<P> Overall , the supplies and equipment of communist units were adequate , and their infantry small - arms were a match for those of their opponents . Contrary to some popular impressions of simple peasant farmers armed with pitchforks and machetes , the VC / NVA main units ( as well as the local forces in the latter years ) were well equipped with modern arms either from Soviet bloc or Chinese sources . In the early years of the insurgency in the South a larger variety of weapons were used , ranging from World War I - era bolt action rifles to World War II - era weapons , with procurement via a wide range of methods . Such variation and diversity continued throughout the conflict . By 1970 however , the communist inventory was increasingly standardized , even at the village guerrilla level . The following outline shows major weapons categories : </P>
<P> Overall , the supplies and equipment of communist units were adequate , and their infantry small - arms were a match for those of their opponents . Contrary to some popular impressions of simple peasant farmers armed with pitchforks and machetes , the VC / NVA main units ( as well as the local forces in the latter years ) were well equipped with modern arms either from Soviet bloc or Chinese sources . In the early years of the insurgency in the South a larger variety of weapons were used , ranging from World War I - era bolt action rifles to World War II - era weapons , with procurement via a wide range of methods . Such variation and diversity continued throughout the conflict . By 1970 however , the communist inventory was increasingly standardized , even at the village guerrilla level . The following outline shows major weapons categories : </P>
who supplied the weapons to the n. vietnamese and vietcong
who supplied the weapons to the n. vietnamese and vietcong
Soviet bloc or Chinese sources
Soviet bloc or Chinese sources