ABSTRACT

This book is a unique source of information about U.S. troop involvement in South Vietnam from 1965 to 1972. It stresses that Vietnam was a war without fronts or battle lines—a war different from any that the United States had previously fought.

part One|40 pages

Basic Patterns of This War Without Fronts

chapter 1|4 pages

Why Was the War So Confusing?

chapter 2|15 pages

The Where and When of Combat

chapter 3|4 pages

Where Did the $150 Billion Go?

chapter 4|14 pages

Goliath Versus David: The Forces Involved

part Two|58 pages

The “Main Force” War

chapter 7|19 pages

South Vietnamese Forces

chapter 8|10 pages

Did Airpower Work?

chapter 9|10 pages

Stalemate: The Americans Couldn’t Win

part Three|36 pages

The Casualty Toll

chapter 10|8 pages

Who Got Killed?

chapter 11|15 pages

American Casualties Analyzed

chapter 12|10 pages

More than a Million Civilian Casualties

part Four|83 pages

Pacification: “The Other War”

chapter 13|17 pages

How Secure Was the Countryside?

chapter 14|18 pages

The Territorial Forces: Unsung Heroes

chapter 15|21 pages

Vietnamese Popular Attitudes

part Five|34 pages

Civil Operations

chapter 18|15 pages

The Enormous Refugee Burden

chapter 19|8 pages

Land Reform: Best of This Century?

chapter 20|8 pages

Inflation: War-Fueled but Well-Controlled

part Six|5 pages

A Summing Up

chapter 21|2 pages

Epilogue: 1975

chapter 22|1 pages

Some Conclusions