The Ho Chi Minh Trail was not just one trail but a series of trails. The Ho Chi Minh Trail was used by the North Vietnamese as a route for its troops to get into the South. They also used the trail as a supply route – for weapons, food and equipment. The Ho Chin Minh Trail ran along the Laos/Cambodia and Vietnam borders and was dominated by jungles. In total the ‘trail’ was about 1,000 kilometres in length and consisted of many parts. Importance : (i) The story of the Ho Chi Minh trail is one way of understanding the nature of the war that the Vietnamese fought against the United States. (ii) It symbolises how the Vietnamese used their limited resources against the biggest military power. (iii) The trail was used by about 20,000 North Vietnamese troops who came to the south each month using this trail.