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numerous advantages over their
British opponents, including residing in closer proximity to the countryside's population and having familial relations or close friendships among local villagers. While MNLA insurgents rarely directly engaged British forces, they frequently targeted civilians to elicit material support. Patrols in the jungle, a common part of British S&D operations, were unpopular with the troops due to having to spend significant periods of time navigating unfamiliar terrain filled with dangerous animals and insects while concomitantly watching out for MNLA ambushes. British forces, unable to distinguish friend from foe, had to adjust to the constant risk of an insurgent attack. These fears led to incidents such as the
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376:, 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
333:, 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
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365:, argued that the generals and war planners severely underestimated the enemy's abilities to match and even to exceed US forces. 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.
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Ultimately, many
British officials came to the conclusion that their S&D tactics were working poorly. Troops assigned to S&D missions would often use heavy-handed tactics on individuals and settlements suspected of supporting the MNLA, alienating the local population. MNLA insurgents held
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for S&D missions against the MNLA. Ferret Force personnel would gather intelligence, including from native informants and prisoners, as to the whereabouts of MNLA insurgents, which would then be provided to troops assigned to S&D operations. Once MNLA insurgents had been flushed out, they
173:, which entailed military forces clearing an area of enemy personnel and then keeping the area clear of enemies while winning the local population's support, was developed around the same period and used alongside the search and destroy strategy.
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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
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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
269:, 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
349:, 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
282:, 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 "
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tactics such as being denied sources of food and shelter, before either surrendering or being killed in a direct military engagement, most commonly an
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forces into hostile territory and directing them to search and then attack enemy targets before immediately withdrawing. First used as part of
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in 1968. As the war grew more aggressive, so did the missions, and search-and-destroy and clear-and-secure operations became merged.
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logistics and headquarters, with some of the most high-ranking NLF officials stationed there. The offensive began with
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The effectiveness of the missions is also doubtful. In one of the first search-and-destroy missions northwest of
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in the brush, near a suspected Viet Cong trail. The ambush typically involved the use of fixed
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of 1968, where
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26:"Seek and destroy" redirects here. For the Metallica song, see
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265:. In his three-phase strategy, the first was to tie down the
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Bloods: An Oral
History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans
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American soldier searching a Vietnamese house for
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and Routes 13 and 25. The area had a mass centre of
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