thumb|An American soldier searching a Vietnamese house for [[Viet Cong guerrillas during the Vietnam War.]]

Seek and destroy (also known as search and destroy, or S&D) is a military strategy which consists of inserting infantry forces into hostile territory and directing them to search and then attack enemy targets before immediately withdrawing. First used as part of counterinsurgency operations during military conflicts in Southeast Asia such as the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War, the strategy was developed to take advantage of new technological capabilities available to Western militaries such as the helicopter, which allowed for the adoption of new tactics like the air assault.

Primarily used in jungle warfare, the strategy was developed with asymmetric tactics in mind rather than conventional warfare. A related strategy known as clear and hold, which entailed military forces clearing an area of enemy personnel and then keeping the area clear of enemies while winning the local population's support, was developed around the same period and used alongside the search and destroy strategy. Body counts were commonly used to determine the success of the strategy, which entailed fighting a war of attrition against an insurgency.

Malayan Emergency

During the Malayan Emergency, British forces conducted numerous search and destroy (S&D) operations in the Malayan countryside (which largely consisted of jungles) to flush out Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) guerrillas. The Ferret Force, a short-lived British counterinsurgency (COIN) unit which existed from July to December 1948, served as an important source of military intelligence for S&D missions against the MNLA. Ferret Force personnel would gather intelligence, including from native informants and prisoners, as to the whereabouts of MNLA insurgents, which would then be provided to troops assigned to S&D operations. Once MNLA insurgents had been flushed out, they would then be further harassed via asymmetric warfare tactics such as being denied sources of food and shelter, before either surrendering or being killed in a direct military engagement, most commonly an ambush.

Ultimately, many British officials came to the conclusion that their S&D tactics were working poorly. Troops assigned to S&D missions would often use heavy-handed tactics on individuals and settlements suspected of supporting the MNLA, alienating the local population. MNLA insurgents held numerous advantages over their British opponents, including residing in closer proximity to the countryside's population and having familial relations or close friendships among local villagers. While MNLA insurgents rarely directly engaged British forces, they frequently targeted civilians to elicit material support. Large numbers of Viet Cong troops would be killed or captured, but they were quickly replaced. Enemy forces were initially pushed out of certain territories, but as soon as the American forces left the areas, they simply returned with more reinforcements and weapons.

The effectiveness of the missions is also doubtful. In one of the first search-and-destroy missions northwest of Dầu Tiếng, named Operation Attleboro, a US report states that 115 U.S. soldiers were killed, and the North Vietnamese lost 1,062. In Operation Junction City, the report also states that 282 US soldiers were killed, and the Viet Cong lost 1,728 guerrillas. Those estimated figures, however, should be considered in light of how they were obtained. They were almost exclusively gathered by indirect means: sensor readings, sightings of secondary explosions, reports of defectors or prisoners of war, and inference or extrapolation.

See also

  • List of established military terms

References

Sources

  • Starry, Donn A. GEN. Mounted Combat In Vietnam; Vietnam Studies. Department of the Army, 1978.
  • (), e.g., pages 3–17.