Bicycles key to Vietnamese victory
2004-02-22 08:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
archershipshttp://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/5265/militaryhpvhistory.htm
•1950-1975, Vietnamese War: The Viet Minh used bicycle porters against the French during the early 1950s, and in 1954, they laid siege to and captured the huge base French base at Dien Bien Phu using supplies brought in almost entirely by bicycle. Ironically, the primary bicycle they used was a North Vietnamese-produced version of a French Peugeot bicycle. Although some trucks were used, it was primarily 200,000 bicycles that kept the 50,000 Vietnamese troops supplied.
When loaded, the bicycles were generally pushed rather than ridden. A bamboo pole was tied across the handlebars to provide a tiller, and the bike would be piled with up to 500 pounds of supplies. With one hand on the tiller, and one hand on the seat, the bike would be pushed by porters hundreds of miles down hidden jungle trails to supply insurgent troops. When emptied, the porter could ride it back for another load. Although not terribly fast, the bikes were inexpensive, quiet, easily hidden, and nearly invisible from the air.
When the French left, and the country was partitioned, the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese began fighting the South Vietnamese and the Americans, and bicycle porters were again put to use by the insurgents. Even with massive American air power, the allies were unable to stop the flow of supplies bicycled to the south on the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail. A think tank in the US suggested that US commandos on bicycles working with South Vietnamese troops were the only way to stop the flow of materials, but the idea was dismissed by the Pentagon. One American officer ruefully commented that what they needed was a "bicycle bomb."
In fact, in another sense, the Viet Cong used bicycle bombs to spread terror. Explosives were put in the frame tubes. Detonating devices were usually put in lights or under the saddle. The bike would be left by a selected target and set off by a timer, or be booby-trapped to explode when moved. By 1975, the American military had left Vietnam so the bicycle had again played a major role in attaining battlefield success.
•1950-1975, Vietnamese War: The Viet Minh used bicycle porters against the French during the early 1950s, and in 1954, they laid siege to and captured the huge base French base at Dien Bien Phu using supplies brought in almost entirely by bicycle. Ironically, the primary bicycle they used was a North Vietnamese-produced version of a French Peugeot bicycle. Although some trucks were used, it was primarily 200,000 bicycles that kept the 50,000 Vietnamese troops supplied.
When loaded, the bicycles were generally pushed rather than ridden. A bamboo pole was tied across the handlebars to provide a tiller, and the bike would be piled with up to 500 pounds of supplies. With one hand on the tiller, and one hand on the seat, the bike would be pushed by porters hundreds of miles down hidden jungle trails to supply insurgent troops. When emptied, the porter could ride it back for another load. Although not terribly fast, the bikes were inexpensive, quiet, easily hidden, and nearly invisible from the air.
When the French left, and the country was partitioned, the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese began fighting the South Vietnamese and the Americans, and bicycle porters were again put to use by the insurgents. Even with massive American air power, the allies were unable to stop the flow of supplies bicycled to the south on the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail. A think tank in the US suggested that US commandos on bicycles working with South Vietnamese troops were the only way to stop the flow of materials, but the idea was dismissed by the Pentagon. One American officer ruefully commented that what they needed was a "bicycle bomb."
In fact, in another sense, the Viet Cong used bicycle bombs to spread terror. Explosives were put in the frame tubes. Detonating devices were usually put in lights or under the saddle. The bike would be left by a selected target and set off by a timer, or be booby-trapped to explode when moved. By 1975, the American military had left Vietnam so the bicycle had again played a major role in attaining battlefield success.