me when I say this. The longer the war continued, the more Americans, especially young people, openly sided with the VC. Openly and proudly carrying/displaying VC flags in demonstrations. Especially after 1968.

This reminds me more of the flappy cross section books we had as kids than simple history's older videos Just with an cool intro

Wait, I just seen your face for the first time, you were blessed with this voice, sir. I honestly pictured the narrator completely different in my head. I’m actually glad you seem to just look like a “regular dude” if that’s not too weird a way of putting it.

130 miles of underground passages ?!? Oh my The manual labor that went into those - impressive

This is. So fascinating but horrifying at the same time that this just happened. like people lived like this and we could do this again and who would know? Imagine if they were continued like that old civilizations and carved into mountains. That's be nuts

There is a U.S. Army training video on RU-vid from 1969 titled “Tunnel Destruction”. Details how these tunnels were to be dealt with and tools used. Interesting watch. The video is optimistic to say the least.

Ya dont have to win a war ya just have to NOT lose so long as you have home field advantage

As a logistical feat, the Tet Offensive was amazing. As a shocking part of news, especially for the American people who had been told for months that the North Vietnamese had no more fight left in them, it was impressive. As a military operation, it failed horribly. After initial shock, American troops fought back and stopped or took back all lost territory within 2-3 hours. But the real damage was done on the homefront. Politicians and the American public started to drift away from supporting the conflict.

These tactics are now being used by the Hamas Military

Yall just remaking old videos and just making them better. I support that

That is an excellent Black Ops 1 reference at 8:24.

I was in the chu chi tunnels north of saigon in 2005, very small - fun fact, the mongols invaded the area of vietnam as it was back then, 3 times and 3 times were repelled, in the end they made a deal to become like a commonwealth, also the area of afghanistan the mongols could not conquer fully also, so its in their blood not to be pushed around

I love your videos keep it going

Seeing one of the voice actors for the first time gotta be amazing

I'm not surprised the Americans lost these guys were insane!

3:20 for end of ads

Black ops 1 reference?? 8:27

What a resilient force to fight and win against technological superiority with shovels and determination

I remember as a kid in the 80s there was a GI Joe named Tunnel Rat. Sounds like his job REALLY sucked.

western media would be like : America only defending itself against Vietnamese terrorists .

The heroic Vietnamese people fighting for independence and sovereignty.

Its always trippy when you listen to someone's voice for hours and finally see their face.

Love Simple History

Underground tunnels have proven effective in defending against enemy attacks so that the Vietcong can survive the onslaught of American troops... Until now underground tunnels are still used for In war tactics. For example, Hamas troops in the Gaza strip use underground tunnels for defense against Israeli troops

You gotta admire their determination.

Perfect considering my GCSE revision covers this topic. Thanks for covering it!

There is a similar tunnel system in the countryside of Hong Kong. It was built by the Japanese as a machine gun position. There is a stone bed and a staircase leading to another exit.

Just the thought of huge insects, rats, and poisonous snakes would give me the creeps gong down there in those tunnels. I see why my brother-n-law joined the Navy(1968-72) instead of the Army.🤦🏾‍♂

Thank you for your service, VC.

I am from Vietnam. The Cu Chi tunnels are not as long and wide as you might think; they consist of small tunnels. Many Viet Cong members suffocated in these tunnels when American tanks passed over. To delve deeper into this history, read the memoir of Duong Dinh Loi, a communist who lived and fought against U.S. and South Vietnamese troops in Cu Chi from 1964 to 1970. Loi once nearly suffocated while hiding in a tunnel but was revived by a nurse’s urine-soaked cloth.

Ah yes, the Ku Chi tunnels... Takes me back to Friday nights 😶😂🤣

Using The Vietcong tunnels as an offense/defense is awesome & scary man.

There was a movie called Vietnam misfortune or something like that and it was the first time I learned about he tunnels. Grim and claustrophobic is the only words i can come up with to describe the film. Edit: it's 'Tunnel Rats (2008)'

Cross sections are neat

This describes the tunnels very well.

Alex Mason:"Rat Tunnel up ahead." Frank Woods:"I see it."

When the Maori of New Zealand faced the British in the NZ wars in the nineteenth century, they had earth fortifications called Pa. Surrounded by palisades, these earth fortifications had multi layered zig zag trenches, hidden firing pits, tunnels, and bomb proof bunkers. There are documentaries on RU-vid about these wars. British historian Lindybeige on his RU-vid channel tells a fascinating tale of one such battle, called the ' battle of Gate Pa '. A riveting story about the British laying seige to, and then storming, a Maori Pa. outnumbered and outgunned, they proved formidable opponents. The British could not believe that mere savages could have such ingenuity and innovation in warfare. The story teller does a wonderful job of setting the scene, heightening the suspense, and describing the carnage. You'll see why Maori pop up on all top 10 greatest warrior lists alongside the Spartans and Samurai.

amazing

4:32 sounds like the plot of some post-human sci-fi novel.

The allies in the Tet offensive were caught by surprise but prevailed over the nova and vc

Remember, you cannot win over an entire nation.

The Americans build their base of Saigon on top of a tunnel network that was used against the French Earlier. This allowed the Vietcong to sneak into the base and steal supplies from the Americans, without them ever finding out.

Just watching this makes me feel claustrophobic.

8:32 This reminds me the moment in CoD BO. I tried to save my teammate but it is always too late

Legend has it people are still living underground

Glory to the Vietcong!!

Ngl I've always thought underground civilizations were dope AF. I love the idea of living underground and while I wouldn't want to in this fashion I think an underground city would be badass.

FYI, revolvers except the Russian Nagant revolver can't typically be suppressed. Also, suppressors were pretty rare in the Vietnam War. Just thought that might help with the animation. Otherwise fantastic video- I've always wanted to know more about the tunnels!

You can't fight an enemy if you can't see him/her.

When I was doing pest control I had a customer who was a tunnel rat from 67-69. He says if you ever want an adrenaline rush go into an enemy tunnel with nothing but a 1911 and a military flashlight

*Being a tunnel rat in this war sounds like it was an absolute nightmare!!!*

VC's were absolute geniuses

You have to admit the Viet Cong and NVA had a lot of guts to be able to live in those deplorable conditions almost 24/7 for months and years in those dark and cold tunnels

4:08 is that Pol pot?

I love this chanle, it is educational

One of the best youtube channels 👌

"Like army ants?" 🐜

First time I’ve seen the face to the voice. Unexpected and awesome. Love listening to you. Thnx bud

Good Video/Info.

Cinema Room? Damn, they living da good life!

8:25 Lol the vc just come up and highfive the squad 😂