Vietnam – The Shadow Wars

The Shadow Wars of Vietnam

The Vietnam war was an asymmetrical war, commonly referred to as a guerilla war. For those unfamiliar, it usually involved platoon or company size conflicts, not huge battles. The combat basically consisted of sporadic encounters with the Viet Cong in juggles, rain forests and rice paddies, not the large WWII confrontations to which Americans were accustomed. Large division and battalion size frontal battles determining the outcome were uncommon in Vietnam.

Vietnam was a complex war, not a conflict simply involving winning territory and holding it. Hills and villages would be won, abandoned, or lost, and then won again. It often seemed senseless to our combat troops fighting in in four vastly different geographic Combat Tactical Zones. Each zone had its unique, challenging hostile terrain. Also, the CTZ’s had three different monsoon seasons meaning it was always raining somewhere in Vietnam adding another element to the stifling heat and humidity of SE Asia. Elements the VC were used to, not our troops.

To say adaptation was difficult would be euphemistic. But, our troops did adjust and performed admirably fighting an enemy that did not wear uniforms and hit and ran, often escaping to places “off- limits’’ for pursuit.

Sound crazy? Those were our self-imposed rules of engagement straight from our politicians in DC who micromanaged the war.

Adding to the home field advantage, the VC would resupply, recoup, and move on from the scattered villages throughout the countryside. Often escaping “across the fence” into Laos or Cambodia where our troops were forbidden to pursue them in search and destroy missions.

This critical factor added to the military’s frustration due to a confusing DC policy decision, considered by many a fatal flaw leading to a war of attrition. Actually, it was a mind-boggling restriction to many of the military who served in country. No way to fight a war, not if you intended to win.

In a notable exception in the guerilla war, we engaged the enemy in frontal battles in the 1968 Tet offensive and won decisively, killing over 200,000 enemy VC and NVR troops. And, without losing a major city or village.

But, early on, that frontal war concept was part of the problem. Fighting a guerilla war with a WWII mindset would not and could not work. We gradually adjusted, employing helicopters to reach inaccessible enemy sites in the jungles. Many roads were rudimentary or booby-trapped.

The VC were good at this warfare, having defeated the French with this strategy of attrition, and the Chinese as well for a millennium. Leading the enemy into hostile terrain, ambushing them with hit and run encounters spelled success for the VC. Unfortunately, our administrative leaders led us into this faulty strategy- fighting on their terms, not ours. Seems we failed to learn the lesson of this history.

Self-imposed restrictions on terms of engagement prevented many victories in the field of action. The local villagers were often caught in the crossfire, collateral damage. No wonder we failed to “capture their hearts and minds” of the peasants. This represented a fundamental mistake in our strategy contributing to a bad image of Americans.

Behind all this military action, another unpublicized war went on simultaneously- the “Shadow War’’ conducted by the CIA.  A less well- known clandestine war centered in Saigon, a city of intrigue and conspiracy. Essentially a spy’s paradise, Saigon buzzed day and night gathering vital information, forming conspiracies, and recruiting assets.

Even more secretive, the CIA operated a covert war in Laos with the ‘company’s’ Special Activity Division, a paramilitary force patterned after the Special Forces. The SAD had no restrictions like our military, therefore they could conduct a parallel, covert war “across the fence.” Collaborating with the local tribes, like the Montagnard’s, they interdicted Ho Chi Minh trail activity, monitored radar traffic control, and rescued downed pilots. This covert war was one of the bright spots in the history of the Vietnam war. Another positive, the CIA’s shadow war in Saigon contributed greatly to the intelligence estimates critical to the conduct of the war.

Spying became the norm.

Early in the war, Saigon was spared from most of the battle’s conflict. An elegant city with a splendid mix of Asian and French culture, its private clubs offered splendid moments of escape from the war’s turmoil. One elegant Saigon club in particular captured this atmosphere.

Once inside, it was hard to imagine a war was going on outside. I featured one such country club in my recent historical narrative, RECALL . I’ve excerpted part of a chapter to give you an idea what one isolated part of Saigon was like in 1965. Saigon blended multicultural sophistication with a flare even in the midst of a war. If you were among the in-group, the club was the place to be seen. If you were CIA, it was the place to spy.

THE SCENE: One of my novel’s protagonists, Biff Roberts, the CIA’s deputy station manager, often came to Cercle Sportif Saigonnais to escape … and to spy.

The lush French Colonial country club occupied thirty beautifully landscaped acres in the middle of Saigon, not far from the Presidential Palace. Built in 1920 at the height of the French Colonial era, Cercle still functioned as an exclusive club and a private playground for the aristocracy forty- five years later, despite the ongoing war. This idyllic parkland stood as an enclave of privilege, a virtual paradise in stark contrast to the turmoil taking place in the busy city of Saigon and throughout South Vietnam. American officers considered the club a mirage in a desert of chaos outside its gates.

The Saigon police, Quan Canh, QC, guarded the club’s entrance on Hong Trap Tu Street from terrorist attacks. Dubbed “White Mice” for their attire and pompous behavior, they paraded around in their tailored white uniforms wearing aviator sunglasses reserved for Vietnamese air force crews. Their pretention deserved the derisive description. But, nevertheless they maintained a semblance of order in the madness of downtown Saigon.

Blue and white Renault taxis beeped incessantly trying to negotiate the busy thoroughfare clogged with Honda scooters, pedicabs, bicycles, and crowds of pedestrians attempting to cross the intersection. Diesel and castor oil fumes hung heavily in the humidity, but traffic slowly progressed with a touch of Asian patience and a modicum of manners.

Outside of Cercle’s high walls, occasional tanks and troops would move slowly through the streets already jammed with vehicles of every description, their destination unknown to the public. But, once inside the club’s grounds, jets screaming overhead were the only reminder of the war. This sanctuary insulated the select few from stark reality of fighting the VC, if only for a few hours. It ranked first on Biff Roberts’ shortlist of getaways. But, he often came here often for other reasons, mainly clandestine in nature.

French, Chinese, and Vietnamese rubber- plantation owners, wealthy businessmen, and of course, generals and politicians escaped both the heat and the conflict here. The elegant setting featured a white wooden- framed colonial clubhouse with its classic orange terra cotta tiled roof. This magnificent two- story edifice perched on the hillside overlooked the manicured grounds. Fenestrated balconies with shaded porches overlooked the pool, tennis courts and expansive terraces below. Brilliant red flamed trees interspersed among the palms and tropical flora highlighted the grounds’ vista, a tropical delight that created a pacifying effect for its visitors. A place to sooth raw nerves, a place well suited to privately discuss business, politics, and the ongoing conflict. And, an ideal place to pursue Saigon’s quintessential pastime, conspiracy.

Naturally, Cercle Sportif fit right into Biff’s agenda, a perfect place to escape, a spot to relax and reenergize, a secluded hangout to gather one’s thoughts, and foremost, a perfect place to spy on those conspiring.

I hope that this excerpt gives you a feel for this aspect of Saigon over fifty years ago. Vietnam was not all about combat. Many facets were featured in that war at many levels. A ruling class involving a high-class society influenced by Chinese, French, and Vietnamese cultures suffered little until near the end. This minority existed in stark contrast with most of the population, the peasants in the countryside who bore the brunt of the war. Apolitical, they only wanted to tend to their animals and rice paddies…to pursue a simple life.

Americans were the foreigners in Vietnam. On my first visit to the country club the societal disparity became self-evident once you entered the heavily guarded private gate separating the upper class from the common man in the street.

A “mirage” in the middle of chaos best describes my first impression. I hope my excerpt gets this point across for you.

If you like it, my recently published historical narrative is full of stories like this. I invite you to read RECALL.

Your comments are welcome.