ABSTRACT
The conflict in Vietnam had several dimensions. The one most commonly associated with it in the public's mind is the high-technology war of B-52s, fighter bombers, helicopters, and large search and destroy missions. The Korean conflict was a linear one, as well. US intelligence long believed that any Sino-Soviet war, an event that once seemed so likely, would be a linear conflict. And had the United States invaded North Vietnam and pushed toward the Red River and Hanoi, a linear conflict would almost certainly have taken place. Except during the general offensive, lasting from late 1967 until May of 1969, the enemy relied on different tactics. The classic Maoist technique of "people's war" was made a religion by Vietnamese military and political thinkers. The organizational apparatus patiently constructed by the Front cadres throughout South Vietnam was termed the "Viet Cong infrastructure" by the allied forces.
