Index

Michael G. Kort

Index

Maps are indicated by page numbers in italics.

A Shau Valley campaign, 167–168

abandonment of Vietnam. See also withdrawal from Vietnam (US)

American credibility and, 162

Chinese aid to North Vietnam and, 203–210

Nixon and, 219

peace with honor and, 163

Soviet aid to North Vietnam and, 197

US aid cuts and, 197–199, 203–210

Abrams, Creighton

ARVN armed by, 173

better war thesis of, 170–171

Cambodia and, 168

Giap and, 167

on infrastructure improvement in Vietnam, 183

Lam Son 719 and, 175, 177

large-scale operations of, 167–168

as MACV commander, 36

as South Vietnam forces commander, 160

strategy of, 177–178

tactics of, 166–167, 177–178

Vietnamization and, 164–165, 192

as Westmoreland’s successor, 142, 174

Aggression from the North (U.S. State Department white paper), 26

aid cuts to Vietnam, 197–198, 199–201, 209, 210–216

AK-47 assault rifles, 171–175, 172n23

Albania, 23

Alsop, Joseph, 101, 102

America in Vietnam (Lewy), 14, 95–97, 141

American credibility

abandonment and, 162

domino theory and, 19, 20

global implications of, 20–22

Kissinger on, 21–22

Americanization, 117–160. See also Diem (Ngo Dinh Diem); Kennedy, John F.

America’s Longest War (Herring), 8–9

Anatomy of a War (Kolko), 13

Anderson, David L., 101–102

Andrade, Dale

on Abrams’ tactics, 177–178

on Cambodian bases, 169

on North Vietnamese forces, 144–146, 145n61, 146n64

on the PAVN, 120, 174

on the Phoenix program, 181–182

on search and destroy, 145, 167

on the A Shau Valley campaign, 167

on South Vietnamese dependence on the US, 191

on strategic limitations, 144–146

on Tet, 177–178

on Vietcong terrorism, 180

“Westmoreland was right,” 120n6, 144–146

Annam region, 52

APC (Accelerated Pacification Campaign), 179

The Army and Vietnam (Krepinevich), 6–7, 139

ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam)

American advisors to, 109

arming of, 171–175

in the Easter Offensive, 189, 190, 219

Ho Chi Minh Trail and, 142–143

improvement of, 164, 165–166

Lam Son 719 as setback for, 176–177

in the North Vietnamese Spring Offensive, 213

successes of, 170

tanks of, 172–174

in Tet, 158, 212

US aid cuts and, 199, 203–210

Vietnam’s Forgotten Army: Heroism and Betrayal in the ARVN (Wiest), 4

weapons disadvantages of, 203–210

atomic bomb, 60

August 19 coup, 61–63

Australia, 20

Bach Dang River, 43

Bao Dai (emperor), 59, 79n23, 79, 98

Barrel Roll bombing campaign, 124–125

Beisner, Robert, 162

Berlin Wall, 23

The Best and the Brightest (Halberstam), 3

A Better War (Sorley), 165, 199

The Big Story (Breastrup), 157

Binh Xuyen (criminal gang), 98–100

The Birth of Vietnam (Keith Taylor), 40–41

Birtle, Andrew J., 110n38, 111, 144, 150, 171, 177–178

Black April, 197, 210–216

Black April (Veith), 36, 199, 211, 215–216

bombing campaigns, 10, 34, 121, 125, 130, 161–162, 163, 164. See also Linebacker I; Linebacker II; Rolling Thunder

ceasefire agreements and, 130

CIA on, 129, 206–207

failure of, 10

Ho’s view of, 34

military control over, 189–190

as retaliatory, 123

Breastrup, Peter, 157

A Bright Shining Lie (Sheehan), 3

Buddhism

Buddhist revolt and, 111–114

Catholics and, 114

Communist influence on, 113–114

in Diem’s regime, 102, 114

discrimination against, 112

emergence in Vietnam, 41

Ho vs., 112

self-immolation by Buddhist monks, 112

southern expansion and, 50

Bui Tin, 136–138, 149–152, 155, 220

Bulgaria, 23

Bunker, Ellsworth, 35–36, 160, 164–165

Burchett, Wilfred, 116

Burma, 20

Cambodia

anti-war demonstrations and, 169–170

ARVN performance in, 170

in Black April, 210, 211

bombing campaigns on, 125n15

Communist takeover of, 20

domino theory and, 220

Easter Offensive and, 190, 195–196

escalation policies toward, 150, 159–160

Geneva Accords and, 95

genocide in, 220

Ho and, 65

Ho Chi Minh Trail in, 150

in the Indochinese Union, 52–53

Lam Son 719 and, 175, 178

Lon Nol as prime minister of, 169

as a monarchy, 223n7

as a neutral state, 94, 168–169

Nixon and, 164, 168–171

North Vietnamese forces in, 145–146, 148, 149–150, 169

as North Vietnamese forces’ sanctuary, 218

North Vietnam’s threats to, 169

North Vietnam’s use of ports in, 169

PAVN performance in, 170

Sihanouk’s rule of, 169

southward expansion and, 47

twenty-mile tether into, 161–162

US forces not allowed in, 145–146, 148

US incursions into, 159–160, 161–162, 168–171, 177

as Vietcong sanctuary, 115, 218

Vietnamization and, 178

VWP agenda for, 87–89

The Cambodian Campaign (Shaw), 165

Cao Dai (Vietnamese religious sect), 58–59, 82–83, 86, 98–100

Cao Van Vien, 151–152, 199

Catholicism

in Diem’s regime, 100–101, 102, 104, 111–115

movement of, restrained, 84

Personalism and, 92–93, 103

repression of, 84

Vietnamese alphabet and, 53

VWP regulation of, 90–91

Catton, Philip E., 26n32, 103–104, 111, 115

CCP (Chinese Communist Party)

Giap’s training in, 76–77

Ho aided by, 18–19, 76

Nationalist Chinese forces defeated by, 86–87

Vietminh and, 76–77, 87–88, 89

ceasefire agreements

bombing campaigns and, 130

between the French and Vietminh, 97

in the Geneva Accords, 95

in Paris Accords, 196, 199, 200, 208, 212

Cedar Falls operation, 147–148

Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN), 154, 184–185

Cerami, Joseph R., 129–130

Champa kingdom, 45, 46, 47

Chen Jian, 134

Chiang Kaishek, 59–60, 80, 86–87

China. See also PRC (People’s Republic of China)

as a Communist state, 221n6

containment and, 94

DVN recognized by, 86–87

Easter Offensive and, 186–187, 189

forces of, departing Vietnam, 84

French colonialism and, 52–53

vs. French forces in Vietnam, 89–90

Ho in, 86–87

intervention in Vietnam, 133–134

as model for North Vietnam, 92

North Vietnam supported by, 13, 89–90, 121, 126n17, 171–175, 198

Politburo of North Vietnam and, 200–201

South Vietnam’s independence from, 50–51

vs. the Soviet Union, 162

Vietnam and (overview), 37–63

Vietnam Communists seeking aid from, 89–90

Vietnamese people and, 39–43

Vietnamese rebellions against, 42–43

Vietnam’s independence from, 43–45

China and the Vietnam Wars (Qiang Zhai), China and the Vietnam Wars, 1950–1975

Chinese Military Advisory Group (CMAC), 87

Choosing War (Kaiser), 6–7

Christianity, 50

Christmas bombing campaign. See Linebacker II

CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)

on bombing campaigns, 129, 206–207

Chinese/Soviet aid to North Vietnam and, 205–206

Colby as head of, 25–26, 102–103

coup against Diem opposed by, 114–115

McCone as head of, 129

Phoenix program and, 181

on strategic hamlets decline, 119

Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS), 179–180, 185

Clausewitz, Carl von, 32, 143n57, 143

CMAC (Chinese Military Advisory Group), 87

Coalition Government of National Union and Resistance, 82

Cochinchina, 39, 50–51, 52–55, 56–57, 74

Colby, William

APC and, 178–179

CORDS and, 178–179

on Diem, 25, 102–103, 116

Lost Victory, 102–103, 164–165

pacification and, 36, 160, 180n39

Phoenix program and, 180–181

on US aid cuts to South Vietnam, 197

Vietnamization and, 164–165, 191–192

war is won concept and, 183–184

Cold War

containment and, 94

détente and, 162

DRV and, 87

fronts of, 17

partitioning of Vietnam and, 97

reversals of views on, 4n4

significance of, 15–17

US involvement in Vietnam and, 4, 9, 15, 192–193, 212, 218

Comintern (Communist International)

abolition of, 76

Eighth Plenum of, 74–75

Ho’s activities in, 24–25, 59–60, 65, 66–69, 70–72, 74

ICP and, 71–73

international Communism and, 24–25, 65

Nazism’s rise and, 72n10

Soviet Union and, 64

Vietnamese Communists aided by, 64

Commando Hunt bombing campaign, 124–125

collapse of, 22–23

containment and, 14

domino theory and, 11

expansion of, post WWII, 14–15

in North Vietnam, 90–93

in a united Vietnam, 220

as unsustainable, 222–223

as Vietnam War focal point, 37–39

Vietnamese people’s rejection of, 85–86

Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), 18–19

Confucianism, 40, 41, 50, 64–65, 66, 90–91, 104, 106

Congress (US)

promises made by in 1973, 197

US aid to Vietnam reduced by, 197–198, 199–201, 209–210, 214, 215–216, 219

US troops in Laos/Cambodia forbidden by, 175

Constitutionalist Party, 56, 82–83

containment

overview, 14–24

aims of, 2–3, 14

as American policy, 8

China and, 94

Cold War and, 94

Communism and, 14

Communist expansion and, 94

Indochina and, 9

of the Johnson Administration, 117

misapplication of, 8–9

Soviet Union and, 94

conventional warfare

counterinsurgency and, 139–140, 142–143

disagreements over, 6–7

Easter Offensive as, 186, 189, 219

vs. insurgency into South Vietnam, 36, 139–140

North Vietnam and, 140n50, 140–141, 142, 143–144, 146

CORDS (Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support), 179–180, 185

Correll, John T., 132, 138

Corridor 613, 202

COSVN (Central Office for South Vietnam), 154, 184–185

counterfactual history, 13–14

counterinsurgency

conventional warfare and, 139–140, 142–143

ineffectiveness of, after Diem, 117, 119

JCS disagreements hindering, 121

Kennedy’s strategy of, 20–21

negative aim of, 143

strategy of, 139–143

CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union), 18–19

credibility. See American credibility; Soviet Union

Cuba, 221n6, 221

Cuban Missile Crisis, 21, 30n39, 30–31

Cubbage, Thomas, II, 146–147

Curry, Cecil B., 84, 191n67

Czechoslovakia, 17–18, 23

Da Nang (airfield), 124

Da Nang (city), 209, 213

Daddis, Gregory, 146–147

Dai Viet National Alliance, 58–59, 61, 77, 82–83

Dai Viet Restoration Society, 59

DAO (Defense Attaché Office), 198n8, 198–199

Daoism, 41

Davidson, Philip B.

on Abrams’ tactics, 167–168

on ARVN in Black April, 211, 213

on Cambodia, 170

on Diem, 98

on the Easter Offensive, 190–191

on gradual escalation, 33–34, 129–130

on Lam Son 719, 175–177

on military control on bombing campaigns, 189–190

on Ngo Quang Troung, 191n68

on pacification, 149

on Paris Accords violations, 196

on search and destroy, 147–148

on South Vietnamese dependence on the US, 191

on Tet, 156–158, 157n78

on US aid cuts to South Vietnam, 200–201

Vietnam at War, 156

on Vietnamization, 166, 190–191

A Death in November (Hammer), 115

Defense Attaché Office (DAO), 198n8, 198–199

democracy

Communist regimes adopting, 22, 223n7

Dai Viet National Alliance opposing, 59

Diem’s rejection of, 106–107

Ho’s rejection of, 79

televised war coverage and, 158n80

Vietnamese nationalists debating, 55

VNQDD support of, 56

Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DVN) (North Vietnam). See also Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Communist agenda of, 87–89

Communist states’ recognition of, 86–87

establishment of, 61–62, 75, 79–80, 90

far-left views of, 13n9

negotiated with the French, 83

as a totalitarian state, 90–91

détente, 162, 186–187

Devillers, Phillipe, 7, 86

DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency), 205–207

Diem (Ngo Dinh Diem). See also specific historians on Diem

Americanization and, 117

as anti-Communist, 100, 92, 102, 218

authoritarian rule defended by, 104, 106–107

Buddhist revolt and, 111–114

Catholicism in regime of, 100–101, 102, 104, 111–115

chaos following the coup against, 117, 118–119

coup against, 111–112, 114–116, 117

critiques of, 101–111, 115–116

early career of, 59

elections abolished by, 184–185

elections held by, 100–101

enigmatic nature of, 11–12

governmental chaos inherited by, 98

governmental viability of, 25–26

Ho and, 64–65

Hoang Van Chi and, 88n45

Kennedy Administration and, 111–112

land reforms of, 100–101, 102, 107–108, 108n32, 185

murder of, 110

national identity under, 104

nationalism of, 102, 107, 116, 218

nationalist legitimacy of, 7

Ngo Dinh Khoi and, 62

Personalist program of, 92–93, 106

political survival of, 98–100

regime of, 9, 98–116

South Vietnamese military strengthened by, 110n38

strategic hamlet program of, 102, 110n39, 110–111, 115, 119

systems analysis in downfall of, 28

US aid to, 92, 98–101

US as dependent on, 98

US proposals rejected by, 103

vs. US war management, 116

Vietnamese Communism weakened by, 100, 107–108

Diem’s Final Failure (Catton), 26n32, 103–104

Dien Bien Phu campaign, 87–89

DMZ (demilitarized zone), 94–95, 150, 190, 195–196, 202

domino theory

American acceptance of, 11

American credibility and, 20

defense of, 94

defined, 19

Eisenhower’s formulation of, 9

Marxist states’ collapse and, 221

Soviet Union’s collapse and, 22–23

Dommen, Arthur J., 61–62, 78, 82–83, 85–86, 91–92, 102

Dong Minh Hoi (Vietnam Revolutionary League), 59–60, 84

Dong Sy Nguyen, 151

Duiker, William J.

on Comintern support for the ICP, 72

on Diem, 101–102

on the DRV, 87

Herring and, 8

on Ho, 65–66, 66n2, 68, 70–71, 71n9, 87

on insurgency in South Vietnam, 8

on Leninism, 68

Moss and, 9

on Phan Boi Chau, 69–70

on the Vietminh, 75, 79

on Vietnamese nationalism, 54–55

Dulles, John Foster, 107

Dumbrell, John, 118

Dunham, George R., 203

DVN (Democratic Republic of Vietnam), 61–62

East Germany, 23

Easter Offensive

aims of, 188–189

ARVN performance in, 219

bombing campaigns against, 124, 189–190, 219

as conventional warfare, 186, 189, 219

failure of, for North Vietnam, 182, 190–192, 207

failure of, for South Vietnam, 190–191

Giap and, 191n67

map, 188

North Vietnam troops in place after, 190

US-North Vietnamese negotiations and, 194

Vietnamization and, 187–188, 190–191

Eisenhower, Dwight, 9, 19, 21, 98–100, 107

Elegant, Robert, 157

Ellsworth, John K., 130

Ending the Vietnam War (Kissinger), 163

escalation. See graduated pressure

Fall, Bernard B., 3n3, 70, 81–82, 91–92

Fascism, 90–91

Fire in the Lake (Fitzgerald), 3, 48–49, 49n21

First Indochina War, 85–90

Fitzgerald, Frances, 3, 48–49, 49n21, 50, 51, 101

France

American credibility and, 22

vs. Chinese forces in Vietnam, 89–90

collaborationalist colonial administration of, in Vietnam, 57–58

Communist party in, 65, 72

Diem’s comparison of the US with, 107

vs. Diem’s regime, 98–100

Dien Bien Phu and, 87–89

driven from Vietnam, 24–25

First Indochina War and, 85–90

French education in Vietnam, 56

Geneva Accords and, 95

Ho in, 64–65

Ho’s negotiations with, 83

ICP and, 71–72, 74

Indochina controlled by, 1

Japan’s 1945 coup and, 77

Munich and, 17–18

Popular Front in, 72–73

restoration of Vietnam as aim of, 62

Truman and, 20–21

Vietnam as protectorate of, 52–53

Vietnam Communists vs., 37–38

Vietnam conquered by, 44–45

Vietnam divided by, 39

Vietnamese nationalism and, 52–57

VNQDD and, 56–57, 71–72, 84

withdrawal from Vietnam, 89, 98, 100

World War II defeat of, 74

Franco, Francisco, 18

French colonial rule of Vietnam

China and, 45

ended, 60

Giap’s victories against, 76–77

Ho in rebellion against, 24–25

ICP resistance to, 73

origins of, 45

resumed, 79–80, 83

the Vietminh in rebellion against, 24–25, 38n2

Vietnamese civil strife and, 46

Vietnamese Communists vs., 37–38, 64

Vietnamese nationalists vs., 52–57

French Indochina, 58

Frizzell, Donaldson D., 156

From Enemy to Friend (Bui Tin), 151

Gacek, Christopher M., 28, 35n51, 122

Gandhi, Mahatma, 65–66, 66n2

Geneva 1954 (Randle), 96

Geneva Accords

overview, 94–98

American Plan and, 96, 97

cease-fire agreements in, 95

France and, 95

Franco-Vietminh war ended by, 98

Indochina and, 99

issues unresolved by, 95

non-binding agreements in, 95–97

North and South Vietnam created by, 45, 90, 94

North Vietnam and violations of, 97–98

17th parallel and, 217

unification elections and, 95–97

US and violations of, 95n4, 97

Vietminh violations of, 98–100

Germany, 125

Gia Long (emperor), 52–53

Giap (Vo Nguyen Giap)

Abrams and, 167

arrest avoided by, 148–149

CCP training of, 76

early career of, 73

Easter Offensive and, 191n67, 207

gradual escalation as advantageous to, 33–34

major offensive rejected by, 148–149

on rationalist approach to war, 34

reprisals by, 83–85

on Tet, 155

faulty Tet planning by, 156–157

Glenn, Tom, 214–215

Goldwater, Barry, 121

Gorbachev, Mikhail, 23

Government of (South) Vietnam (GVN), 185

gradual escalation

overview, 123–152

abandoned, 218–219

assumptions about, 118

failure of, 33n45, 218–219

as fundamental US policy after the Diem coup, 28

Giap and, 33–34

graduated pressure and, 118, 124, 218

vs. limited war, 35n51

rationalist approach to war and, 32–35

Rolling Thunder and, 35–36, 118

search and destroy campaign and, 35–36, 118

stalemate resulting from, 218–219

Gradual Failure (Van Staaveren), 122–123

graduated pressure

overviews, 30–34, 120–152

abandoned, 125

assumptions about, 118

in the Cuban Missile Crisis, 30n39

gradual escalation and, 118, 124, 218

Johnson adopting, 117–118, 218

McNamara’s policy of, 218

vs. principles of war, 218

rationalist approach to war and, 32–35

Rolling Thunder and, 125

shortcomings of, 35, 138

Tet and, 155–156

Great Britain

American credibility and, 22

British troops in Vietnam, 79–80

forces of, arriving in Vietnam, 79–80

Ho’s arrest and, 71

Munich and, 17–18

unification elections and, 96

as US ally regarding Vietnam, 20

Great Depression, 71

Great Society program, 117–118, 121, 161

Greece, 18

Gregor, William J., 215–216

Gulf of Tonkin, 39, 123n13, 123–124

GVN (Government of (South) Vietnam), 185

Hackworth, David, 139

Halberstam, David, 3, 65–66, 101

Hamburger Hill, 167–168

Hammer, Ellen, 25, 102, 115

Hanoi

air defense systems around, 131–134

air force of, 173–174

bombing of, 136–137, 163, 195

bombing restrictions near, 128–129, 135, 136

Chinese/Soviet supplies reaching, 150, 198

Communist party controlled by, 15

coup against Diem and, 116, 120

DRV declared in, 79

Easter Offensive and, 186–189, 190, 219

elections in, 81–82

forces of, in Cambodia, 169, 170

forces of, in Laos, 202

French forces in, 83, 84, 85

infiltration into South Vietnam and, 125, 218

insurgency controlled by, 8, 15, 31–32, 144

insurrection controlled by, 26

military victory of, 194–216

NLF controlled by, 109

post-war regime of, 216, 220

Saigon and, 204, 207–208

Soviet supplies reaching, 204–205, 206–207

Tet and, 154–155, 158, 177–178

vs. the Thieu regime, 194

US consulate in, 84–85

Vietminh in, 61–62, 77–78, 79, 81–82, 85

as Vietnam capital, 52–53, 79–80

Vietnamization and, 187–188

VNQDD in, 56, 61, 84

Hanoi’s War (Lien-Hang T. Nguyen), 186–187

Hao Hao (Vietnamese religious sect), 82–83

Harriman, Averell, 107, 114–115

Herring, George

on abandonment, 197–198

America’s Longest War, 8–9, 37n1

on ARVN, 171

on civilian casualties, 195

on the containment, 8

on Diem, 92–93, 100, 101–102

on the Geneva Accords, 95

on US aid cuts to South Vietnam, 197–198

Herrington, Stuart A., 165

Hess, Gary, 13n9

Higgins, Marguerite, 25–26, 101, 102, 104, 106–107

Hilsman, Roger, 114–115

A History of the Vietnamese (Keith Taylor), 40–41

Hitler, Adolf, 17–18

Ho Chi Minh. See also Comintern; Marxism-Leninism

American arms supplied to, 59–60

biographical profile, 64–65

vs. Buddhism, 112

career sketch of, 24–25

in China, 59–60, 86–87

collaborating with France, 80–81

collaborating with Japan, 80–81

as Communism client, 18

as Communist leader, 9, 37–38, 90–91

on the coup against Diem, 116

Democratic Republic of Vietnam proclaimed by, 61–62

Dong Minh Hoi, 59–60

DRV established by, 61–62, 75, 79–80

the elections of 1946, 81–82

failing health of, 148–149

First Indochina War and, 85–90

forces left in South Vietnam by, 100

foreign armies of occupation and, 80–81

as French Communist Party founding member, 65

as an internationalist, 66–69

Khanh on, 61n42

as a Leninist internationalist, 69

Marxism-Leninism of, 24, 68, 70–71, 81–82

nationalism of, 7, 9, 11–12, 24–25, 39, 65, 217–218, 221

as nationalist/Leninist, 61n42

negotiating with France, 83

vs. non-Communist nationalists, 25

Phan Boi Chau and, 69–70

popularity of, 9

reprisals by, 82–83

resistance to France weakened by, 85

returning to Vietnam, 24, 65, 67, 74

in the Soviet Union, 65, 72

Stalin and, 65

vs. unification elections, 97

US Declaration of Independence and, 79

Vietnamese Communism and, 64–70

Vietnamese independence declared by, 79

Vietnamese nationalism and, 7

Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League created by, 70–71

Ho Chi Minh: A Life (Duiker), 66

Ho Chi Minh Campaign, 211

Ho Chi Minh Trail

in Cambodia, 150

cutting of, 124–125, 142–143, 145, 149–151

defined, 108–109, 218

expansion/improvements of, 120, 201–202

importance of, 150n71

as infiltration route, 109

Lam Son 719 and, 175

in Laos, 120, 164

map, 99

in use after Paris accords, 201–202

Ho Ngoc Lam, 75

Hoa Hoa (Vietnamese religious sect), 58–59, 86, 98–100

Hoang Van Chi, 88n45

Hoang Van Thai, 202

Hoi Lien Hiep Quoc Dan Viet Nam (National Popular Front of Vietnam), 84

“How to Lose a War: The Press and Vietnam” (Elegant), 157

Hungary, 23

ICP (Indochinese Communist Party)

Comintern and, 59, 71–73

dictatorship of, 61–62

French repression of, 71–72

French rule resisted by, 73

French victories over, 74

Ho’s activities in, 65, 74–76

Khanh on, 74n13

Stalinist control of, 72–73

going underground in 1946, 81

VCP and, 71, 75

Vietminh controlled by, 61–62, 75

Vietnam strategy of, 74–75

VWP and, 87–88

In Retrospect (McNamara), 10–11, 35

India, 20

Indochina

in the Cold War, 9, 17

Communist takeover of, 20

containment and, 9

First Indochina War, 85–90

French control of, 1

French Indochina, 58

Indochinese Union, 52–53

Japanese occupation of, 74

maps, 58, 99

US interests in, 1, 12, 15, 21

VWP agenda for, 87–89

Indochinese Communist Party. See ICP

Indonesia, 20

infiltration into South Vietnam

Barrel Roll vs., 124–125

Buddhist movement and, 113–114

graduated pressure and, 34

by the PAVN, 108, 117, 120, 144–145

personnel involved it, 108–109

Rolling Thunder vs., 123, 124–125

through Laos, 124–125

Tiger Hound vs, 124–125

via the Ho Chi Minh Trail, 109

by the Vietcong, 108–109

by the Vietminh, 108

insurgency into South Vietnam. See also conventional warfare

Communist control of, 6–7, 8, 26

conventional warfare and, 36, 139–140

debates on, 2, 6–7

defense against, collapsing, 119–120, 120n6

Diem regime and, 102

graduated pressure against, 31–32, 117–118

North Vietnam’s control of, 7–8, 15, 26, 218

origins of, 26

as a revolt in the South, 8

Rolling Thunder vs., 7–8, 123

strategic hamlet program vs., 110, 111

successes of, after Diem, 117, 120

US underestimation of, 9

by the Vietcong, 108–109

An International History of the Vietnam War (R. B. Smith), 15

Intervention (Kahin), 6–7

Into Laos (Nolan), 178

Italy, 20

Jacobs, Seth, 13n9

Japan

bandwagon effect and, 22

colonial rule in Vietnam, 38n2

departure from Vietnam, 79–80

French power broken by, 77

Indochina occupied by, 74

March 1945 coup by, 60, 77–78, 79–85

military police of, 80n26, 80–81

North Vietnam occupied by, 57–58

surrender of, 60, 78

Vietminh vs. forces of, 79

Vietnamese sympathisers with, 58–59

JCS. See Joint Chiefs of Staff (US)

Johnson, Harold K., 149–150

Johnson, Lyndon B.

agendas of, divided, 161

American credibility and, 21

American military leaders as viewed by, 121

combat troops sent to Vietnam by, 123

Diem coup opposed by, 114–115

domestic agenda of, 117–118, 120–121

gradual escalation policies of, 19, 35

graduated pressure and, 118

Great Society program of, 117–118, 121, 161

Kennedy’s policies followed by, 117–118

military leaders’ opinions disregarded by, 122–123

negotiating with North Vietnam, 163

nuclear war and, 118

options in Vietnam limited by, 161, 163–164, 168–171

presidency of, ended, 159–160

ROEs and, 126–127

support for South Vietnam demonstrated by, 123

Tet and, 155, 157–158

US troop increases and, 115

Johnson Administration

air power misunderstood by, 130

combat troops sent to Vietnam by, 144–145

containment policy of, 117

gradual escalation policies of, 32

graduated pressure and, 117–118, 120–124

lucrative targets left undisturbed by, 136

options in Vietnam limited by, 128–129, 132–134

Rolling Thunder failure blamed on, 126–127

SAM base strikes rejected by, 132n31

supply route interdiction and, 135

Tet and, 159–160

Joint Chiefs of Staff (US) (JCS)

coup against Diem opposed by, 114–115

criticism of, 122–123

in the Cuban Missile Crisis, 30

disregard for opinions of, 121, 122–123

vs. graduated pressure, 120–124, 129

ineffective strategy articulation of, 122

limitations on, 129, 132–134, 149

Rolling Thunder campaign of, 129

Junction City operation, 147–148

Kahin, George McT., 6–7

Kaiser, David, 6–7

Karnow, Stanley

on civilian casualties, 195

on Communist rule of Vietnam, 220

on Diem, 101

on Ho’s nationalism, 65–66

on Linebacker, 195

Vietnam: A History, 3, 220

on Vietnam unification, 52

Kennedy, John F.

American credibility and, 21

American military leaders as viewed by, 121

Americanization and, 117

assassination of, 117

coup against Diem backed by, 111–112, 115–116, 218

Cuban Missile Crisis and, 21, 30–31

Indochina and, 21

Maxwell Taylor and, 31

Vietnam viewed as client state by, 107

Vietnam War escalated by, 19

West Germany and, 21

Khanh, Huynh Kim, 61n42, 74n13, 77–78

Kissinger, Henry

abandonment of Vietnam and, 162–163, 163n4, 198

American credibility and, 21–22

on Cambodia, 168–169

détente policy of, 162

Ending the Vietnam War, 163

on Lam Son 719, 175–176, 177

negotiating with North Vietnam, 183–184, 194

Paris Accords and, 194, 196–197

Vietnam policy of, slow to emerge, 163

on withdrawal from Vietnam, 162–163

Kolko, Garbriel, 13

Korea, 17–18. See also North Korea; South Korea

Korean War, 28

Krepinevich, Andrew F., Jr., 6–7, 139–141, 143n57

Krulak, Victor H., 111, 139, 140n50, 149–150

Kulikov, Viktor, 204–205

Lacouture, Jean, 8

Lam Son 719 campaign, 175–178, 184

land reform, 24–25, 88n45, 91–92, 100–101, 102, 108, 164

Land to the Tiller program, 182

Lansdale, Edward, 139

Lao Dong (Communist) Party, 8

Laos

in Black April, 210, 211

bombing campaigns on, 125n15

capitalist economy of, 223n7

as a Communist state, 221n6

Communist takeover of, 20

domino theory and, 19–20

Easter Offensive and, 190, 195–196

escalation policies toward, 150, 159–160

Geneva Accords and, 95

Harriman’s negotiations on, 107

Ho and, 65

Ho Chi Minh Trail in, 120, 164

in the Indochinese Union, 52–53

infiltration route through, 124–125

Lam Son 719 and, 175

as a neutral state, 94, 107

Nixon and, 164

North Vietnamese forces in, 145–146, 218

panhandle of, 124, 149, 150, 151

US forces not allowed in, 145–146, 148

US incursions into, 159–160

US supported by, 19–20

as Vietcong sanctuary, 115, 218

VWP agenda for, 87–89

LBJ and Vietnam (Herring), 8–9

Le Duan, 92, 97, 108–109, 118, 148–149, 187, 200–201

Le Duc Tho, 183–184, 187, 194, 196, 214

Le Gro, William E., 198–199, 203, 209–210, 212, 213

Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam (Nagl), 141

Lenin, Vladimir, 13, 64–65, 66n2, 66–69, 221

Leninism

aims of, concealed, 64

Ho and, 65–66, 66n2, 68

vs. nationalism, 68–69

Soviet Union as fountainhead of, 16

vs. Vietnamese nationalism, 56, 64

VWP and, 87–88

lesson of Munich, 17–18

Lewis, John W., 7

Lewy, Guenther

America in Vietnam, 14, 95–97, 141

on attrition strategy, 141

on Diem, 102

on the Geneva Accords, 95–97

on insurgency, 26

on pacification, 141

on search and destroy, 141

on Soviet expansion, 14–15

on US credibility, 21–22

Li Tana, 50–51

Li Trong Tan, 152

Lien Viet (National Popular Front of Vietnam), 84

Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, 186–187

limited war, 29n38, 31–32

Lind, Michael, 15–16, 17–18, 22

Linebacker I bombing campaign, 124–125, 189–190, 190n62

Linebacker II (Christmas bombing) campaign, 124–125, 136–138, 189–190, 190n62, 195

Liu Shaoqi, 19

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 107, 114–115

Loicano, Martin, 158–159, 165, 172–174

Lomperis, Timothy, 95

Lon Nol, 169

Longevall, Fredrik, 6–7

Lost Victory (Colby), 36, 102–103, 164–165

lost victory thesis, 36, 164–166

M-16 assault rifles, 158, 173, 174–175, 179–180

Mac family, 47–48

MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam), 36, 166, 174–175, 198n8, 198–199

Malaya, 20, 24–25, 65

Malaysia, 20

Malia, Martin, 16

Mao Zedong, 17, 18–19, 76, 134, 221

Marguerite, Higgins, 25

Marr, David G., 13n9, 39n3, 40, 77

Marxism

aims of, 16, 64

August coup of 1945 and, 62

Diem’s rejection of, 106–107

factionalism within, 68, 72–73

international collapse of, 221

Neo-Marxism and, 12–13

in North Vietnam, 9

Soviet Union as fountainhead of, 16

Stalin and, 73

tenets of, 222

Vietnam War analyzed through, 12–13

vs. Vietnamese nationalism, 56, 64

Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League and, 70–71

VWP and, 87–88

Marxism-Leninism

difficulties of, in Vietnam, 71–72

economic failure of, 93

failure of, 93

Ho’s loyalty to, 24, 68, 70–71, 81–82

ICP training in, 72

Soviet Union as global center of, 16

Vietnamese Communist loyalty to, 56, 64

Vietnamese nationalism and, 217

Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League and, 70–71

VWP loyalty to, 87–88

McCone, John, 129

McConnell, John P., 129–130

McMaster, H.R., 30, 34, 120–124

McNamara, Robert S.

American military leaders as viewed by, 121

American strategic errors analyzed by, 11–12

bombing campaign recommended to, 129

coup against Diem opposed by, 114–115

criticism of, 10–11

Cuban Missile Crisis and, 30n39, 30–31

graduated pressure as strategy of, 35, 117–118, 218

as limited war advocate, 29–30

military leaders’ opinions disregarded by, 122–123

PPBS and, 32

as rationalist approach advocate, 29n38, 29–30, 34n49

In Retrospect, 35

SAM base strikes rejected by, 131–132, 132n31

vs. traditional military thinking, 30–32

as Vietnam War policy manager, 10–11

McNaughton, John, 21, 131–132

Mekong River, 86

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), 36, 166, 174–175, 198n8, 198–199

Miller, Edward, 104

Misalliance (Miller), 104

Molotov, Vyacheslav, 96

Momyer, William W., 132n31, 133–134, 135

Mongols, 43–44

Moore, Joseph H., 131–132

Morgenthau, Hans J., 96

Morris, Robert E., 27, 33, 35, 122, 127–128

Morris, Stephen J., 67

Moss, George Donelson

on abandonment, 197–198

on containment, 9

on the coup against Diem, 116

on Diem, 92–93

on South Vietnam’s fall, 9

on US aid cuts to South Vietnam, 197–198

on US limitations in Vietnam, 163

on Vietminh coup, 38n2

Vietnam: An American Ordeal, 9

on Vietnamese national unity, 48n20

Moyar, Mark

on the Buddhist revolt, 111–115

on China’s intervention, 134, 151–152

on Communist unification of Vietnam, 51–52

vs. the coup against Diem, 114–115

on the coup against Diem, 115

on Diem, 25–26, 104–111, 115

on the domino theory, 20

on Dong Hoi occupation, 151–152

on the Easter Offensive, 182

on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, 150–151

on Ho’s Marxist nationalism, 66–69

on invasion of North Vietnam, 151–152

on land reform death tolls, 91–92, 100–101

on the Land to the Tiller program, 182, 184–185

on limited military options, 122–123

on North Vietnam’s insurgency, 25–26

Phoenix and the Birds of Prey, 180–181

on the Phoenix program, 182

on the strategic hamlet program, 110n39, 111, 115

Triumph Forsaken, 20, 25, 104–106, 111, 119

on US aid cuts to South Vietnam, 219

on the VCI, 180–181, 182

on Veith, 215–216

on the Vietcong’s unpopularity, 185n52

on Vietnamization, 184–185

Munich (lesson of Munich), 17–18

Murray, John E., 198n8, 209–210

Mussolini, Benito, 18

The Myth of Inevitable U.S. Defeat in Vietnam (Walton), 15, 27

1975 war for South Vietnam. See North Vietnamese Spring Offensive

Nagl, John A., 141

names (Vietnamese names), xii

National Assembly of Vietnam, 81–82

National Liberation Front (NLF), 13n9, 109, 113

National Popular Front of Vietnam (Hoi Lien Hiep Quoc Dan Viet Nam; Lien Viet), 84

nationalism (anti- and non-Communist)

coalitions of, 58–59

destruction of, 56–57

Ho vs., 25, 70–71

outward moderation and, 82n30

pro-Japanese factions in, 58–59

viability of, 25–26

Vietminh destruction of, 61–63, 81–85, 82n30

VNQDD leadership of, 58

nationalism (Vietnamese)

overview, 52–63

Constitutionalist Party and, 56

contradictions regarding, 39

Diem and, 102, 107

disarray among nationalists, 73

vs. French colonial rule, 52–57

Ho and, 7, 9, 11–12, 39, 65–70

ICP strategies toward, 75

in modern era, 56–57

permanent partition and, 97

powerlessness of, 58

vs. socialist revolution, 74

South Vietnamese regime’s viability and, 25–26

southward expansion and, 217–218

U.S. failure to support, 38n2

Vietnamese Communism vs., 64

Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League vs., 70–71

VNQDD and, 56–57

in World War II, 58

nationalism (Vietnamese Communist)

overview, 24–25

emergence of, 56

Ho representing, 7, 9, 24–25

as inauthentic, 64

Marxist components of, 9, 217–218

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), 20

Nazism, 18, 57–58, 72n10

Nazi-Soviet nonaggression pact, 72n10

Neo-Marxism, 12–13

New Zealand, 20

Nghe-Tinh revolt, 71, 72

Ngo Dinh Diem. See Diem (Ngo Dinh Diem)

Ngo Dinh Khoi, 62, 82–83

Ngo Dinh Nhu, 103, 106, 115

Ngo Dinh Thuc, 112

Ngo Quang Troung, 191n68

Nguyen Ai Quoc (alias of Ho Chi Minh), 65

Nguyen Cao Key, 119

Nguyen Chi Thanh, 148–149

Nguyen Cochinchina (Li Tana), 50–51

Nguyen family, 47–48, 50–51

Nguyen state map, 54

Nguyen Thai Hoc, 56–57

Nguyen Van Thieu. See Thieu (Nguyen Van Thieu)

Ngyuen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh’s birthname), 75

Nhu (Ngo Dinh Nhu), xii, 103, 106, 115

Nixon, Richard

abandonment and, 198

agendas of, divided, 161–162

Cambodia and, 164

commitments made to Thieu and, 192–193, 194–195, 197

détente policy of, 162

Easter Offensive and, 186–187, 188–189

vs. Johnson’s restrictions, 168–171

Laos and, 164

limitations placed on Cambodian incursion by, 169–170

options of, in Vietnam, 163

Paris Accords and, 192–193

as president in Vietnam era, 160

resignation of, 36, 219

Rolling Thunder and, 164

Thieu and, 194–195

Vietnamization as policy of, 36, 163, 164

withdrawal from Vietnam and, 162

NLF (National Liberation Front), 13n9, 109, 113

Nolan, Keith, 178

Norodom Sihanouk, 169

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 20

North Korea, 14, 221n6, 221

North Vietnam. See also Democratic Republic of Vietnam; infiltration into South Vietnam; insurgency into South Vietnam

air defense systems of, 130–134, 132n31

bombing campaigns on, 10, 34

China as model for, 92

Communism in, 90–93

conventional warfare and, 140n50, 140–141, 142, 143–144, 146

creation of, 45, 90

Diem and, 92, 117

establishment of, 24–25, 42

finances of, 173

guerrilla insurgency and, 139–141, 140n50

Johnson negotiating with, 163

land reform policy in, 24–25

Marxism in, 9

nature of war waged by, 139

Politburo of, 187–188, 194, 200–201, 207, 210–211

PRC’s support of, 13, 18

SAM bases of, 132n31

Soviet Union as model for, 92

Soviet Union’s support of, 13, 18, 36

strategy of, 146n64

tactics of, 117

as a totalitarian state, 90–91

US bombing strategies against, 125

North Vietnamese Spring Offensive. See also Black April; Easter Offensive

overview, 210–216

ARVN in, 213

Black April and, 213

as Hanoi’s final offensive, 205

map, 215

Paris Accords and, 196–197

PAVN in, 210–211, 215–216

US aid cuts and, 219

nuclear war, 118

Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (US), 60, 78, 84–85

On Strategy (Summers), 6–7, 139, 142

On War (Clausewitz), 32

Operation Menu bombing campaign, 169

orthodox narratives

overviews, 7–12

defined, 3–4, 7

OSS (Office of Strategic Services) (US), 60, 78, 84–85

Overy, Richard, 27n34

Owens, Mackubin Thomas, 165

pacification

APC and, 179

Bunker in charge of, 36

Colby in charge of, 160

CORDS as basis of, 178–179

defined, 180n39

Lam Son 719 and, 178–182

Lewy on, 141

neglected, 141, 142

PROVN and, 150

vs. the Vietcong, 180n39

Palmer, Bruce, Jr.

on the 25-year war, 1

on ARVN, 213

on the JCS, 122

on the Lam Son 719 campaign, 176

on search and destroy, 142

The 25 Year War, xii–xiii, 122, 156

on Westmoreland, 142

Palmer, Dave Richard

on the abandonment of Vietnam, 198

on ARVN, 213

on the Cambodian incursion, 168–169, 170

on the Geneva Accords, 196–197

on the incursion into Laos, 170

on Lam Son 719, 177

on the Linebacker I, 190

lost victory thesis and, 165

on Nixon’s Vietnam options, 163

Summons of the Trumpet, xii–xiii, 156, 165

Palmer, Gregory, 29n38, 29, 33n45, 151–152

Papin, Philippe, 66–69

Paris Peace Accords

overview, 194–216

cease-fire agreements in, 200

fall of South Vietnam and, 176

flaws in, 195–196, 219

North Vietnam’s combat operations and, 196

signing of, 195–196

US aid to South Vietnam reduced by, 207

US withdrawal from Vietnam and, 10

Vietnam War ended with, 2, 36

violations of, 201

PAVN (People’s Army of Vietnam). See also Giap (Vo Nguyen Giap)

AK-47 assault rifles supplied to, 171–175

assassination campaigns by, 180

CCP and, 76

creation of, 76–77

early victories of, 76–77

in the Easter Offensive, 189

infiltrating into South Vietnam, 108, 117

in Lam Son 719, 176

in the North Vietnam Spring Offensive, 210–211

performance of, 165–166

search and destroy vs., 147

tanks of, 172–174

Tet and, 10, 154

People’s Army of Vietnam. See PAVN

People’s Republic of China. See China; PRC

People’s Self Defense Force (PSDF), 179–180

Personalism, 92–93, 103, 106

petroleum, oil, lubricants (POL) storage capacity, 136

Pham Van Dong, 76, 91, 97

Phan Boi Chau, 55–56, 69–70

Phan Chu Trinh, 55–56

Philippines, 20

Philips, Rufus, 111, 184

Phoenix and the Birds of Prey (Moyar), 180–181

Phoenix program, 180–182, 185–186

Pike, Douglas, 136–138, 192, 211

Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS), 32

Pleiku Marine base, 120

Podhoretz, Norman, 17–18

POL (petroleum, Oil, Lubricants), 136

Poland, 23

Polgar, Thomas, 211

PPBS (Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System), 32

Prados, John, 7, 95n4, 101–102, 132n31, 150n71, 204, 205n22

PRC (People’s Republic of China). See also China

as a capitalist state, 221–222

Cold War and, 18

détente and, 162

as a dictatorship, 221–222

as dominant influence on the Vietminh, 87–88

establishment of, 86–87

international Communism and, 18–19

international Communism promoted by, 18–19

intervention of, in Vietnam, 151–152

North Vietnam supported by, 13, 18, 87, 100–101, 125, 173

permanent partition supported by, 97

Soviet Union split with, 151–152, 162

Vietminh armed by, 87

Vietnam airstrikes and, 126

as VWP model, 90–91

Pribbenow, Merle, 199

protonationalists, 55

PROVN (Program for the Pacification and Long-Term Development of South Vietnam), 150

PSDF (People’s Self Defense Force), 179–180

Qiang Zhai, 18–19

Quinlan, David A., 203

Randle, Robert F., 96

Red River delta and plain, 39, 41–42, 43

Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) (RVN), 90, 100–101. See also South Vietnam

revisionist narratives

overviews, 13–36, 217–224

defined, 4–5

Ridgway, Mathew, 28, 35n51

Roach, John P., 34n49

Robbins, James S., 34n49, 146–147, 155–156, 157–158

“The Role of Weapons in the Second Indochina War” (Loicano), 165, 172–174

Rolling Thunder bombing campaign

overview, 124–138

aims of, 138

China’s intervention and, 134

as a diplomacy tool, 130

failure of, 125–130

goals of, 123, 124–125

gradual escalation and, 35, 118

graduated pressure and, 125

intensification of, 147–148

intermittent nature of, 127–128

Johnson’s limitations on, 164

Linebacker I and, 189–190

Linebacker II and, 136–138

map of restricted zones (1967), 137

Nixon’s removal of limitations on, 164

North Vietnam’s air defense systems and, 131

ROEs in, 126–127, 128–129

search and destroy campaign and, 147–148

Romania, 23

rules of engagement (ROEs), 126–127, 128–129, 132–134

Russian Federation, 222–223

RVN (Republic of Vietnam) (South Vietnam), 90, 100–101. See also South Vietnam

Saigon

Buddhist revolt in, 112, 113, 114

Cambodia’s proximity to, 169

as Cochinchina capital, 52–53

as a commercial center, 52–53

as Constitutionalist Party base, 56

defended, 192

Diem’s government in, 92, 98–100

fall of, 176, 198–199, 204, 205–206, 211, 214

French colonial rule and, 53–54, 56

Hanoi and, 204, 207–208

political turmoil in, post-Diem, 119, 120

as South Vietnam capital, 92

South Vietnamese support of, 158, 175

stability regained in around, 164, 185–186

territory controlled by, 200

Tet and, 155

Thieu’s regime in, 179–180

SAMs (surface-to-air missiles), 131–134, 132n31

SarDesai, D. R., 45

Schelling, Thomas, 29n38

scholar-patriots, 55

Schulzinger, Robert, 6–7

search and destroy campaign

overview, 138–149

aims of, 138–139

attrition strategy of, 138–139

characteristics of, 138

extensions of, 167

failure of, 143n57

gradual escalation and, 35–36, 118

vs. graduated pressure, 138

North Vietnamese losses inflicted by, 146–148, 147n66

North Vietnam’s response to, 148–149

positive assessments of, 146–148

restrictions relaxed in, 138

shortcomings of, 147–148

South Vietnamese alienated by, 141

as US primary ground war approach, 138–139

as Westmoreland’s campaign, 138

SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization), 98–100

Serong, Ted, 111

17th parallel

DMZ in, 94–95

Geneva Accords and, 217

as North/South Vietnam dividing line, 38–39, 90

as a permanent partition, 97

as a political dividing line, 94–95

southward expansion and, 43, 47–48, 217

Vietnamese disunity and, 46–47

Sharpe, Ulysses S. Grant, 33, 35, 129

Shaw, John W., 165, 170

Sheehan, Neil, 3, 65–66, 69, 101

Sihanouk, Norodom, 169

Sihanouk Trail, 150

Singapore, 65

Sino-Soviet alliance, 14

Sino-Soviet split, 68, 162

Smith, R. B., 15, 20–21, 24, 115

Snepp, Frank, 204–205

Snow, Edgar, 134

Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 222

socialist revolution, 64, 69, 74, 218

A Soldier Reports (Westmoreland), 127–128, 131–132

Sorley, Lewis

on the Abrams’ better war thesis, 170–171

on Abrams’ strategy, 177–178

on Abrams’ tactics, 166–167

on the APC, 179

on ARVN armaments, 172, 173

on ARVN in Black April, 211–213

on ARVN performance, 171

A Better War, 165, 199

on clear and hold tactics, 166

on the Easter Offensive, 192

on improvement of South Vietnam’s forces, 142

on Lam Son 719, 177, 179

on the lost victory theses, 165

on North Vietnam’s entry into the South, 201

on pacification, 142

on the Phoenix program, 180

on search and destroy, 142

on the A Shau Valley campaign, 167–168

on South Vietnam’s collapse, 197

on Tet and the South Vietnamese, 158–159, 175

on US aid cuts to South Vietnam, 199

on the VCI, 180–182

on Vietnamization, 177, 187–188

war is won concept and, 183–186

on Westmoreland, 141–142, 143n57

Westmoreland, 141

South Korea

North Korea’s invasion of, 14, 87n42, 94

as US ally in South Vietnam, 20, 142–143

US support for, 19, 183, 192–193

US troops remaining in, 192–193, 212

South Vietnam. See also National Liberation Front (NLF)

aid cuts to Vietnam, 210, 219

Black April war for, 210–216

Catholic population of, 100

in chaos following the coup against Diem, 117, 118–119

client states of, 9

coup season in, 118–119

creation of, 45, 90

Diem and, 98–104

fall of, 210–216

finances of, 173

governmental legitimacy of, 9–10, 25–26, 220–221

immigration into, 47–52

late 1963 to early 1965, 118–120

map, 105

North Vietnam troops remaining in, 194

North Vietnam’s early interests in, 92

Paris Peace Accords and, 176

peasant landlessness in, 53–54

as a pseudo nation, 221

resources advantages vs. the north, 49n22, 49–50

strength of, in 1972, 35–36

survival of, after US withdrawal, 198

unification elections and, 96

war is won concept and, 183

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), 98–100

Soviet Union

vs. China, 162

collapse of, 22–23

Comintern and, 64

containment and, 94

credibility of, 22–23

as defunct, 221–223

détente and, 162

DVN recognized by, 86–87

Easter Offensive and, 186–187, 189

expansion of, post WWII, 14–15, 16, 23

Ho in, 65

intervention of, in Vietnam feared, 133–134

as Marxism’s fountainhead, 16

as model for North Vietnam, 92

non-aggression pact with nazi Germany, 72n10

North Vietnam supported by, 13, 18, 36, 87, 89–90, 100–101, 121, 126n17, 171–175, 198

permanent partition supported by, 97

unification elections and, 96

Vietminh armed by, 87

Vietnam Communists seeking aid from, 89–90

Spring Offensive. See Easter Offensive

Stalin, Joseph

Comintern abolished by, 76

Comintern and, 73

Ho and, 65, 217–218

international Communism promoted by, 18–19

Marxism and, 73

vs. Nazi Germany, 72

vs. Trotskyite faction, 72–73

Vietminh armed by, 87

Vietnam Communists and, 68

Steel Tiger bombing campaign, 124–125

Stern, Sheldon, 30n39

strategic hamlet program

vs. agroville program, 110n39

defined, 102

deterioration of, 119

successes of, 104, 110–111, 115

strategic limitations. See also rules of engagement (ROEs)

on air strikes, 126–138

ground war and, 149–152

on the JCS, 129, 132–134, 149

strategy. See Abrams, Creighton; bombing campaigns; Cold War; counterinsurgency; Giap (Vo Nguyen Giap); gradual escalation; graduated pressure; Ho Chi Minh; JCS; McNamara, Robert S.; Nixon, Richard; Tet Offensive; Westmoreland, William

Strategy of Conflict (Schelling), 29n38

Summers, Harry, Jr.

Andrade vs., on insurgency, 144

Andrade vs., on Westmoreland, 145

on assassination campaigns, 180

on blocking the Ho Chi Minh Trail, 140n50, 142–143, 149

vs. civilian leaders of the military, 143n57

Clausewitz and, 32n44, 32–33, 34

conventional warfare and, 140n50

on counterinsurgency, 140n50, 145

on the Easter Offensive, 190–191

on insurgency into South Vietnam, 6–7, 139–140

on invasion of North Vietnam, 151–152

vs. search and destroy, 143n57

on strategic defensive tactics, 142–143

On Strategy, 6–7, 139, 142

Vietcong assassination estimates of, 180

Summons of the Trumpet (Summons of the Trumpet), 156, 165

Sun Tzu, 5, 149

Sun Yatsen, 56–57

surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), 131–134, 132n31

Swords and Ploughshares (Maxwell Taylor), 35

systems analysis, 28–30, 34n49

Ta Thu Thau, 82–83

tactics. See also search and destroy campaign

of Abrams, 166–167, 177–178

clear and hold tactics, 166

defensive tactics, 130

disagreements on, 14

Ho’s study of, 76

of North Vietnam, 117

of North Vietnamese infiltrators, 108–109

strategic defensive tactics, 142–143

successful US tactics, 165

Sun Tzu on, 5

unsuitable US tactics, 140–141

Vietnamization and, 36

of Westmoreland, 166–167

Taiwan, 17, 20

Tan (Li Trong Tan), 152

Tay Son rebellion, 44–45

Taylor, Keith W.

on ARVN, 213

The Birth of Vietnam, 40–41

on China and Vietnam, 40–43, 44–45

on Cochinchina, 53–54

on Diem, 112–113

disunity among the Vietnamese and, 46–47, 49–50

A History of the Vietnamese, 40–41

on North Vietnam as a totalitarian state, 90–91

on North/South visions of Vietnam, 51

as revisionist scholar, 41n6

on South Vietnam, 25

on southward expansion, 49–50

as Vietnam veteran, 40–43

Taylor, Maxwell, 31n41, 31–32, 35, 120, 121, 129

Tet offensive (1789), 44–45

Tet Offensive (1968)

overview, 152–160

Abrams’ strategy and, 177–178

Communist forces retreating after, 177–178

defined, 10

failure of, 154–155, 218–219

as General Offensive, General Uprising, 154, 158

Giap on, 155

goals of, 154

graduated pressure and, 155–156

Johnson and, 157–158

Le Duan as proponent of, 148–149

map, 159

North Vietnamese strategy after, 167

planning of, 156–157

as a political defeat, 35–36

press coverage of, 157–158

search and destroy campaign and, 138–139

South Vietnamese response to, 158, 174–175

as strategic victory, 155–156

surprise element of, 154, 157, 158

US military potential in wake of, 155–156

US withdrawal from Vietnam and, 155

Westmoreland and, 157

The Tet Offensive (Willbanks), 146–147

Thailand, 20, 24–25, 65, 149

“Theses on the National and Colonial Questions” (Lenin), 64–65

Thieu (Nguyen Van Thieu)

Easter Offensive and, 188–189, 191

Kissinger-Tho agreement rejected by, 194

Lam Son 719 and, 175

Land to the Tiller program, 182

leadership of, 198–199

Nixon’s commitments to, 194–195, 197

Paris Accords and, 194–195

PSDF created by, 179–180

South Vietnam stabilized by, post Diem, 119

Tet and, 174

troop mobilization of, 174

US aid cuts and, 209

This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive (Robbins), 146–147, 156, 157–158

Tho (Le Duc Tho), 183–184, 187, 196, 214

Thompson, Robert, 111, 133, 183, 187–188

Thompson, W. Scott, 156

Thompson, Wayne C., 135, 136

Tiger Hound bombing campaign, 124–125

A Time for War (Schulzinger), 6–7

Tien Dung, Van, 148

Tito, Joseph Broz, 68

Todd, Olivier, Olivier Todd

Tonkin region, 39, 42, 47–48, 52. See also Gulf of Tonkin

total war, 28n37

Tran Van Trah, 155

Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance (1950), 19

Tri Quang (Thich Tri Quang), 113–114, 114n49

Trinh family, 47–48, 50

Trinh state map, 54

Triumph Forsaken (Moyar), 20, 25, 104–106, 111, 119

Triumph Revisited (Wiest, co-editor), 4, 111

Trotsky, Leon, 72–73, 221

Trotskyists and Trotskyism, 62, 72–73, 82–83, 84

Troung Chinh, 92

Truman, Harry, 14, 18, 19–21, 87n42

Trung sisters rebellion, 42

Truong Son Corridor, 202

Turley, William S., 187, 195, 197–198, 201, 204

Turner, Robert, 85–86, 91–92, 97–98

The 25 Year War (Bruce Palmer, Jr.), xii–xiii, 122, 156

Van Staaveren, Jacob, 122–123

Vann, John Paul, 3, 140, 183, 186

VCI (Vietcong Infrastructure), 154, 180–182

VCP (Vietnamese Communist Party), 24–25, 70, 71–72

Veith, George J.

on ARVN in Black April, 212, 213–216

Black April, 36, 199, 211, 215–216

on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, 207–208

on Soviet/Chinese aid to North Vietnam, 205–206, 207–208

on US aid cuts to South Vietnam, 199, 209–210, 213–216

Versailles Peace Conference (1919), 65

Vichy regime (France), 57–58, 62n47

Vietcong

AK-47 assault rifles supplied to, 172

assassination campaigns by, 180

in Black April, 210

in Cambodia, 115

vs. Diem’s regime, 115

infrastructure of, 154, 180–182

insurgencies of (1960), 108–109

insurgencies of (1963–65), 119–120, 178

in Laos, 115

losses incurred in search and destroy, 146–147

performance of, 165–166

Pleiku Marine base attacked by, 120

as South Vietnam’s major threat, 144–145

strategic hamlet program vs., 110, 111

in the Tet offensive, 10, 178

underestimation of, 9

unpopularity of, 185n52

Vietcong Infrastructure (VCI), 154, 180–182

Vietminh

alternatives to, 25

August 19 coup of, 61–63

CCP and, 76–77, 87–88, 89

Communist agenda of, revealed, 87–89

creation of, 75

development pattern of, 89–90

vs. Diem’s regime, 98–100

early successes of, 76–78

First Indochina War and, 85–90

vs. French forces, 79

French forces collaborating with, 62

Ho as founder of, 24, 59–60

ICP control of, 75

infiltrating into South Vietnam, 108

Japan and, 38n2, 77–78, 79

outward moderation of, 79, 81–82

program of, 75

public support for, 77

reprisals by, 77, 81, 82–83

resistance to France weakened, 85

US alliance with, 75, 78

U.S. failure to support, 38n2

Vietnamese people’s rejection of, 85–86

vs. the VNQDD, 61–63

World War II and, 73–78

Vietnam. See also Annam region; Champa kingdom; Cochinchina; Tonkin region

China and, 39–43

as a Communist state, 221n6

as a dictatorship, 222–223

historical overview, 37–63

independence and, 65, 79–80

kingdoms dividing, 38–39

Marxist factionalism in, 72–73

Nam Viet state in, 39n3, 39–40

national identity of, 104

Nationalist Chinese forces entering, 80

North/South visions of, 46n13, 51–52

southward expansion and, 54

Tran dynasty of, 44

unification of, 51–52

Vietnam, The Necessary War (Lind), 15

Vietnam: A History (Karnow), 3, 220

Vietnam: An American Ordeal (Moss), 9

Vietnam from Cease-Fire to Capitulation (Le Gro), 198

Vietnam Nationalist Party. See VNQDD

Vietnam Revolutionary League (Dong Minh Hoi), 59–60

Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War (Prados), 7

Vietnam War. See also containment; Diem (Ngo Dinh Diem); gradual escalation; graduated pressure; Ho Chi Minh; nationalism (Vietnamese); Tet Offensive (1968)

overviews, 1–5, 37–63, 94–116

as America’s longest war, 1n1, 8–9

casualty statistics of, 1n2, 1–2

effects on America, 2

fears of Communist powers’ intervention and, 133–134

in history, 6–36

as limited war, 31–32

rationalist approach to, 29–30

systems analysis in, 28–30

unpopularity of, 10, 155–156, 218–219

as unwinnable, 1–2, 12, 34, 104, 155, 213

World War II and, 27n34

The Vietnam Wars, 1945–1990 (Young), 13

Vietnamese alphabet, 53

Vietnamese Communism (Robert Taylor), 97–98

Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), 24–25, 70, 71–72

Vietnamese Communists and Communism. See also nationalism (Vietnamese Communist)

overview, 64–93

allied support sought for, 89–90

Diem’s weakening of, 100, 107–108

emergence of, 56

factionalism within, 71–72

Hanoi’s control of, 15

Ho and, 64–70

infiltrating into South Vietnam, 108–109

nationalism and, 67–68

in 1946, 80–83

permanent partition and, 97

unification under, 51–52

Vietnamese Independence League. See Vietminh

Vietnamese language, 41–42

Vietnamese names, xii

Vietnamese people

overview, 37–63

China and, 39–43

foreign domination resisted by, 37n1, 37–38

historical disunity among, 45–52, 48n20

southward expansion of, 47–52

Vietminh Communism rejected by, 85–86

Vietnamese identity and, 45–52, 46n13

Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League, 70–71

Vietnamese Worker’s Party. See VWP

Vietnamization

overview, 161–193

Abrams and, 164–165

Bunker and, 164–165

Colby and, 164–165

Easter Offensive and, 187–188, 190–191

failure of, 176–177

Lam Son 719 as setback for, 164–165

lost victory thesis and, 164–166

military operations and, 177–178

as Nixon’s policy, 36, 164

North Vietnam’s post-Tet weakness and, 219

successes of, 183–186

US withdrawal from Vietnam and, 35–36, 218–219

Vietnam’s Forgotten Army (Wiest), 4

VNQDD (Vietnam Nationalist Party)

Chiang Kaishek and, 59–60

Chinese troops protecting, 83

destruction of, 71–72, 84

formation and destruction of, 56–57

remnants of, in China, 58

Vietminh destruction of, 61–63

weakness of, in 1945, 60

Vo Nguyen Giap. See Giap (Vo Nguyen Giap)

VWP (Vietnamese Workers’ Party)

centrally planned socialist system of, 92

executions by, during land reform, 91–92

ICP revived as, 87–88

Indochina agenda of, 87–89

Marxist-Leninist agenda of, 87–88, 90–91

Politburo of, 118n1, 146–147

PRC as model for, 90–91

Rectification of Errors campaign of, 92

working peasant supremacy and, 91–92

as world Communist revolution participant, 87–89

Walton, C. Dale

ARVN in Black April and, 213

on bombing campaigns, 130

on China’s intervention, 134, 151–152

on the Cold War, 15

on graduated pressure, 34

on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, 150

on invasion of North Vietnam, 151–152

on the limitation of US options, 126, 136

The Myth of Inevitable U.S. Defeat in Vietnam, 15, 27

on victory in Vietnam, 27

The War Everyone Lost––and Won (Lomperis), 95

the war is won (concept), 183–186

Warner, Denis, 106–107

Watergate, 197, 199–200, 219

West Germany, 20, 22

Westmoreland, William

Andrade’s critique of, 144–146

as Army Chief of Staff, 166

Bruce Palmer, Jr. and, 122

counterinsurgency criticized by, 140

on gradualist US bombing, 127–128

intensive bombing campaign urged by, 129

JCS supported by, 129

Krepinevich Jr.’s critique of, 143n57

on Lam Son 719, 177

leaves Vietnam, 166

limitations on, 149

as MACV commander, 36

Nagel’s critique of, 141

North Vietnam’s retreat and, 147–148

pacification and, 141

SAM base strikes rejected by, 132n31

SAM base strikes urged by, 131–132

search and destroy campaign of, 138

A Soldier Reports, 127–128, 131–132

Sorely’s critique of, 143n57

strategy of, 156

tactics of, 166–167

Westmoreland, 141

Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam (Sorley), 141

Westmoreland’s War (Daddis), 146–147

Weyand, Fred, 166

Wheeler, Earle, 121, 122–123, 129, 157

Why We Were in Vietnam (Podhoretz), 17–18

Wiest, Andrew, 4n4, 158

Willbanks, James H.

on ARVN, 211, 212, 213

on the Easter Offensive, 186, 187

on Lam Son 719, 178

on Paris Accords violations, 196

on the Phoenix program, 181–182

on Soviet aid to North Vietnam, 204–205

on Tet, 146–147, 147n66

The Tet Offensive, 146–147

on Vietnamization, 176

Wirtz, James, 146–147

withdrawal from Vietnam (US), 155, 162–163, 197–198. See also abandonment of Vietnam

World War II, 19, 27n34, 28n37, 57–63, 73–78

Xioming Zhang, 134

Yen Bay uprising, 56–57, 71–72

Young, Marilyn B., 13n9

Yugoslavia, 23, 68

Zhou Enlai, 134

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