The Vietnam War

In one of the deadliest and most difficult conflicts the world had ever witnessed, straightforward warfare was not enough. The Vietnam War demanded secret fighting. This is the story of the covert operations conducted by the CIA and US army intelligence. By employing tactics such as harassment, espionage and covert seaborne raids, the Americans weaseled out the enemy.

Their name still sends a shiver down the backs of those who fought in Vietnam. The Vietcong were Communist guerrillas who ambushed US patrols set booby traps and planted bombs in towns. Mingling in with the locals, they were very difficult to identity and destruction they inflicted was catastrophic. In the end, the Vietcong were too much for the Americans and paved the way for the Communist triumph in 1975.

They were the most highly classified covert operations unit of the Vietnam War, The Studies and Observations Group (SOG) targeted enemy strong points on the notorious Ho Chi Minh Trail. Using clandestine techniques such as prisoner snatches, they inflicted a relentless and unforgiving war on the Vietcong.

Bloodiest Day: Few were aware of the destruction that was only seconds away as US air power was unleashed over Vietnam. May 20, 1972 was a day that would go down in history as the bloodiest of the entire war. Hell Over Hanoi: In the skies over Vietnam, every minute was a juggling act between life and death. Using dramatic reconstructions, we get in the cockpit of the F-4 Phantoms as they take on the notorious MiG-21.

Nicknamed Proud, Brave, Reliable' the Patrol Boat River (PBR) performed every mission imaginable on the waterways of Vietnam. Take a journey down Vietnam's rivers with the glorious PBRs and listen to the accounts of those who formed a deep and lasting attachment to these river warriors.

Tet Offensive: January 31 1968, Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops surprise-attacked almost every major town in South Vietnam to devastating effect.

The French thought they could set up base in Dien Bien Phu but, within weeks were besieged and out-gunned.