Editing Search and destroy (section)

== Vietnam War ==

Search and destroy became an offensive tool that was crucial to [[General (United States)|General]] [[William Westmoreland]]'s second phase during the [[Vietnam War]]. In his three-phase strategy, the first was to tie down the [[Viet Cong]], the second phase was to resume the offensive and destroy the enemy, and the third phase was to restore the area under South Vietnamese government control. Most "Zippo" missions (so named for the [[Zippo]] lighters used to set fire to villages believed to be aligned with the Viet Cong) were assigned to the second phase around 1966 and 1967, along with clear-and-secure operations. Search-and-destroy missions entailed sending out [[platoon]]s, [[company (military)|companies]], or larger detachments of US troops from a fortified position to locate and destroy communist units in the countryside. These missions most commonly involved hiking out into the "[[Boondocks|boonies]]" and setting an [[ambush]] in the brush, near a suspected Viet Cong trail. The ambush typically involved the use of fixed [[M18 Claymore mine|Claymore antipersonnel mines]], crossing lines of [[small arms]] fire, [[mortar (weapon)|mortar]] support, and possibly additional [[artillery]] support called in via radio from a nearby [[fire support base]].

In February 1967, some of the largest Zippo missions were conducted in the [[Iron Triangle (Vietnam)|Iron Triangle]], between [[Saigon]] and Routes 13 and 25. The area had a mass centre of [[Viet Cong]] logistics and headquarters, with some of the most high-ranking NLF officials stationed there. The offensive began with [[Operation Junction City]], where the American units assigned had destroyed hundreds of tons of [[rice]], killed 720 guerrillas, and captured 213 prisoners. However, the number of defenders in the Iron Triangle area was thought to be over 10,000. The offensive failed to destroy the NLF's headquarters or to capture any high-ranking officers and so it had little effect toward Hanoi's plan. Both search-and-destroy and clear-and-hold missions stretched into the third phase, which began in 1968. The number of missions mounted, especially after the US was hit by General [[Võ Nguyên Giáp]]'s [[Tet offensive]] in 1968. As the war grew more aggressive, so did the missions, and search-and-destroy and clear-and-secure operations became merged.

Search-and-destroy missions had many flaws. First, there was lack of distinction between clearing and search-and-destroy missions. Thus, clearing missions, which were less aggressive, eventually morphed into a more violent and brutal form of [[military tactics|tactic]], just as search-and-destroy missions were. With the lack of distinction between clearing, and search-and-destroy missions, pacification was not pushed. Such a response led to the [[Mỹ Lai massacre]] of 1968, where American troops massacred at least 347 Vietnamese civilians. [[Guenter Lewy]], a professor of [[Political Science]] at the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]], argued that the generals and war planners severely underestimated the enemy's abilities to match and even to exceed US forces.<ref>George C. Herring, ''American Strategy in Vietnam: The Postwar Debate''.</ref> Large numbers of Viet Cong troops would be killed or captured, but they were quickly replaced. Enemy forces were initially pushed out of certain territories, but as soon as the American forces left the areas, they simply returned with more reinforcements and weapons.

The effectiveness of the missions is also doubtful. In one of the first search-and-destroy missions northwest of [[Dầu Tiếng]], named [[Operation Attleboro]], a US report states that 115 U.S. soldiers were killed, and the North Vietnamese lost 1,062. In Operation Junction City, the report also states that 282 US soldiers were killed, and the Viet Cong lost 1,728 guerrillas. Those estimated figures, however, should be considered in light of how they were obtained. They were almost exclusively gathered by indirect means: sensor readings, sightings of secondary explosions, reports of defectors or prisoners of war, and inference or [[extrapolation]].<ref>Dougan and Weiss, p. 55.</ref>