ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Viet Cong and PAVN strategy, organization and structure

Okay kiddo, let me explain what the Viet Cong and PAVN were all about.

During the Vietnam War, there were two main groups fighting against the United States and the South Vietnamese government. One was the Viet Cong, also known as the National Liberation Front (NLF), and the other was the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), also known as the North Vietnamese Army.

The Viet Cong was made up of Vietnamese people who lived in the South and opposed the government that was supported by the American troops. They fought using guerrilla tactics, which means they would attack suddenly and then disappear quickly. This made it difficult for the American troops to fight them because they didn't know where they were coming from or where they were hiding.

The PAVN was based in the North and they were a more traditional army with more conventional weapons and tactics. They were led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, who was a skilled military strategist. He planned attacks using a combination of infantry, artillery, and tanks to overwhelm the American forces.

Both the Viet Cong and PAVN had a hierarchical organization, which means they had leaders and different levels of soldiers. The leaders would make plans and give orders to the soldiers below them. This helped to keep everyone organized and focused on their mission.

The Viet Cong were organized into cells, which were small groups of fighters who worked together. Each cell had a leader who would report to a higher-level leader. This made it difficult for the American troops to track down and defeat the Viet Cong because they were scattered around and didn't have a central location.

The PAVN had a more traditional army structure with divisions, regiments, and battalions. They also had a system of political commissars who were in charge of maintaining morale and loyalty to the Communist Party.

Overall, the strategy of the Viet Cong and PAVN was to wear down the American forces through a combination of guerrilla tactics and traditional military attacks. By the end of the war, they had been successful in driving the Americans out of Vietnam and reunifying the country under Communist rule.