Củ Chi Tunnels - Photos And Videos Of The Viet Cong Tunnels.

The Củ Chi tunnel network became legendary during the 1960s for its role in facilitating Viet Cong control of a large rural area only 30km to 40km from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City since 1976). At its peak the tunnel system stretched from the South Vietnamese capital to the Cambodian border; in the district of Cu Chi alone more than 250km of tunnels honeycomb the ground. The network, parts of which were several storeys deep, included countless trapdoors, constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapon factories, field hospitals, command centres and kitchens.

American M41 tank destroyed during the Vietnam War (Ben Dinh, Cu Chi Tunnels) — American M41 Tank destroyed during the Vietnam War (Ben Dinh, Cu Chi Tunnels)

Order Digital Image 11.654 on A4 scale

Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam

Kế hoạch của các điểm tham quan của Củ Chi đào hang ở Bến Đình, Việt Nam — The Plan of the Visiting Points of Củ Chi Tunnels in Ben Dinh, Vietnam

Order Digital Image 11.655 on A4 scale

Cu Chi Tunnel in Vietnam

Passerella per il tunnel di Cu Chi (Ben Dinh, Vietnam) — Walkway to the Cu Chi Tunnel (Ben Dinh, Vietnam)

Order Digital Image 11.656 on A4 scale

Tunnels de Cu Chi au Vietnam

旅游于一体的古芝地道（本网亭，越南） — Tourist in the Cu Chi Tunnel (Ben Dinh, Vietnam)

Order Digital Image 11.657 on A4 scale

The tunnels facilitated communication and coordination between the Viet Cong controlled enclaves, isolated from each other by South Vietnamese and American land and air operations. They also allowed the Viet Cong to mount surprise attacks wherever the tunnels went – even within the perimeters of the US military base at Dong Du – and to disappear suddenly into hidden trapdoors without a trace. After ground operations against the tunnels claimed large numbers of US casualties and proved ineffective, the Americans resorted to massive firepower, eventually turning Cu Chi’s 420 sq km into what BBC journalists Tom Mangold and John Penycate, authors of The Tunnels of Cu Chi, have called ‘the most bombed, shelled, gassed, defoliated and generally devastated area in the history of warfare’.