The Vietnam War : A Military History

This new military history of the Vietnam War finds that the result of the conflict was not a foregone conclusion and that there were a number of critical junctures at which the decision was in doubt. It deals with the war aims of the participants, their military strategies and the resulting operations on the ground.

Did America have to lose Vietnam? The popular wisdom about the Vietnam War remains that it was a 'guerrilla' conflict, in which the United States arrogantly failed to appreciate its enemy, and gradually succumbed to the pinprick attacks of the 'war of the flea'. The result of the conflict is therefore often understood to be almost pre-ordained. This new military history of the Vietnam War finds that the result of the conflict was not a foregone conclusion and that there were a number of critical junctures at which the decision was in doubt. It deals with the war aims of the participants, their military strategies and the resulting operations on the ground. In doing so, it provides original answers to some of the key questions about the war that still preoccupy commentators on the conflict. It will be invaluable reading for anyone interested in the Vietnam War and military history.