Vietnam: The NVA

The North Vietnamese regular Army soldier (NVA)

 

During the Vietnam conflict, the American and South Vietnamese armies fought two forces. One was the infamous civilian militia, the Viet Cong, but they also had to contend with a more official force, the North Vietnamese Army. Supplied largely by the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China, the North Vietnamese Army--or NVA--first clashed with American Air Cavalry at the battle of Ia Drang Valley in 1965.

The NVA didn't wear black like their VC counterparts, but rather, military issue khaki uniforms. They wore both pith helmets and bamboo leaf cone hats, too well suited to the climate to discard.

The Vietcong and NVA could fight side-by-side, like the militia and Continental Army during the American Revolution.

 

The NVA and VC used similar weapons, but the NVA were better equipped, usually carrying Chinese-made SKS rifles and Soviet AK-47's, as seen here.