What was the purpose of the famous Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam?
In addition to providing underground shelter, the Cu Chi tunnels served a key role during combat operations, including as a base for Communist attacks against nearby Saigon.
What were the Cu Chi tunnels in the Vietnam War?
The Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam are a fascinating 200 km system of underground tunnels. You can visit Cu Chi from Ho Chi Minh City on a day tour. Setting off in a comfortable minibus, we left Ho Chi Minh on a full-day tour to explore the famous battlegrounds of the Vietnam War.
What could be found in the Cu Chi tunnels?
Air, food and water were scarce, and the tunnels were infested with ants, venomous centipedes, snakes, scorpions, spiders, and rodents. Most of the time, soldiers would spend the day in the tunnels working or resting and come out only at night to scavenge for supplies, tend their crops, or engage the enemy in battle.
How deep are Cu Chi tunnels?
10 metres
Digging the tunnels At the total length of 250 kilometres and depth of 10 metres, the systematic network stretched from suburbs of Saigon to the Cambodian border and often passed beneath the American bases.
What was the significance of the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam?
During the war in Vietnam, thousands of people in the Vietnamese province of Cu Chi lived in an elaborate network of underground tunnels. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals,…
Did you know there were tunnels in Saigon?
At its peak during the Vietnam War, the network of tunnels in the Cu Chi district linked VC support bases over a distance of some 250 kilometers, from the outskirts of Saigon all the way to the Cambodian border. Did you know?
How many people died in the Cu Chi tunnels?
Tourism in the Cu Chi Tunnels. In all, at least 45,000 Vietnamese men and women are said to have died defending the Cu Chi tunnels over the course of the Vietnam War. In the years following the fall of Saigon in 1975, the Vietnamese government preserved the Cu Chi tunnels and included them in a network of war memorial parks around the country.
What did the guerrillas do in the tunnels?
Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes, scorpions, spiders and vermin. Most of the time, guerrillas would spend the day in the tunnels working or resting and come out only at night to scavenge for supplies, tend their crops or engage the enemy in battle.