ABSTRACT
Military personnel, regardless of rank, study and deal with terrain. Whether in training or in war itself, officers and troops are taught how to use or adapt operations to the layout of the land. This chapter examines the impact of terrain, in its military definition, on operations. Recreating the world surrounding the men at war is particularly important when dealing with Vietnam. Vietnam is a quintessential tropical country. To most Americans from milder climes, the fertility and fecundity of that land were unknown. Most of the Americans serving in Vietnam came from towns, cities, or suburbs; few had ever been on a working farm. But anyone who has lived in a rural area knows that smells are very prominent due to close proximity of animals, living and dead, and plant life, whether growing or decaying. An inhospitable climate for men at war was the rule in Vietnam.
