Booby Traps in the Vietnam War
Booby Traps were heavily utilized during the Vietnam War. The main purpose of these instruments of war was to delay and frustrate the enemy. These weapons put a great stress and psychological fear in the minds of soldiers. Just as John Wade from In the Lake of the Woods had a great psychological damage from the war, many of the real soldiers of the war had similar issues. The soldiers who fought in Vietnam were mostly drafted. Many of them were city boys with no outdoor experience. Even to the outdoorsman, booby traps were an everyday fear, but for a city boy there was an even greater risk. Someone who had no outdoor experience would never even know if something was out of place in the foliage. Any step could be the soldiers' last.
Effects of Booby Traps:
-confusion and sluggishness as a prelude to an ambush
-bring morals down with each time a soldier is maimed or killed by a trap
-under perpetual stress
-soldiers are forced to slow down in search of more booby traps
-caution replaces agression
-no-go areas are created after the death or maiming of a soldier
-a section or platoon is slowed in order to deal with casualties
-bring morals down with each time a soldier is maimed or killed by a trap
-under perpetual stress
-soldiers are forced to slow down in search of more booby traps
-caution replaces agression
-no-go areas are created after the death or maiming of a soldier
-a section or platoon is slowed in order to deal with casualties
Likely Areas of Placement:
-abandoned houses left in a village
-items with any amount of value to the soldiers
-strategic locations such as airfields or railway stations
-a place capable of being opened {ie: door, cupboard}
-bridges (usually the ones that soldiers were forced to cross either way)
-abandoned vehicles with possible bait to lure the soldiers in
-items with any amount of value to the soldiers
-strategic locations such as airfields or railway stations
-a place capable of being opened {ie: door, cupboard}
-bridges (usually the ones that soldiers were forced to cross either way)
-abandoned vehicles with possible bait to lure the soldiers in