Ho Chi Minh trail

A general term for a complex logistical system, the Ho Chi Minh trail was a system of logistical facilities in North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia that the People's Army of Viet Nam used to send troops and equipment into South Vietnam. It was operated by the 559th Transportation Group under then-senior colonel Dong Sy Nguyen, which was under the General Directorate of Rear Services.

The commitment to build the trail came from a Politburo decision of May 1959, hence the name 559th Group; that was the date they decided to invade the South.

While the Trail proper was the ground route into the South, two related systems often are considered part:

• 559th Transportation Group
  • 18 engineer battalions
  • 4 antiaircraft battalions with 4 more in general support
  • 45 way stations
• 759th Transportation Group for sea-based supply
• 959th Transportation Group for supply of the Pathet Lao
• 665th Transportation Group managing personnel movements to the South and evacuation of wounded to the North.

Routes

Original planning was by engineer colonel Vo Bam. His initial plan started at the Mu Gia and Nape passes in the Annamite foothills within North vietnam, paralleled the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) for 20 miles in Laos, and turned into South Vietnam proper at the intersection of the DMZ and the Laotian border. It then went north of Khe Sanh, crossed Highway 9, and then down the western border of South Vietnam, in and out of Cambodia and Laos.

To carry out actual contstruction, it had two subordinate regiments, the 70th and 71st, composed of truck, roadbuilding, and other operational functions.