Cu Chi tunnels, Vietnam

Cu chi, pronounced goo-chee, is an architectural wonder. This systematic network of underground tunnels, around 2 hours journey from Ho Chi Min City, and a short distance away from the town of Cu Chi,  were built under Ben Dinh in Southern Vietnam.
They were originally built during their war of independence from French when they could not match the modern weapons of French forces. These were expanded by Communist guerrilla troops called the Viet Cong (VC) to combat US presence in the Vietnam war for the same reason and had a very strong impact on the outcome of the war.

It took 18 years from 1954 to 1972 to build them and they covered a distance of 250 kms running from the outskirts of Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, to Cambodia.

Model of tunnel layout

Making of the tunnels:
The making of these tunnels was not easy. They were made by digging with bamboo sticks and measured only 35 cms by 35 cms, a size just large for a Vietnamese person to crawl through.

making a tunnel

graphical representation of making a tunnel

After beginning to dig, the soil would be sent up in a bamboo basket to be thrown in bomb crators or dumped into the river. All this was done during night so that no one would see them. The entrance to tunnels was so strategically designed that soon after a surprise attack, VC would disappear into the tunnel through another entrance without being caught.

bomb crator, where the bamboo thicket now is

layout of tunnels

The tunnels were made on four levels, 3 meter below ground was the first level which had traps, vents, firing post; then second level at 7 m having dormitory and kitchen; the level 11 meters below had hospital, ammunition etc. Fourth level with well was the deepest.

One end of tunnel opened to Saigon river. In case, they needed to cross the river, they would either cover their heads with a bamboo basket covered with water hyacinth or would use a bamboo pipe which would jut out for air, something like a snorkelling pipe.

One question that came to my mind was why this place in Saigon? If, you see the picture below, it looks like a paved ground. The soil here is such that it does not need any cement to bind it, so the tunnels till date look as if they have been cemented from inside. This is the laterite clay which is red in color due to high presence of iron and is formed mostly in hot tropical areas. It is porous, so it lets in some amount of air, is soft to dig during rainy season but becomes hard during the dry season. And, of course another reason being its close proximity to Saigon, Saigon river and border of Cambodia.

The climate and the dense forest  both provided a very big advantage to VC and it was not easy for the US army to deal with them.

hard ground

Entrance to tunnel:

tunnel seen after removing the covering board

guide demonstrating how to enter the tunnel

One cannot see any opening on the ground, but on removing the leaves, a small wooden board is seen. Our guide removed it and there was an entrance to a tunnel. Before a person went inside, he had to cover the wooden slab with leaves, hold it straight upward and put it over his head thus covering and camourflaging the entrance. The movement in the tunnel was unidirectional, since they had to crawl to move forward, there was no scope for a person coming from opposite direction.

The entrance or even vents were camouflaged with plants or bamboo. The roots of plants  and trees further strengthened the tunnel walls. The tunnels were able to withstand intense aerial bombings and were only partially destroyed.

cover the slab with leaves                                                                coming out of  the tunnel

Traps:
Life was not easy here and to prevent their being caught, deadly booby traps were installed at places.

Traps

The above trap is a model and it had bamboo spikes here instead of iron spikes as seen.

Above are a few samples of the traps which were laid out. Cupping armpit trap, see saw trap, rolling trap, sticking trap were just a few types of traps designed. Around 11% of US army succumbed to trap deaths and 17% were wounded.

To allow some air to flow, they piled the mud which came out from digging tunnels and made it look like a termite hill and made holes connecting to tunnels. The entrance, or even vents, were camouflaged with plants or bamboo.

Some vents were made facing east to let in some light and some were made in the direction opposite to that of the  of breeze, to let in extra air!

The Americans first refused to accept the presence of these tunnels but soon became aware  of their existence. On knowing that they were somewhere close to the town of Cu Chi, they razed the town of Cu Chi but were surprised when the attacks still continued within their premises, not knowing that the tunnels actually ran beneath their base.

The forests were cleared using bull dozers and trees dragged along. The loose clay would leave foot marks behind. The grass was set on fire but that also did not hamper the spirits of  the VC.

slippers made of tyre

The slippers of VC were made of old  tyres. If, you notice when we put on slippers, the pointed side faces forward and the broad side is towards the heels. But, in order to confuse the enemy, the slippers were worn the other way round so when the footmarks were seen, it gave an impression of person going in the opposite direction!

Life inside the tunnel:
The tunnels, which were highly advanced, were indeed a full underground city, having hospital, schools, entertainment center, weddings, child birth. The intense webbed tunnels connected villages to villages, some even passing under the US bases. In this underground haven, they could "move" without being caught and still undertake guerrilla attacks.

Sometimes, false tunnels with dead end were made to confuse the enemy or a deadly bobby trap would be laid at its end.
Life was very tough and had many risks. People were prone to stomach diseases, threat from snakes, rats, bats and scorpions. Malaria affected many, intestinal diseases were rife.

It was hot, dark and smelt bad. Living in dark for a very long time made people temporarily blind on exposure to sunlight.
I saw a big millipede, this is when the forests have been cleared a lot.

In the above picture, one side of the tunnel goes to Saigon river and the other towards US air base.

Kitchen

Cooking was done during the night, as during the day, smoke coming out could be visible during aerial patrolling.

smoke coming from kitchen vent

well inside the kitchen

Notice the water (shining in camera light) still in the well.

VC conference room

The conference room now has a roof.

inside military workshop

Health bunker

Entering the tunnel:

rules board

tunnel down the stairs

wider tunnels for tourists

A part of these tunnels have been widened and lighted for tourists.The tunnels were small, dark and with little air circulation. I braced myself to enter for a short distance as the tunnel is humid and musty. One can imagine what it must have been those many years back.
Honestly, my husband and I get claustrophobic, even the very thought of going inside the tunnel gave me anxiety pangs.  Bats have made home in the tunnels which are not used for tourists. My daughter dared to go inside so, what you read below is her experience.

"When I saw the opening in the ground, I wasn't sure I would fit through it.  35x35 cm isn't a lot, after all.  I had read that tourists routinely come face to face with multiple bugs and bats in the tunnel, though I was a little scared, I was totally determined to navigate the tunnels. When we got to the tunnel entrance, I saw that the opening had been widened and fitted with lights for tourists. Immeditately after the entrance, we came upon a narrow entryway with a 2 foot drop into the actual tunnel. The tunnel was initially about 4 feet high and I felt comfortable squatting and shuffling. There were a couple of tourists in front of me and a couple behind me and we all shuffled through the tunnel, our hands grazing the walls to make up the dim lighting.  Luckily, I had my smartphone with me and turned on my flashlight. And I am so glad I did! The sporadic lights were definitely not enough and having a light source took away an element of fear in the dark tunnel.  Soon, the heat and humidity caught up with us and the couple behind me escaped through the first exit. I kept going and felt the tunnel narrowing gradually until I had to lie down and scrabble along the ground because squatting was no longer cutting it. I heard one of the tourist's water bottle scrape and squash against the wall ahead of me and wished I'd exited through the first exit too. The heat, humidity, darkness and most of all, not knowing where we are and when the tunnel would end, were chipping at my determination.  Finally the tunnel ended and I realized I'd spend just 10-15 minutes inside.  I don't know how the VC did it for years !"

A taste of VC food, boiled cassava with roasted sesame seeds powder, salt and sugar.

taking a helping

Combat and war:
Many efforts to eradicate the tunnels, from putting liquid explosives, smoke inside the tunnels etc. proved futile. Sniffer dogs were sent to trace VCs, the dogs smelt through the vents, so in order to keep them away VC sprinkled chilli and pepper powder. The other tactic they used was to use the same soap as the enemy did. This confused the dogs even further as they identified the smell as friendly. Furthur, dogs could not idetify the booby traps so fell into into it sustaining injuries.

Heavy bombing, gas and grenade were thrown down the tunnel but did little damage due to the ventilation holes in the tunnels. Flooding the tunnels turned futile, as the VC dug wells which saved the tunnels.

Special soldiers were trained to enter these tunnels to fight VC. They came to be known as the "tunnel rats". With just one weapon and a torchlight, they entered the tunnels. It was a very nerve wrecking experience for these tunnel rats. Unfamiliar territory, small cramped and smelly tunnels, surprise booby traps, poisonous insects and reptiles made the task even more difficult. The Vietnamese prevailed and even today you can see houses of former Vietnemae soldiers {VC} in Ho Chi Minh City which have small statues of dogs outside, indicating the residents survived the war. I came to know about this quite late, so could not take any picture. Maybe, in my next visit, I shall remember to do that.

Napalm, which is a chemical and sticks to body when it comes in contact with fire was used. The effects of napalm are unbearably painful. The burning power is said to be It was first used in WWII. It generates a temperature between 1500 - 2200 degree F, that is seven to ten times more the heat generated by boiling water ! Within a period of eight years, eight million tons of napalm bombs were dropped on Vietnam. It was three times more than used in WWII.

US riverboat spraying Napalm

Napalm explosion

When nothing worked, US army used Agent Orange, a deadly chemical herbicide which wipes out all vegetation. It was used so that the Vietnamese could be deprived of clean food and water and would run to areas controlled by US. By the end of war, twenty million gallons of Agent Orange had been used making the densely forested area and fields barren.

US planes spraying Agent Orange

Traces of war left behind:

destroyed US army tank

Bombs and shells of the US army on Cu Chi town

Atleast, 43,000 Vietnamese lost their lives defending the tunnels. The place was devastated, full of bomb crators, air and water poisoned.

After about 40 years, life is back to normal at this place. Rubber trees with sap collecting cups can be seen by the roadside. Green paddy fields, jackfruit and bread fruit trees are now in full bloom.
But, for some people life has been different.
Agent Orange left devatating effects on the lives of people. 400,000 children were born after the war with deformities. 800,000 people still living have serious health problem and are in need of constant medical attention.

On our day trip, we visited a center for such people who are trying to live their life.

Handicapped handicrafts:

Center near the town of Cu Chi

Vietnam is famous for its lacquer work. This labour intensive work uses duck egg shells and mother of pearl to create wonderful art pieces.

wall plates, the trunk has egg shells

The process of producing such beautiful pieces takes a long time and goes through many hands.

wooden material                                         placing egg shells                                   painted  the egg shells

Small pieces of egg shell are placed carefully on a wooden board with pattern drawn on it.

cutting mother of pearl                        placing over picture               picture ready to be smoothened

    washing and smoothening surface         applying lacquer                                completed picture                                                                                                                   

The wooden board is smoothen with the help of sand paper and water.  Layers of lacquer paint is applied.

It  has been around 30 years since the war finished but people are still suffering the aftermath of war. Whatever may be the outcome of war, but who gets crushed in the conflict? One who has no vested interest, the innocent.
Generations after generations are still suffering. The sight of these pictures shakes you and makes you wonder how man can inflict this on another man. These pictures are a part of war emnants museum.

the famous picture of Napalm use which won the  Pulitzer prize and brought the war to an end

Napalm burns

Third generation children are still bearing the brunt of use of poisons

If the above pictures on the ravages war brings does not disturb and shake you, nothing will.