C von Chi tunnel
The Củ Chi tunnels are a system of tunnels in which Vietnamese partisans hid in the Vietnam War from 1960 to 1975. The district of Củ Chi , after which the tunnels are named, is located in the administrative area of Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (Hồ Chí Minh City) .
Củ Chi during the Vietnam War
.jpg)
The first Củ Chi tunnels were built in 1948 during the war against the colonial power of France to protect weapons, supplies and people. After the Japanese had triumphed over the French occupiers and they were later driven out, the United States sent troops to Vietnam . When they set up a headquarters not far from Củ Chi , they had no idea that the enemy was lurking underground. In the 1960s, Vietnamese partisans , the Viet Cong , massively expanded the tunnel system in terms of extent and depth, until it finally grew to a total length of 200 kilometers on three levels. Entire cities had sprung up underground with schools, hospitals , offices and sleeping quarters. The underground buildings were connected by tunnels approx. 80 cm high and 60 cm wide. Folding doors camouflaged with grass and leaves served as entrances. The entrances were also secured by simple but effective traps like bamboo skewers.
The Củ Chi Tunnels are located approx. 70 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City in the Củ Chi Land District.
The district was the base position of the Viet Cong during the Tet Offensive . Thanks to this tunnel system, the surprising and quick attack on Saigon with the short-term occupation of the US embassy by the Vietnamese liberation movement was possible. The Tet Offensive is considered to be the turning point in all historical studies of the war. By 1968, the American public was led to believe that the war would soon be won. The short-term occupation of the American embassy by the Viet Cong made the public and above all the press aware of the American war. From this point on, the anti-war movements grouped in America, which contributed to the end of the Vietnam War.
The tunnel system had three floors. The top one was three to four meters below the ground. The second floor was six meters underground and served as a shelter for children, the elderly and injured soldiers. The lowest, 8-10 meters underground, housed hospitals and other healing facilities. Despite repeated attempts by the American armed forces , they did not succeed in destroying the tunnels - neither by flooding, nor by heavy bombardment with B-52 bombers, nor by introducing poisonous gas into the facility. According to an American commander, the destruction of the entire tunnel system was not possible because of its depth and extent. Of the estimated 18,000 resistance fighters, a third perished in combat. The tunnel residents had to endure constant attacks from poisonous snakes, rats and other vermin. The enormous heat in the entire tunnel was also a major problem.
The attempt to collapse the tunnels by bombing them by B-52 bombers failed. Since the Vietnamese had installed a kind of siphon , the introduction of gas was also ineffective. Finally, " tunnel rats " (special units for entering the tunnels) were used.
Modern times
In Củ Chi most of the tunnel systems have fallen into disrepair or have been buried. Only a few corridors have been preserved, in which a museum commemorates the resistance of the Viet Cong. There you can see a 90 meter long section of the corridors, which have been enlarged especially for western tourists to 1.20 meters high and 0.80 meters wide.
literature
- Tom Mangold, John Penycate: The Tunnels of Cu Chi. Berkley Books, New York 1985, ISBN 0-425-08951-7 .
- Frederick Forsyth: The Avenger. Goldmann, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-442-45950-8 .
- Andreas Margara : The American War - Culture of Remembrance in Vietnam. Regiospectra, Berlin 2012, ISBN 3940132489 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://english.vietnamnet.vn/photogal/201005/Underground-maze-spiderwebs-beneath ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
Web links
Coordinates: 11 ° 3 ′ 39.6 ″ N , 106 ° 31 ′ 33.6 ″ E