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Author: Ronald B. Frankum Jr. and Stephen F. Maxner
For Dummies

The Vietnam War was unlike any war the United States ever fought. Unlike the previous wars of the twentieth century, the Vietnam War left the United States divided, and it continues to influence U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Without question, the Vietnam Syndrome that emerged after the war's end altered the policies of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and the lessons learned from the war were applied to later conflicts in the Persian Gulf.

The Vietnam War story is one that has never been fully understood and probably never will be explained to the satisfaction of those who experienced it – and it will continue to spark debate and controversy for each new generation. The Vietnam War For Dummies attempts to tell that complicated story in a way that is easily accessible to everyone. If you've never read much about the Vietnam War, this book provides a general overview that covers all the major players and significant turning points and events of the war. If you're a history buff, this book can serve as a compact reference guide to the major subjects of the war.

The Vietnam War For Dummies covers the following topics and more:

  • The events that led up to the war, from the beginning of the Cold War to when U.S. troops moved into Vietnam
  • A detailed examination of the conflict between North and South Vietnam
  • How U.S. presidents handled Vietnam, from Eisenhower to Nixon
  • Analyses of the major battles of the war, including the Tet Offensives and the Fall of Saigon
  • The effect of the war on American life and culture, including an exploration of the protest movement
  • Thorough analyses of U.S. and Vietnamese battle tactics
  • Top Ten lists debunking myths surrounding the war and highlighting issues and concerns that have arisen from the war

Remember that having an understanding of the Vietnam War means knowing that its history is based on perspectives. For any one book that argues a point a specific way, at least two other books will interpret that point another way. You can use The Vietnam War For Dummies as a guide for beginning your examination of one of the most important events in U.S. history.

Author: Gordon Rottman
Illustrator: Brian Delf
Osprey (Warrior)

Osprey's study of the Military Assistance Command of the Vietnam War (1955-1975). In 1964 Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, activated a joint unconventional task force known as the Studies and Observation Group--MACV-SOG. As a cover its mission was to conduct analysis of lessons learned in combat involved all branches of service. SOG's real mission was to conduct covert strategic reconnaissance missions into Laos, Cambodia, and South Vietnam as well as sabotage and 'Black' psychological operations. Ground, air, and naval assets were employed to insert, collect, extract, and otherwise support these operations. Drawing on detailed, first-hand accounts of the experiences of the service, including action on operations, this book will shed light on one of the most crucial units of the Vietnam War.

Author: Randy E. M. Foster
Illustrator: Peter Dennis
Osprey (Fortress)

Impressive in terms of scale and structure, the Fire Support Base became a dominant element in ground maneuver during the Vietnam War. Initially a mobile base, it soon evolved into a semi-permanent and more sophisticated fortress as a result of enemy counterattacks and bombardments.

As a consequence, the majority of US and other allied troops found themselves pinned down in defensive or support roles, rather than being free to conduct 'search and destroy' or other mobile missions. Thus, the first and foremost function of the Fire Support Base was defensive. Troops, machine guns, mortars, artillery, surveillance radars, and command centers all had to be dug into bunkers and fire trenches by nightfall of the first day. Around these positions there would be deep belts of barbed wire, generously scattered with several different types of mines and even, in a few cases after 1967, with a brand new series of electronic sensors to detect and locate the enemy at a distance.

With the benefit of the on-site howitzers, the FSB could also deliver offensive high volume fire, reaching as far as 14,600m and eliminating enemy firing sites, supporting friendly infantry operations, or simply participating in fire missions where exact targets were not known. In fact, the fort offered such a degree of support and protection that ground maneuver was eventually hampered by the troop's reluctance to leave the comfort and safety of the FSB.

With a description of the design, development and operational history of the Fire Support Base, this book provides the key to understanding one of the main assets of US battle strategy in the Vietnam War.

Author: Howard R. Simpson
Brassey's Inc.

Dien Bien Phu is recognized as one of history's great battles. It began in November 1953, when French paratroopers seized a small airstrip in Northwestern Vietnam. It ended in May 1954 with tens of thousands of Vietminh troops overrunning the beseiged garrison. A third of the 15,000 French defenders died in combat, fewer than a hundred escaped into the jungle. Thousands more died in captivity. The fall of Dien Bien Phu led to the American commitment to Vietnam. Ironically, the US military repeated many of the French mistakes. Howard Simpson was at Dien Bien Phu as a combat reporter. His account is a personal one - that of a man who shared meals and wine and danger with the doomed soldiers. He is uniquely qualified to tell the story of this famous last stand.

Author: Franklin D. Miller and Elwood J.C. Kureth
Pocket

PFC Franklin Miller arrived in Vietnam in March 1966, and saw his first combat in a Reconnaissance Platoon. So began an odyssey that would make him into one of the most feared and respected men in the Special Forces elite, who made their own rules in the chaos of war.

In the exclusive world of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observation Group, Miller ran missions deep into enemy territory to gather intelligence, snatch prisoners, and to kill. Leading small bands of battle-hardened Montagnard and Meo tribesmen, he was fierce and fearless -- fighting army policy to stay in combat for six tours. On a top-secret mission in 1970, Miller and a handful of men, all critically injured, held off the NVA in an incredible Alamo-like stand -- for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. When his time in Southeast Asia ended, he had also received the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, an Air Medal, and six Purple Hearts. This is his incredible story.

 

Author: Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway
Presidio Press

Each year, the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps selects one book that he believes is both relevant and timeless for reading by all Marines. The Commandant's choice for 1993 was We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young.

In November 1965, some 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore, were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was chopped to pieces. Together, these actions at the landing zones X-Ray and Albany constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War.
How these men persevered—sacrificed themselves for their comrades and never gave up—makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating.

General Moore and Joseph Galloway, the only journalist on the ground throughout the fighting, have interviewed hundreds of men who fought there, including the North Vietnamese commanders. This devastating account rises above the specific ordeal it chronicles to present a picture of men facing the ultimate challenge, dealing with it in ways they would have found unimaginable only a few hours earlier. It reveals to us, as rarely before, man's most heroic and horrendous endeavor.

Author: Charles Melson
Illustrator: Ramiro Bujeiro
Osprey (Warrior)

This volume provides an in-depth look at the experience of the ordinary US marine 'grunt' in Vietnam. Organisation of the corps, weaponry, equipment, uniforms, training and medical arrangements are all discussed. However, where this book differs from other similar works is not only in the detail that it goes into but also in the unifying theme of examining all these differing aspects of marine life from the point of view of a soldier serving in the conflict. The author, Charles Melson, actually served in the Vietnam War (1955-1975), and it is this personal experience that allows him to provide such a unique angle on the subject.

Author: Gordon Rottman
Illustrator: Chris Taylor
Osprey (Fortress)

In 1961 US Special Forces units began entering remote areas of Vietnam dominated by the Viet Cong. Their task was to organize local defense and strike forces aimed at stopping the enemy from gaining further control of such areas. The Green Berets set up fortified camps from which indigenous troops defended local villages and attacked and harassed the enemy. How these camps were constructed, developed, and defended is documented here for the first time. This book also covers the weapons, barriers, and obstacles used in these camps, providing specific examples of camp design, and details how they withstood the test of battle against a determined and resourceful enemy.

Author: Gordon Rottman
Illustrator: Adam Hook
Osprey (Elite)

Osprey's study of airmobile tactics used in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). 

• With its first major use in battle during the Vietnam War, the helicopter ushered in a radically different way of fighting, despite its proven vulnerability to ground fire. Either delivering troops into hostile territory and removing them after the fighting ended, or armed with guns, grenade launchers, and rockets to provide rapid and wide-ranging air to ground support fire, the helicopter - available for the first time in sufficient numbers and capable of a wide range of missions - played a central role in the war.

 • From the beginning, with obsolete Korean War helicopters carrying ARVN troops into battle, to Huey gunships evacuating the wounded at la Drang in 1965, and transport helicopters evacuating Americans from Saigon rooftops in 1975; this was the first real helicopter war. By the middle of the war, the helicopter, in particular the Huey model had become as important to the army as the tank, the armored personnel carrier, and the jeep.

 • Presenting a concise history of the first ever major use of helicopters in battle, Gordon L. Rottman, a former Green Beret in Vietnam, describes in detail the development of the critical airmobile tactics that ultimately changed the way America fights its battles.

Author: Gordon Rottman
Illustrator: Peter Dennis
Osprey (Elite)

Osprey's study of the evolving US, Viet Cong and NVA tactics at battalion level and below throughout the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Beginning with a description of the terrain, climate and the unique nature of operations in this theater of war, author Gordon Rottman, a Vietnam veteran himself, goes on to explain how unit organization was broken down by combatant forces and the impact this had on the kind of tactics they employed. In particular, Rottman highlights how units were organized in reality on the battlefield as opposed to their theoretical tables of organization.

US tactics included the standard US tactical doctrine as prescribed by several field manuals and in which leaders and troops were rigorously trained. But it also reveals how many American units developed innovative small unit tactics specifically tailored to the terrain and enemy practices. Key Free World Forces' tactics that will be discussed in detail include Command and Control, Combat Patrols and Ambushes, Counter-Ambushes, Defensive Perimeters, and Offensive Operations (sweeps, search and destroy, clear and secure). In contrast, this book reveals the tactics employed by Viet Cong and NVA units including their own Offensive Operations (attacking bases and installations, attacking moving forces), Reconnaissance, Movement Formations and Security, and Ambushes.

Author: Gordon Rottman
Illustrator: Howard Gerrard
Osprey (Warrior)

Osprey's study of the Viet Cong fighters of the Vietnam War (1955-1975). An enemy in the shadows, the Viet Cong was the military arm of the National Liberation Front, the Communist Party of the Republic of Vietnam. Often generally thought of as local guerrillas, they were also an important part of the North Vietnamese Army regular cadres.

Packed with emotive and rare photographs, this book not only analyzes the skills and tactics of these fascinating fighters, but also takes a look at their social origins to interpret how this affected their behavior as warriors.

Author: Gordon Rottman
Illustrator: Peter Dennis
Osprey (Campaign)

Khe Sanh was a small village in northwest South Vietnam that sat astride key North Vietnamese infiltration routes. In September 1966 of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), a Marine battalion deployed into the area. Action gradually increased as the NVA attempted to destroy Free World Forces bases, and the siege of Khe Sanh proper began in October 1967. The bitter fight lasted into July 1968 when, with the changing strategic and tactical situation, the base was finally closed. This book details the siege and explains how, although the NVA successfully overran a Special Forces camp nearby, it was unable to drive US forces from Khe Sanh.

Author: Gordon Rottman
Illustrator: Lee Ray and Chris Taylor
Osprey (Fortress)

Field fortifications and tunnel systems are typically thought of as defensive and active protective measures, but the VC/NVA also employed them offensively. It was common for extensive field works to be constructed to support assaults and sieges on US fire-support bases and remote camps. Their tactics reflected attempts to counter the massive firepower they faced: when directly engaging the enemy they employed “hugging” tactics (moving in and remaining closely engaged, even intermingling units, to prevent the enemy from bringing his artillery and close air support to bear). Their field works included defended villages, base camps, fortified complexes, hilltop defenses, trench systems, individual fighting positions, crew-served weapon positions, bunkers, caches, and extensive tunnel systems. Camouflage and deceptive measures, and the employment of obstacles and booby traps went hand-in-hand with such field works. This book examines these unique fortifications.


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