| rdfs:comment | - Punji sticks would be placed in areas likely to be passed through by enemy troops. The presence of punji sticks may be camouflaged by natural undergrowth, crops, grass, brush or similar materials. They were often incorporated into various types of traps; for example, a camouflaged pit into which a man might fall (it would then be a trou de loup).
- No, no! This is only a metaphorical scenario. God forbid! But such gruesome examples lead us to the extremely titillating subject of this article: Punji sticks. A punji stick is a multi-purpose Bamboo stake, often carved into the shape of a guide-arrow which leads to a booby-trapped pit studded with sharpened stakes. Guide arrow punji sticks were commonly painted with red, green and yellow stripes, much like candy canes, to better attract the interest of sugar-starved US soldiers. The soldiers would innocently follow the arrows, thinking they might lead to a "Gingerbread Hooch". The punji sticks themselves - usually coated in baser substances, such as Cobra feces - were used both as guide arrows as well as sharp-stakes, and were a primary weapon in the arsenal of the Vietnamese Army's Char
- Sometimes a pit would be dug with punji sticks in the sides pointing downward at an angle. A soldier stepping into the pit would find it impossible to remove his leg without doing severe damage, and injuries might be incurred by the simple act of falling forward while one's leg is in a narrow, vertical, stake-lined pit. Such pits would require time and care to dig the soldier's leg out, immobilizing the unit longer than if the foot were simply pierced, in which case the victim could be evacuated by stretcher or fireman's carry if necessary.
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| abstract | - No, no! This is only a metaphorical scenario. God forbid! But such gruesome examples lead us to the extremely titillating subject of this article: Punji sticks. A punji stick is a multi-purpose Bamboo stake, often carved into the shape of a guide-arrow which leads to a booby-trapped pit studded with sharpened stakes. Guide arrow punji sticks were commonly painted with red, green and yellow stripes, much like candy canes, to better attract the interest of sugar-starved US soldiers. The soldiers would innocently follow the arrows, thinking they might lead to a "Gingerbread Hooch". The punji sticks themselves - usually coated in baser substances, such as Cobra feces - were used both as guide arrows as well as sharp-stakes, and were a primary weapon in the arsenal of the Vietnamese Army's Charlie-brigade during the Americanization of Vietnam. America's subtraction techniques proved invaluable in culling the global population; yet their noble actions were befuddled, literally at every step, once the local population introduced punji sticks into the fray. This tug-of-war operated under the classification "Police Concert in S.E. Asia", played from 1959 until 1974, before the band finally reformed back in the UK. But the Vietnamese victory cannot be attributed to the absence of corny music alone - certainly the noble punji stick holds a hallowed place of honor in the hearts of vainglorious Vietnamese nationalists, not to mention poking a god-awful hole in the foot of many an unwilling and out-attritioned US draftee.
- Punji sticks would be placed in areas likely to be passed through by enemy troops. The presence of punji sticks may be camouflaged by natural undergrowth, crops, grass, brush or similar materials. They were often incorporated into various types of traps; for example, a camouflaged pit into which a man might fall (it would then be a trou de loup). Sometimes a pit would be dug with punji sticks in the sides pointing downward at an angle. A soldier stepping into the pit would find it impossible to remove his leg without doing severe damage, and injuries might be incurred by the simple fact of falling forward while one's leg is in a narrow, vertical, stake-lined pit. Such pits would require time and care to dig the soldier's leg out, immobilizing the unit longer than if the foot were simply pierced, in which case the victim could be evacuated by stretcher or fireman's carry if necessary. Punji sticks were sometimes deployed in the preparation of an ambush. In the preparation of these stakes, the stake itself would be sharpened and, in some cases, rubbed with toxic plants, frogs or even feces, to cause infections in the wounded enemy. Soldiers lying in wait for the enemy to pass would deploy punji sticks in the areas where the surprised enemy might be expected to take cover, thus, soldiers diving for cover would impale themselves. The point of penetration was usually in the foot or lower leg area. Punji sticks were not necessarily meant to kill the person who stepped on it; rather, they were designed to wound the enemy and slow or halt his unit while the victim was evacuated to a medical facility.
- Sometimes a pit would be dug with punji sticks in the sides pointing downward at an angle. A soldier stepping into the pit would find it impossible to remove his leg without doing severe damage, and injuries might be incurred by the simple act of falling forward while one's leg is in a narrow, vertical, stake-lined pit. Such pits would require time and care to dig the soldier's leg out, immobilizing the unit longer than if the foot were simply pierced, in which case the victim could be evacuated by stretcher or fireman's carry if necessary. Punji sticks were sometimes deployed in the preparation of an ambush. In the preparation of these stakes, the stake itself would be sharpened and, in some cases, rubbed with toxic plants, frogs or even feces, to cause infections in the wounded enemy. Soldiers lying in wait for the enemy to pass would deploy punji sticks in the areas where the surprised enemy might be expected to take cover, thus, soldiers diving for cover would impale themselves. The point of penetration was usually in the foot or lower leg area. Punji sticks were not necessarily meant to kill the person who stepped on it; rather, they were designed to wound the enemy and slow or halt his unit while the victim was evacuated to a medical facility.
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