punji pit
Concealed stake trap
A punji pit is a concealed hole in the ground lined with sharpened stakes, designed to impale anyone who steps into it.
The stakes were traditionally bamboo, often smeared with poison or excrement to cause infection.
Associated especially with the Vietnam War, where Viet Cong forces used them against American troops: He fell into a punji pit and nearly lost his leg.
Hidden danger or drawback
- snareDevice for catching prey
- booby trapHidden device to harm
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- deadfallTrap using falling weight
mantrap · entrapment · ambush · decoy · bait · lure · trickery · deception
Vietnamese communist guerrilla force
- Vietnam WarCold-era Indochina military engagement
- guerrilla tacticsAsymmetric combat by mobile fighters
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- insurgencyArmed uprising against authority
asymmetric warfare · jungle warfare · defensive perimeter · tunnel warfare · Ho Chi Minh Trail · infantry · combat · skirmish
Woody grass rods
- contaminatedMade impure by contact
- serrated edgesMargins with pointed teeth
Piercing through with stake
- puncture woundInjury from piercing object
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- sepsisDangerous inflammatory infection response
- tetanusMuscle-stiffening bacterial disease
gangrene · leg wound · foot injury · laceration · incapacitation · blood poisoning · abscess · festering
pitfall
Hidden danger or drawback
- snareDevice for catching prey
- booby trapHidden device to harm
- concealmentAct of hiding something
deadfall · mantrap · entrapment · ambush · decoy · bait · lure · trickery · deception · ensnarement
Viet Cong
Vietnamese communist guerrilla force
- Vietnam WarCold-era Indochina military engagement
- guerrilla tacticsAsymmetric combat by mobile fighters
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
insurgency · asymmetric warfare · jungle warfare · defensive perimeter · tunnel warfare · Ho Chi Minh Trail · infantry · combat · skirmish · resistance
bamboo stakes
Woody grass rods
- contaminatedMade impure by contact
- serrated edgesMargins with pointed teeth
impalement
Piercing through with stake
- puncture woundInjury from piercing object
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- sepsisDangerous inflammatory infection response
tetanus · gangrene · leg wound · foot injury · laceration · incapacitation · blood poisoning · abscess · festering · contamination
punji pitbomb shelter
Fortified underground refuge
safe zone · bunker · foxhole · safe house · refuge
punji pitwarning sign
Indicator of potential danger
barbed wire fence · checkpoint · guard tower · sentry post · roadblock
punji pitguided missile
Steerable self-propelled weapon
smart bomb · drone strike · cruise missile · satellite surveillance · radar system