Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide

Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide

by James H. Willbanks (Editor)
Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide

Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide

by James H. Willbanks (Editor)

Hardcover

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Overview

The Vietnam War was one of America's longest, bloodiest, and most controversial wars. This volume examines the complexities of this protracted conflict and explains why the lessons learned in Vietnam are still highly relevant today.

Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide provides a compendium of the key people, places, organizations, treaties, and events that make up the history of the war, explaining its causes, how it was conducted, and its far-reaching consequences. Written by recognized authorities, this ready-reference volume provides essential information all in one place and includes a comprehensive list of additional sources for further study.

The work presents a detailed chronology that outlines the numerous battles and campaigns throughout the war, such as the Tet Offensive, the Battle of Hamburger Hill, Operation Rolling Thunder, and the Battle of Hue. Biographies on Lyndon Johnson, William Westmoreland, Robert McNamara, Ngo Dinh Diem, and other major political figures and military leaders provide insight into the individuals who played key roles in the conflict, while primary source documents such as President Nixon's speech on Vietnamization provide invaluable historical context.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781610691031
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 01/08/2013
Pages: 341
Product dimensions: 7.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

James H. Willbanks, PhD, is General of the Army George C. Marshall Chair of Military History and director of the Department of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS. He is a retired Army officer with 23 years of service, including a tour as an adviser with a South Vietnamese infantry regiment during the 1972 North Vietnamese Easter Offensive.

Table of Contents

Overview of the Vietnam War xi

Causes of the Vietnam War xv

Consequences of the Vietnam War xxi

Communist Strategy xxvii

Opposition to the War xxxi

The Tet Offensive and the Media xxxv

U.S. Involvement in Indochina xli

Reference Entries

Abrams, Creighton Williams, Jr. (1914-1974) 1

African Americans in the U.S. Military 4

Airpower, Role in War 6

Attrition 11

Bao Dai (1913-1997) 13

Barrel Roll, Operation (1964-1973) 15

Bundy, McGeorge (1919-1996) 18

Bundy, William Putnam (1917-2000) 19

Bunker, Ellsworth (1894-1984) 21

Cambodian Incursion (April 29-July 22, 1970) 23

China, People's Republic of, Policy toward Vietnam 29

Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support 32

Colby, William Egan (1920-1996) 33

Con Thien, Siege of (September 4-October 4, 1967) 35

Containment Policy 37

Cooper-Church Amendment 39

Cu Chi Tunnels 40

Dak To, Battle of (June 17-November 22, 1967) 41

Dau Tranh Strategy 42

Dien Bien Phu, Battle of (March 13-May 7, 1954) 44

Domino Theory 49

EAGLE PULL, Operation (April 12, 1975) 51

Easter Offensive (1972) 51

Farm Gate, Operation (1961-1967) 55

Ford, Gerald Rudolph (1913-2006) 56

Frequent Wind, Operation (April 29-30, 1975) 58

Fulbright, James William (1905-1995) 60

Geneva Conference and Geneva Accords of 1954 62

Goldwater, Barry Morris (1909-1998) 64

Gulf of Tonkin Incident (August 2 and 4, 1964) 66

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 68

Haig, Alexander Meigs, Jr. (1924-2010) 70

Hamburger Hill, Battle of (May 11-20, 1969) 72

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) 73

Ho Chi Minh Campaign (April 1975) 77

Ho Chi Minh Trail 79

Hue, Battle of (January 31-February 25, 1968) 84

Ia Drang, Battle of (October 19-November 26, 1965) 89

Indochina War (1946-1954) 92

Johnson, Lyndon Baines (1908-1973) 98

Junction City, Operation (February 22-May 4, 1967) 102

Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1917-1963) 106

Kennedy, Robert Francis (1925-1968) 111

Kent State University Shootings (May 4, 1970) 112

Khe Sanh, Battle of (April-October 1967 and January-March 1968) 114

Kissinger, Henry Alfred (1923-) 120

Komer, Robert W. (1922-2000) 124

Laird, Melvin Robert (1922-) 127

Lam Son 719, Operation (February 8-March 24, 1971) 128

Laos 132

Le Duan (1907-1986) 138

Linebacker I, Operation (May 10-October 23, 1972) 140

Linebacker II, Operation (December 18-29, 1972) 143

Lon Nol (1913-1985) 147

Market Time, Operation (1965-1972) 150

McCarthy, Eugene Joseph (1916-2005) 151

McNamara, Robert Strange (1916-2009) 152

Menu, Operation (March 18, 1969-May 26, 1970) 155

My Lai Massacre (March 16, 1968) 157

Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963) 160

Nguyen Van Thieu (1923-2001) 164

Nixon, Richard Milhous (1913-1994) 168

Paris Peace Accords (January 17, 1973) 174

Pentagon Papers and Trial (1971) 177

Pham Van Dong (1906-2000) 180

Phoenix Program (1968-1972) 182

Prisoners of War, Allied 184

Ranch Hand, Operation (January 12, 1962-January 7, 1971) 188

ROLLING THUNDER, Operation (March 2, 1965-October 31, 1968) 190

Rusk, David Dean (1909-1994) 197

Search and Destroy 199

Sihanouk, Norodom (1922-2012) 201

Steel Tiger, Operation (April 3, 1965-December 11, 1968) 204

Strategic Hamlet Program (1961-1964) 205

Taylor, Maxwell Davenport (1901-1987) 209

Tet Offensive, Overall Strategy (January 30-March31, 1968) 212

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 217

United States Congress and the Vietnam War 221

Vann, John Paul (1924-1972) 227

Vo Nguyen Giap (1911-) 228

Westmoreland, William Childs (1914-2005) 233

Primary Source Documents

Vietnamese Declaration of Independence (September 2, 1945) 237

Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina (July 21, 1954) 239

President Dwight Eisenhower: Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem (October 23, 1954) 241

National Security Action Memorandum No. 328 (April 6, 1965) 242

Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense: Excerpt from Memorandum for President Lyndon Johnson (April 21, 1965) 244

Ho Chi Minn: Letter to Lyndon Johnson (February 15, 1967) 245

President Lyndon Johnson: Excerpt from Address in San Antonio, Texas (September 29, 1967) 247

General William Westmoreland, Commander of U.S. Forces in Vietnam: Excerpts from National Press Club Address (November 21, 1967) 248

President Lyndon Johnson: Excerpts from Televised Address (March 31, 1968) 250

President Richard Nixon: Excerpts from Speech on Vietnamization (November 3, 1969) 254

President Richard Nixon: Excerpts from Speech on Cambodia (April 30, 1970) 262

Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor: Excerpt from News Conference (October 26, 1972) 265

President Richard Nixon: Letter to President Nguyen Van Thieu (November 14, 1972) 267

Excerpt from Paris Peace Agreement (January 27, 1973) 269

Vietnam War Chronology 275

Bibliography 305

Editor and Contributors List 323

Index 327

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