Main Selection of Military Book Club
Army Historical Society Book of Distinction finalist
Army Historical Society Book of Distinction finalist
With
the knowledge born of firsthand experience, James H. Willbanks tells
the story of the 60-day siege of An Loc. In 1972, late in the Vietnam
War, a small group of South Vietnamese held off three North Vietnamese
divisions and helped prevent a direct attack on Saigon. The battle can
be considered one of the major events during the gradual American exit
from Vietnam. An advisor to the South Vietnamese during the battle,
Willbanks places the battle in the context of the shifting role of the
American forces and a policy decision to shift more of the burden of
fighting the war onto the Vietnamese troops. He presents an overview of
the 1972 North Vietnamese Easter Offensive, a plan to press forward the
attack on U.S. and ARVN positions throughout the country, including Binh
Long province and Saigon. The North Vietnamese hoped to strike a
decisive blow at a time when most American troops were being withdrawn.
The heart of Willbanks’s account concentrates on the fighting in Binh
Long province, Saigon, and the siege of An Loc. It concludes with a
discussion of the Paris peace talks, the significance of the fighting at
An Loc, and the eventual fall of South Vietnam.
James
H. Willbanks is General of the Army George C. Marshall Chair of
Military History and director of the department of military history at
the US Army Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas.
His books include A Raid Too Far: Operation Lam Son 719 and Vietnamization in Laos, The Tet Offensive: A Concise History, and Abandoning Vietnam.
"The Battle of An Loc
could only be written effectively by a participant, and Willbanks was
present as an advisor to an ARVN unit. But this is not just an
eyewitness account. Utilizing newly discovered archival evidence and
recently translated North Vietnamese after-action reports, Willbanks has
reconstructed . . . the nearly three-month long siege . . . to answer
the question that has plagued military historians since the war ended:
was the Army of the Republic of Vietnam an effective fighting force? . .
. A fine book with rich, vibrant descriptions of combat, weapons, and
command decisions. Willbanks writes from an insider's perspective [with]
the discipline of a historian who knows what questions to ask." —H-Net Reviews
"An informative and consuming account. It is an engrossing read . . . for those who want to understand the battle of An Loc itself, the state of the war in 1972, and the sacrifices of those who advised the ARVN during the war's final years. A must-read for those who think the Vietnam War was only about defeating a jungle insurgency." —HistoryNet
"An informative and consuming account. It is an engrossing read . . . for those who want to understand the battle of An Loc itself, the state of the war in 1972, and the sacrifices of those who advised the ARVN during the war's final years. A must-read for those who think the Vietnam War was only about defeating a jungle insurgency." —HistoryNet
List of Figures
List of Maps
List of Photos
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
List of Abbreviations
1. Prelude to Battle
2. The Nguyen Hue Campaign
3. The Area of Operations
4. The Battle of Loc Ninh
5. The Opening Battle for An Loc
6. Second Attack on An Loc
7. NVA High Tide
8. The Fight for Highway 13
9. Breaking the Siege
10. Evaluating the Battle of An Loc
11. Aftermath
Epilogue
Appendix 1. Order of Battle
Appendix 2. Presidential Unit Citation, 229th Aviation Battalion
Appendix 3. Presidential Unit Citation, Advisory Team 70
Notes
Bibliography
Index
List of Maps
List of Photos
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
List of Abbreviations
1. Prelude to Battle
2. The Nguyen Hue Campaign
3. The Area of Operations
4. The Battle of Loc Ninh
5. The Opening Battle for An Loc
6. Second Attack on An Loc
7. NVA High Tide
8. The Fight for Highway 13
9. Breaking the Siege
10. Evaluating the Battle of An Loc
11. Aftermath
Epilogue
Appendix 1. Order of Battle
Appendix 2. Presidential Unit Citation, 229th Aviation Battalion
Appendix 3. Presidential Unit Citation, Advisory Team 70
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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