tunnel rat
Subterranean combat specialist
A tunnel rat was a soldier, typically small in stature, tasked with entering enemy tunnel systems to gather intelligence, plant explosives, or engage combatants in confined underground spaces.
The term emerged from the Vietnam War, where American and Australian troops explored the vast tunnel networks built by the Viet Cong: The tunnel rats went in armed with only a pistol and a flashlight.
The work required exceptional nerve—claustrophobic passages might contain booby traps, enemy fighters, or venomous snakes.
- booby trapHidden device to harm
- subterraneanBeneath earth's surface
- flashlightPortable electric lamp
- infantryGround combat troops
- moleSubterranean insectivore
rodent · raider · sapper · sidearm · sewers · underground · knife · crawlspaces · tight spaces · catacombs · claustrophobia · guerrilla warfare · search and destroy · Viet Cong · mouse · soldier · special forces · gas mask
- Vietnam WarVietnam War, Vietnam, Tet Offensive, My Lai Massacre, Viet Cong
- insurgentsinsurgent, guerrillas, guerrilla, rebel, resistance fighters
- war animalswar dog, war dogs, war horse, war horses, war elephant
tunnel ratline infantry
Soldiers in ranked formations
ground troops · field artillery · mechanized infantry · cavalry · tank crew
tunnel ratfighter pilot
Airborne military combatant
aviator · naval aviator · airman · paratrooper · helicopter pilot
tunnel, rat, tunnels, tunneled, tunneling, tunneler, rats, ratty, ratted