Commercial News › Forums › WWII › Who are the best jungle troops? › Reply To: Who are the best jungle troops?
Darkest Star GamesUS forces in Vietnam suffered a skills gap with the 12 month tour system, constantly replacing experienced troops with FNG’s, unit rotation would probably have increased performance in the jungle rather than watering down the skill set.
The US also suffered from command directives that did not take the reality on the ground into account, forcing units to move through jungle as quickly as possible causing much noise due to hacking at the green, rather than allowing them to move at the pace the jungle requires.
So lets bust a falsity right here. Make no mistake, the US had some great jungle fighting units in Vietnam, though most were recon units (like SOG, Sigma/Omega/Delta, USMC Stingray, ASAS, etc). The Mobile Guerrilla Force was probably the best of all “regular” sized formations at jungle fighting, but the ARVN had some Ranger companies that were also exceptional. The Montagnards/CIDG, though excellent in the jungles they were born to, were not “the best” jungle fighters because they lacked a military tradition and experience which would sometimes lead them to be only as effective as green regular units, though also generally much more courageous due to this lack.
The NVA were not that great at jungle fighting. They had excellent camouflage discipline for the most part, but the jungle was not their friend, and they suffered massive casualties just from the environment. They also did not own the night, as they were just as afraid to move around at night as the FWF if there was enemy in their area.
I could really rant on, but I will stop short of getting loose…
Back to the question of WW2, I’d have to say the Gurhka would be the best jungle fighters. They were indeed born to the environment, brave to a fault, extremely effective, and feared by the enemy.
Is a good soldier a good soldier no matter where he fights?
That could be a “yes, but…” question. It’s not just a question of fighting ability, but conditioning and preparation for living in the environment. A unit that is given extensive jungle training will obviously fare better when introduced to the combat zone than one that has not had the same pre-exposure. BUT, all of that means nothing if the troops themselves cannot cope with the environmental conditions. Can a good soldier adapt to the environment? Yes, probably more easily than a poor one. But people from a climate zone that differs extremely from the jungle will suffer incredibly. For example: I spent 6 months in Costa Rica. It took me about a month to fully adapt to the climate (hot humid jungles/rainforest and awesome beaches). Two of the guys I worked with were form Norway, 1 was from Scotland, another from Egypt and the last was from Liberia. The Norweigans had been there for a year already and had not adapted well at all (Peter had heat stroke twice in a month and went home soon after). The Scott suffered quite a bit as well, and was always “borrowing” water from me. Marco (the Liberian) was right at home, almost never even broke a sweat. Youseff (Egyptian) hated the humidity, but enjoyed the heat, but was not very good at jungle movement. Whether he was just naturally clumsy or just didn’t pay attention in the woods I don’t know, but if anyone was going to fall or get hurt it was him.
Bit of a ramble, probably lost my point. YMMV…
"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."