The supply route used by North Vietnam to send troops and supplies south was the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was not a single road but a vast, shifting network of paths, roads, bridges, tunnels, and river crossings running through Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
The network was developed from 1959 by North Vietnam's People's Army of Vietnam to support the Viet Cong and other communist forces fighting in South Vietnam. Much of it followed the Annamite Range, which is why North Vietnamese forces often called it the Truong Son Strategic Supply Route. Engineers, porters, truck drivers, and soldiers constantly repaired and expanded it despite US bombing and ground attacks.
The trail carried weapons, ammunition, fuel, food, medical supplies, and replacement troops. Its routes were deliberately scattered and repeatedly changed, making it difficult to destroy completely. The Cambodian branch, often called the Sihanouk Trail, also handled substantial traffic and connected the wider logistics system to southern battlefields.
The name Ho Chi Minh Trail was popularized outside North Vietnam and refers to Ho Chi Minh, the communist leader of North Vietnam. Its survival was a major factor in North Vietnam's ability to sustain the war over many years.