Double AA club Podcast
Double AA club Podcast
EP: 83 Russian Soldier's Escape and the Ingenious Booby Traps of Vietnam War
How did a Russian soldier's heart-pounding escape from Ukrainian forces turn into a chilling tale of capture and survival? We're diving deep into the present-day conflict and drawing compelling parallels to past wars, especially the Vietnam War. You'll hear gripping accounts of soldiers' experiences, shedding light on how the brutal realities of combat have remained hauntingly consistent over time.
Prepare to be astonished by the deadly ingenuity of Vietnamese booby traps, from the deceptively simple "mud ball mine" to the crafty "helicopter trap." We peel back the layers on these improvised weapons, uncovering the raw resourcefulness that defined Vietnam-era guerrilla warfare. This episode isn’t just a history lesson—it's a sobering reflection on the evolution of combat tactics and the enduring impact of these perilous strategies. Tune in for a story that is equal parts thrilling and thought-provoking.
You are listening to the Double A Club and this is your host, ny Boom, and my co-host, big Daz. We'll be talking about trending topics in healthcare and basically, just as a disclaimer just to let the listeners know that this is just basically on our opinions and speculations and I hope you guys enjoy the show. Let's start off and kick off with our first topic.
Speaker 2:Here's another story. This is about a lucky Russian soldier. This soldier was sitting on top of an armored vehicle or a tank, I'm not sure what it was and they were being chased by Ukrainian soldiers. So they're trying to get away from these soldiers and they make you know, as they're driving through in high speeds or high speeds, that an armored vehicle can go, and they make a sharp turn. As they make this sharp turn, as they make this sharp turn, the soldier on top of the vehicle flies off the vehicle. Yeah, the vehicle continues to drive and in some sort of way, the ukrainian, the ukrainian soldiers, caught up to the vehicle and they attack the vehicle and blow up the vehicle. Oh, right, so and you know, the soldier is left behind by his fellow soldiers and he sees the vehicle blow up in flames. Damn, okay. Okay, you know he was counting his blessings. Oh, yeah, what a lucky soldier. He blew off the sharp 10, and then he blew up. He got up in time to watch him blow up. Yep, the guy did survive, but he became a prisoner. Oh, he got caught. Oh, he got caught. Yeah, he got caught. You're like one fellow.
Speaker 2:Now you see how this war is being fought. This is completely different how the wars in the past have been fought. For example, I'm going to bring up the Vietnam War, and this is a war that a lot of Americans have a tough time swallowing because, one, we lost the war and two and two, we don't even know why we fought the war. Like, do you know why we fought the Vietnam War? I really don't. Um no, I actually don't. Yeah, I don't, I don't even and I can't even say I don't remember, I don't think I know why we fought the war.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2:I definitely don't remember, because I wasn't even alive. But I don't know why we fought the war Right, but I wasn't even alive. But I don't know why we fought the war right, but I don't think it was taught in school, like I know.
Speaker 2:I know the Vietnam War was taught in school, but I don't think they really explained to me as a student why we fought the war. And if they did, it was probably something very fucking stupid. Yeah, I Don't know, I forgot, I don't, I've never, I don't even think I ever knew, right? Yeah, I don't, I don't even think, I even know, I can't, I can't say I don't remember, I just don't know. But knowing, going, talking about this, right, yeah, so the Vietnam soldiers. They use primitive war tactics Completely different to how the Russians are fighting the war now. But it also shows you that war is definitely different now than it was in the past. Their primitive war tactics proved to be very effective in its win against the US. It was reported that in 1965, that 65 to 75% of the casualties were of a result of booby traps. Oh, yeah, yeah, the tunnel traps. Yeah, it wasn't. You know, a large amount of US casualties wasn't because of, like you know, shootings or bombings. They were because of booby traps. Yeah, yeah, those tunnel rats were real serious.
Speaker 1:Yeah, one of the most dangerous jobs ever to have.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if I ever joined the military and they say, hey, you're going to be a tunnel rat, fuck you, I'm leaving. No, the tunnel rats were in Vietnam.
Speaker 1:Because in Vietnam they had traps.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they had tunnels. Yeah, they had tunnel systems on the ground. And you know, when we found that out, we had to start making our guys tunnel rats. Yes, but imagine you're a soldier for the US military, you're in the Vietnam War, right, you're a regular soldier, infantry, whatever. Oh, they're being Vietnam War, okay. Okay, I didn't hear that. Yeah, all right, I got you and clock man, they tell you I don't know, I might have it I might have to do, and it come on yeah, and they tell you hey, hey kill these?
Speaker 2:fucking. Well, you do know that. I believe they said that only 10% of the tunnel rats came out alive. Yeah, I know, we lost that fucking war.
Speaker 1:I know that, yeah, but I'm just saying like we weren't educated either.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:So that's what I'm saying. Yeah, we were.
Speaker 2:As stupid as we would have been, the way that we would have been educated, our dumbasses would have been like, yeah, let's go fuck these motherfuckers up, let's do it. But nowadays we're educated, we can fucking get whatever we want, we learn whatever we want, we find out, we type it in, we figure out whatever it is. That's what I'm saying. Like I would have probably been the dumb one to be like, yeah, fuck them, I'm fighting for America, you know, because that's where I live, I protect my home and that's how they had, that's how the learning system was back then. You know, it's just been recently where shit's really changing. But yeah Well, those tunnel ride systems, but yeah well, those tunnel ride systems were pretty insane. Yes, they were. They were very insane. We're going to get into it.
Speaker 2:First, let me start off with one of their booby traps. One of their booby traps which is very famous and you will probably know what I'm talking about because it's probably been in so many movies. It's the bamboo whip. I think that wasn't the movie of the trouble school tunnel rats, yes, but it's also been in so many, so many other movies, with Vietnam War type movies, and any Asian type movie usually always has a bamboo whip. I don't know why, but it is. It's in that.
Speaker 2:But the bamboo whip was a bamboo stick that was 3 to 10 feet long. That was three to ten feet long and it had barbed or spiked um objects attached to its end and they would rig it on a tree and then they would cock the end back to another tree and this would allow the bamboo whip. This would allow the bamboo whip to catapult, traveling up to speeds of 100 miles an hour. So they would attach a trip wire and once the trip wire was activated, by stepping on it or kicking it in a way, as you're're walking, you know, step, step over it, yeah, it would activate it and this would impale anyone in its path traveling 300 miles an hour with spiked or barbed wires you know.
Speaker 2:So you buy that one. Yes, say goodbye to everyone. Yeah, so another one, another one of their booby traps that they had and I was not familiar with this. I was so glad that I read about it what's called the mud ball mine. The mud ball mine. Yes, the mud ball mine. Oh mine, oh yeah, mine, like landmines Was a crazy. They didn't know. Vietnamese people, yeah, going. Yeah, those are every Vietnam movie. I'm gonna think that's a guy. Every Vietnam movie I've ever seen. That's a fact. Yeah, you're right, go ahead.
Speaker 2:The Vietnam people didn't actually have landmines, so what they did was they created landmines, and the way they created it was they will use a grenade and mud or clay. Yeah, they would take the pin out of the grenade and then Put it inside mud or clay and mold the mud or clay around the grenade to hold the grenade in place so it doesn't explode. Yeah, so when you step on it, it moves, clicks open, boom. What I didn't hear you, I said so. When you step on it, it moves, clicks open, boom. Well, actually, when you step on it, it moves, clicks open, boom. Well, actually, when you step on it, what happens? Well, then what they would do is they would allow the mud or the clay to dry up, so it would dry and then they would Place it in the ground and once you step on it, what happens? You would crack the shell of the mud or the clay and then that would allow the grenade to actually explode. Wow, that's pretty jammed, it is right. Yeah, that had to be a fucking scary ass job to fucking mold them like. Imagine, like, what would you do? Like put a rubber band over it and then cut the rubber band like I don't know, I can't, no, no, no, what they would do is no, what they would do is they would get the clay ready and once it's ready, like they would put like a clay ball right, once it's ready, they would take the pin out and push the grenade inside the clay. So it's holding it in place right away, because I think you have a a couple of seconds before it really blows, yeah, before it blows. So if you, if you um hold the pin in place within that time frame, it won't go boom. Yeah, I know that, but Well, I'm saying that's how they look. So, like I said, that's how, that's how they would do it. They were. They would take the pin out when the clay is ready to be put in and then, once they put in the clay will hold it in place. And then, once they put in the clay will hold it in place. You know, yeah, I get that, I do get that. But like what, if the clay was a little loose, like how thick does that shit have to be? Like, how ready does it have to be to be dry? I guess they had to sign it. Yeah, they, I mean, they understood it, they must have, they must have grabbed the clay and then, or the mud, and probably formed it into like, um, like a putty, a putty substance, and then that, when it was like a putty, then they would put it in and then from there they would let, they would let it dry, I guess the putty, uh, when it's looking like a putty, it's heavy, I would say that.
Speaker 2:So another one of their booby traps was called a cartridge trap. A cartridge trap was so simple, right, this thing needed a bamboo tube, a Bullet of any caliber, a Piece of wood and a nail. That's all you need. One for items. And boom, you had a cartridge trap. That's crazy, one, sure shooting. Yes, that's a one-shooter. Yes, it's a one-shooter. And the way it would operate is so fucking crazy, right. What they would do is they would get the wooden platform. They would get the wood and the wood would be a platform for the, for the, for the bamboo and the bullet right. So they would get the wood. They will place the nail in the wood right where it's sticking out of the wood they will.
Speaker 2:Then they will put the bamboo tube over the the nail and they will put the place, the bullet, inside the tube, so the bamboo tube is Actually giving it the direction of where to go. Oh, and then they would, they would dig up holes in the ground and, and you know, place this, this, this little contraption, in the ground. And place this little contraption in the ground where a little piece of the bullet is sticking out, but you wouldn't really notice it because it would be with the dirt. And then, once you step on it, the weight of the body would push the bullet down, pressing it against the nail. The nail would press against the primer of the bullet, which would make the bullet project Okay. The nail will press against the primer of the bullet, which will make the bullet projectile, project Okay, and that's the cartridge trap. They will blow out so many beats, people's feet, soldiers feet, because of this trap, disabling them from actually fighting or Causing a stir within the unit. They'd be like, oh my god, and then they would just pick these guys off as they're trying to run away or trying to save the person. Wow, yeah, it was evil, it was very evil, thank you. Yeah, that sounds horrible. That sounds like a real free-to-fall shooting range.
Speaker 2:Yep, another one of their traps is a helicopter trap. So this is very sophisticated. In a way, they would scatter grenades around a landing ground, a landing area where the helicopter would land right, and they would attach these strings with paper onto the safety pin of the grenades. Wait, is that what I'm saying? They would attach this wire with paper to the safety pin of the grenade. Oh, right, right, right, right. So when the helicopters come down, the rotor starts generating that wind right in the ground. And as it's generating the wind, what happen is that is, they will push the grenades, but the paper will go first, and the paper would pull out the pin out of the grenade, causing Multiple explosions in the area, not allowing the helicopter to drop down and bring more troops to the area. Yeah, area, oh nice, yeah, that's actually amazing. So the next booby trap is called the Poonji Stick. Now, you're probably familiar with this because we've all seen it again in many movies. It's a pit with bamboo sticks.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I've seen those and they sharpen the bamboo sticks so when you fall, you get impaled. Yeah, yeah, I've seen those. That is right Now. There's something that they do to these bamboo sticks that I was not familiar with Until I read this. What they would do with the bamboo sticks Is the Vietnamese would Rub feces Onto the sticks or they would urinate in it To cause infection. When you get impaled they are Even with shit. Yeah, you definitely would be Falling deep in shit. They are peeping the shit. Yeah, yeah, you definitely would be falling deep in shit. Yeah, that's funny. That is funny.
Speaker 1:Another famous.
Speaker 2:Another famous booby trap that Vietnamese had was the swinging mace. Now, again, we've seen this in movies. What it was? It was, um, it was this, uh, this mace, this, this, this ball made out of metal, clay or wood, and they would, they would put like spikes inside um, not inside, but coming out of the ball, so it looked like a mace and they would tie it to a string on the tree and basically it would swing down once it was activated, it crushing the person and putting these, um, these impaling objects through his body. Oh, wow, that's a lot. Yeah, it was crazy. These booby traps were Devious.
Speaker 2:Now, the last booby trap that I had, this was what they were using For the tunnel rats, because they couldn't put, they couldn't the total, because they couldn't put like they couldn't put like an eight-and-a-half-year-old who g six or so many nations or bamboos lips inside the tunnels. What they did is they utilize something a little bit more. What they would do it they would get venomous snakes or, in fact, put him in a cage and these, these traps would be above ground. So when you trip the wire, the insects or snakes will fall on top of you and they're already there, ready the bites because you have to walk through that area, so they will cause.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and imagine if you're like, just think about it, you're a tunnel rat, you're walking with one of your partners in one of your fellow soldiers and he's in the lead and he walks through this booby trap and you see snakes and insects fall on him and they're biting him and you're right behind him and they're biting him and you're right behind them and you're watching them. Like you can imagine how scared and how frantic somebody would get in this situation. Yeah, definitely I'd be like what the fuck? Where am I? Yeah, that is crazy, crazy, crazy though Just think about that, you know. So that is crazy, that is insane. That is a horror movie In action.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Thank you for listening to the Double A Club. Listen to us next episode To continue this topic. If you want to reach us on the email, it is doubleaclubpodcast At gmailcom. Catch you on the next one.
