7 Myths You Probably Believe About the Vietnam War l Vietnam War Facts l Vietnam War Memorial l Vietnam War Timeline

Myth #2: The Viet Cong Were Rag-Tag Renegades

One repeated image of the war in Vietnam is Americans surrounded by vast amounts of weapons, ammunition and equipment. Meanwhile, the Viet Cong are portrayed as a poorly armed, untrained bunch of misfits who managed to win a war through sheer luck. In fact, the North Vietnamese had the full support of both the Russians and Chinese, who supplied Ho with tanks, anti-aircraft guns, heavy artillery, the latest weapons and an unlimited supply of ammunition, food and medicine. The Soviets gear was so good that the Chinese kept stealing it for themselves – forcing the irked Russians to quit shipping war materials through China.