Question About The Vietnamese Flowering Lotus technique

[Jaknight]

I had read about how the Vietnamese used to use a tactic called The flowering lotus where they would get inside the US compound and proceed to attack outwards. Was this effective? Wouldn’t it be suicide to do that? How did the US soldiers counter this?

 

[BuckysBadger24]

I feel like reading about any war throughout history, every side tries to accomplish some form of this for better or worse. Worked out well for the Greeks against Troy. Not necessarily so well for the Germans during the Bulge (arguably).

I would imagine it's relative based on the situation and what you're trying to accomplish. Regarding elements of Tet, it failed considerably on the tactical side. But as we all know it was a major success on the strategic side, whether the North Vietnamese knew it would regardless of their forces being decimated or not. But either way they knew they didn't have to win the war militarily, rather than just outlast our will to keep fighting it.

I've never read it described with that name but in my opinion the ends justified the means for North Vietnam.

 

[policemedic]

Let’s assume such a strategy exists, and let’s further assume it might be effective.

Tell me why we would discuss a technique that could be put to use against our brothers and sisters in harm’s way on a discussion board that anyone—including the enemy—can read and learn from?

 

[AWP]

Ordinarily, I wouldn't go against one of my fellow staff members, but this is kind of silly.

Did anyone bother to research this? Anyone?

Google blooming lotus tactic vietnam

Let me help out here, it isn't revolutionary, it is just a term. "Deep attack", "deep advance", they are all variations of one another that have existed since horses were first used in warfare. The enemy doesn't materialize out of nowhere, it refers to striking to the center of a target and then working outwards. Not very top secret...

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Ordinarily, I wouldn't go against one of my fellow staff members, but this is kind of silly.

Did anyone bother to research this? Anyone?

I’ll claim it. In a hurry and jumped the gun thinking I would get back to it later.

Thanks @AWP for putting this thread back in business.

 

[Teufel]

Ordinarily, I wouldn't go against one of my fellow staff members, but this is kind of silly.

Did anyone bother to research this? Anyone?

Google blooming lotus tactic vietnam

Let me help out here, it isn't revolutionary, it is just a term. "Deep attack", "deep advance", they are all variations of one another that have existed since horses were first used in warfare. The enemy doesn't materialize out of nowhere, it refers to striking to the center of a target and then working outwards. Not very top secret...

The deflowering lotus technique on the other hand is something else entirely.

 

[Gunz]

Ordinarily, I wouldn't go against one of my fellow staff members, but this is kind of silly.

Did anyone bother to research this? Anyone?

Google blooming lotus tactic vietnam

Let me help out here, it isn't revolutionary, it is just a term. "Deep attack", "deep advance", they are all variations of one another that have existed since horses were first used in warfare. The enemy doesn't materialize out of nowhere, it refers to striking to the center of a target and then working outwards. Not very top secret...

With rare exceptions not a very successful tactic in Vietnam. During Tet they got into the US Embassy and managed to ensconce themselves in Hue City and a number of other places. How did that work out? They lost 45,000 dead, 60,000 wounded in that operation alone. (PAVN source)

Their sappers were pretty good at breaching barbed wire and mine fields at night, and you have to give them credit for stealth and surprise. They won a few engagements, penetrated some bases and caused mischief. They overran a number of US outposts. Lang Vei comes to mind but they needed a dozen or so tanks to pull that one off.

All said and done, once they got into a place they usually ended up in the dead pile by morning.

Excuse me while I take this Blooming Lotus and wipe my ass with it.