The tunnels were used to covertly transport troops and supplies, launch surprise attacks, and set booby traps. During the 1960s, the Vietcong. But among the many men of the joint American and Australian units, there were men who were equal to the task. They were called Tunnel Rats—.
Getty Images With pistol ready, a G.I. Shovels dirt into a tunnel entrance where Viet Cong were believed to be hiding.For a soldier during the Vietnam War, one of the most dangerous of obstacles was faced by a select few soldiers known as “tunnel rats.” These unsung heroes of the Vietnam War were American, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers specially trained as combat engineers, who carefully crawled through the cramped Viet Cong underground to perform perilous covert search and destroy missions.The tunnel rats gently prodded for potentially armed mines in order to disarm them and prayed that they survived with both their legs. A Network Of Enemy TunnelsViet Minh forces initially developed a complex system of underground tunnels to combat the French colonial invasion of Vietnam known as the Cu Chi tunnels. But what began as a fairly rudimentary quickly became a sophisticated labyrinth beneath Vietnam when it was later utilized by the Viet Cong to combat the U.S.
And allied forces.By the onset of the in the 60s, the tunnels included several hospitals, storage facilities, training camps, and barracks. Effective ventilation shafts were later installed which allowed Viet Cong soldiers to remain hidden underground for months at a time.The tunnels could be destroyed above ground, but often because the tunnels were so complex and snake-like, an above-ground demolition was not enough to dismantle the labyrinth entirely. Someone would have to go down into the tunnels to gather information and better inform their attack. Thus, the tunnel rats came to be.But the tunnels proved to be an even more mysterious, uncharted area where danger lay around every corner. Besides enemy combatants, the tunnels were decked with booby traps as the Viet Cong knew full well that the American forces would try to use the underground against them.
Wikimedia Commons An American soldier peers into a tunnel’s trap door.Aside from intentional dangers, there were the as well. Being underground meant troops were subject to insects, some poisonous like scorpions, and others annoying, like ants. Bats and other creatures used the tunnels as roosts, providing yet another distraction from the task at hand.The tunnel rats were forced to be creative and often even managed to maneuver around these attacks.
The Profile Of A Tunnel RatOriginally called “Tunnel Runners” and later “Ferrets” by the Australian Army, the term eventually morphed into the known “Tunnel Rat.” The rats were comprised of engineering soldiers some of whom were trained at the Australian Army’s School of Military Engineering. Most men were volunteers and tended to be of smaller stature, making it easier to maneuver through the cramped spaces.But many tunnel rats were devoid of any formal training and though they were sometimes successful in securing intelligence, an enemy hospital, or stores of weapons. However, tunnel rats were responsible for a large portion of weapons successfully seized from the Viet Cong.Troops often went into the tunnels armed with only an army-issue pistol or revolver, and so the soldiers became ingenious with creating their own weapons. Usually, the weapons of their own devising were sawed-off shotguns and makeshift bayonets. The soldiers also armed themselves with gas masks. Wikimedia Commons A soldier pops out of a tunnel trap door to relay information.Marrett recalled of his company’s tragedies, “given what we were engaged in, it’s a wonder that number wasn’t higher.”The tunnel rats were required to use their ingenuity and incredible bravery to fight in an unprecedented form or guerilla warfare the American forces had not yet seen. Indeed, considering the elusive and hidden odds stacked against them, it’s amazing their outcome was not much, much worse.After this look at the tunnel rats, check out these incredible.
Then, take a look at these stunning.
1968 Tunnel Rats | |
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Directed by | Uwe Boll |
Produced by |
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Written by | Uwe Boll |
Story by | |
Starring |
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Music by | Jessica de Rooij [de] |
Cinematography | Mathias Neumann |
Edited by | Karen Porter |
Distributed by | |
Release date |
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96 minutes | |
Country |
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Language | English |
Budget | $8 million |
Box office | $35,402 |
Tunnel Rats, also known as 1968 Tunnel Rats, is a 2008 German-Canadian warsuspense film written and directed by Uwe Boll. The film is based on the factual duties of tunnel rats during the Vietnam War. In a documentary for the film, Boll revealed the film did not have a script, and instead the actors improvised their lines.[1]
The box office return was poor, but Tunnel Rats was met with positive reviews.
Plot[edit]
A group of US Army soldiers, trained in underground warfare, arrive at base camp in the jungle of Vietnam. The soldiers spend the first day and night getting to know each other. The next morning they begin to explore the Viet Cong's tunnel network at Củ Chi. Led by Lieutenant Vic Hollowborn (Michael Pare) along with Platoon Sergeant Mike Heaney (Brad Schmidt) Corporal Dan Green (Wilson Bethel) and Privates Peter Harris (Mitch Eakins), Carl Johnson (Erik Eidem), Terence Verano (Rocky Marquette), Jonathon Porterson (Garikayi Mutambirwa [fr]), Dean Garraty (Adrian Collins), Samuel Graybridge (Brandon Fobbs), Jim Lidford (Nate Parker) and Bob Miller (Jeffery Christopher Todd).
Armed with nothing more than bayonets, pistols, grenades and flashlights, the US soldiers take to the tunnels in search and destroy operations, and begin to encounter dangers including primitive but lethal booby traps, such as punji sticks, grenades rigged with tripwire, as well as roving Viet Cong. Meanwhile, Garraty and Johnson are killed first, and later Sergeant Heaney and Verano are both killed as Green escapes, and up on the surface Harris and Lidford escape to the bottom of the tunnel, and Lidford is killed later on, Porterson successfully escapes through the tunnels. On the surface, the Viet Cong also attack the US base.
As things escalate above and below the ground, soldiers for both sides are pushed to the limits of their humanity. Miller and Graybridge try to escape, with the former barely making it, but Graybridge is killed. The events implicate that all (or almost all) the protagonists are killed by each other, by boobytraps, or by the airstrike ordered by the wounded US commanding officer Hollowborn, who called on it when everything seemed to have been lost. Green dies in the tunnels. Harris convinces Vo Mai (Jane Le) that he isn't a threat to her or her family. Porterson retreats to the surface and later meets Miller at the camp where many soldiers have been slaughtered by the NVA. Porterson and Miller witness the bombings and their ultimate fate or survival is left ambiguous. Harris and Mai try to dig their way out, slowly realizing they are both trapped with nowhere to go and had been left to die. They remain in the tunnels until the end of their days.
Cast[edit]
- Michael Paré as Lieutenant Vic Hollowborn
- Nate Parker as Private Jim Lidford
- Jane Le as Vo Mai
- Erik Eidem as Private Carl Johnson
- Rocky Marquette as Private Terence Verano
- Jeffrey Christopher Todd as Private Bob Miller
- Brandon Fobbs as Private Samuel Graybridge
- John Wynn as Chien Nguyen
- Wilson Bethel as Corporal Dan Green
- Scott Cooper as Private Joseph Walderson
- Brad Schmidt as Sergeant Mike Heaney
- Scott Ly as Hy Tran
- John Wynn as Nguyen Van Chien
- Adrian Collins as Private Dean Garraty
- Garikayi Mutambirwa as Private Jonathon Porterson
- Erik Eidem as Private Carl Johnson
- Mitch Eakins as Private Peter Harris
Reception[edit]
1968 Tunnel Rats was a box-office failure, earning less than $36,000 in ticket sales. The film's budget was $8 million.
Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid gave the film 3/4 stars and wrote 'If Boll had made this film in 1986, he might have won an Oscar and become the next Oliver Stone!'[2] Bill Gibron of Filmcritic.com gave the film 3.5/5 stars, calling it 'very good – and that's amazing, considering who's receiving said accolade.'[3]
On the negative side, Uwe Boll won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director for his work on the film, which he also received for directing In the Name of the King and Postal.
Video game[edit]
Uwe Boll also presented a video game of the same name based on the film. The title was developed by Replay Studios using the Replay engine, and it was released on Steam on 15 May 2009.[4] This game is known for being one of the worst ever made.
References[edit]
- ^The Making of Tunnel Rats documentary.
- ^Anderson, Jeffery. 'Tunnel Rats (2008)'. combustiblecelluloid.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ^Gibron, Bill. 'Tunnel Rats'. movies.amctv.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ^Tunnel Rats Video Game Steampowered Store
External links[edit]
- Tunnel Rats on IMDb
- Tunnel Rats at Rotten Tomatoes
- Tunnel Rats at AllMovie
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