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The Vietnam War. The Definitive Illustrated History PDF

362 Pages·2017·123.79 MB·English
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EVIETNAM H T WAR THE DEFINITIVE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 001_Half_Title.indd 1 14/11/16 4:21 pm 002-003_Title.indd 2 14/11/16 4:21 pm s m i t h s o n i a n VIETNAM E H T WAR THE DEFINITIVE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 002-003_Title.indd 3 14/11/16 4:21 pm CONTENTS DK UK 30 French Defeat at Dien Bien Phu Project Editor Miezan van Zyl Viet Minh besiege French base. Military Senior Art Editor Sharon Spencer and political disaster for France as Dien US Editors Karyn Gerhard, Margaret Parrish Bien Phu falls. Managing Editor Angeles Gavira Guerrero Managing Art Editor Michael Duffy 32 ■ DIEN BIEN PHU Jacket Design Development Manager Sophia MTT Jacket Editor Claire Gell 34 The Geneva Accords Jacket Designer Sean Ross Pre-Production Producer Tony Phipps THE BACKGROUND Seeking peace in Korea and Indochina. Division of Vietnam agreed by France Producer Anna Vallarino and Viet Minh. Publisher Liz Wheeler BEFORE MARCH 1959 Art Director Karen Self 38 Vietnam Divided Publishing Director Jonathan Metcalf 12 Introduction North Vietnam becomes hardline DK DELHI communist state. America backs Senior Editor Dharini Ganesh 14 Timeline Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam. Project Art Editor Vaibhav Rastogi Reaction of Ho Chi Minh. Art Editors Sanjay Chauhan, Konica Juneja, 16 Indochina Colonized Debjyoti Mukherjee, Upasana Sharma France takes control of Vietnam. 40 ■ NGO DINH DIEM Assistant Editor Isha Sharma Creation of French Indochina. Senior Editorial Manager Rohan Sinha French colonial rule. 42 Cambodia and Laos Deputy Managing Art Editor Anjana Nair Norodom Sihanouk leads Cambodia Jacket Designer Dhirendra Singh 18 Revolt and Resistance to independence. Civil war in Managing Jackets Editor Saloni Singh Vietnamese opposition to French independent Laos. Picture Researcher Aditya Katyal rule. Indochinese Communist Party Manager Picture Research Taiyaba Khatoon founded. Viet Minh guerrilla DTP Designers Jaypal Chauhan, movement. Japanese coup. Syed Md Farhan Senior DTP Designers Harish Aggarwal, Jagtar Singh 20 ■ HO CHI MINH Pre-Production Manager Balwant Singh Production Manager Pankaj Sharma 22 From Independence to War Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam TOUCAN BOOKS independent. French colonial rule Managing Editor Ellen Dupont restored by force. Senior Editor Dorothy Stannard AMERICA DRAWN Senior Art Editor Thomas Keenes 24 Revolutionary Guerrilla Warfare Editor Abigail Mitchell Communist-led insurrections. Mao INTO VIETNAM Additional Editing Cathy Meeus Zedong’s victory in China. Influence Editorial Assistants Michael Clark, Joseph Persad on Vietnam. Cartography Ed Merritt MAR 1959 – DEC 1964 Proofreader Marion Dent 26 The First Indochina War Indexer Marie Lorimer Viet Minh’s armed struggle against 46 Introduction SMITHSONIAN CONSULTANTS the French. China’s support of Dr. F. Robert van der Linden Curator of Air Transportation and Special Purpose Aircraft, National Air and Space Viet Minh. French military setbacks. 48 Timeline Museum; Dr. Alex M. Spencer Curator of British Military Aviation and Flight Materiál, National Air and Space Museum; Jennifer L. Jones, Chair, Armed Forces Division, National Museum of American History 28 The Cold War 50 Guerrilla War Resumes America’s opposition to spread South Vietnam faces guerrilla First American Edition, 2017 of communism. The Korean War. campaign. NLF founded. America Published in the United States by DK Publishing Vietnam sucked into the Cold War. sends in military advisers and weapons 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 Soviet influence. to support Diem. Copyright © 2017 Dorling Kindersley Limited DK, a Division of Penguin Random House, LLC 17 18 19 20 21 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A FRENCH AIRCRAFT DOWNED AT DIEN BIEN PHU 001–299416–April/2017 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-1-4654-5769-1 DK books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact: DK Publishing Special Markets, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 or [email protected] Printed and bound in Hong Kong A WORLD OF IDEAS: SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW www.dk.com 004-007_Contents.indd 4 20/02/17 2:29 pm 52 The Viet Cong 78 South Vietnam on the Brink 100 ■ A PILOT’S VIEW 124 The African American Experience Roots and organization of the Guerrillas control wide areas of South African American service in the war. guerrilla movement. Recruitment Vietnam. President Johnson reinforces 102 Search-and-Destroy Race relations in Vietnam. African and training. America’s commitment. Build-up of US ground troops. Americans and the antiwar movement. Strategy of attrition. Exploiting 54 ■ VIET CONG GEAR AND WEAPONRY 80 The Tonkin Gulf Incident firepower and mobility. 126 ■ AN AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIER US covert operations against North 56 Creating the Ho Chi Minh Trail Vietnam. Naval clash in Gulf of Tonkin. 104 Battle of Ia Drang Valley 128 Airpower over South Vietnam Construction of supply chain from Congress authorizes military action. Major encounter between American Multiple uses of US airpower. Close air North Vietnam to guerrillas in the and North Vietnamese soldiers. First support of ground forces. Transport South. Use of Laos and Cambodia. 82 ■ PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON large-scale heliborne assault. and medical evacuation. 58 The Kennedy Administration 106 Air Mobility 132 ■ HELICOPTERS IN VIETNAM Kennedy’s counterinsurgency strategy. Creation of the Air Cavalry. The Domino Theory. Influence of Advantages and drawbacks of 134 Digging In General Maxwell Taylor. heliborne operations. Viet Cong tunnel networks in South Vietnam. Life underground. 60 ■ PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY 108 The Call to Service American efforts to penetrate and Decision to rely on conscription. destroy tunnels. 62 American Intervention in Laos Social inequalities of the draft. Laos becomes a focus of the Cold Effect of one-year rotation. 136 ■ TUNNEL RAT War. American covert action against AMERICA GOES the Pathet Lao. 110 Life on Base 138 War on the Ho Chi Minh Trail TO WAR Creating US military infrastructure in US efforts to disrupt communist supply 64 The Green Berets South Vietnam. Support bases in routes. Resilience of trail workers. Kennedy champions US Special Philippines and Thailand. Long-term effects. JAN 1965–SEP 1967 Services. Expansion of the Green Berets’ counterinsurgency role. 112 Recuperation and Entertainment 140 Combined Action Program 86 Introduction Provision of amenities and live US attempts to win hearts and minds 66 ■ THE GREEN BERETS IN VIETNAM entertainment. Rest and recreation in South Vietnam. 88 Timeline off base. 68 The Mountain People 142 The Naval War Ethnic identity and culture of the 90 The Decision for War 114 ■ MEMENTOS AND MEMORABILIA US naval operations. Coastal Montagnards. Their role in the war US bombing of the North begins. US bombardment. Interdiction of riverine against the Viet Cong. Marines land at Da Nang. Shift from 116 ■ A PLACE TO PARTY supply routes. Role of carrier aircraft. defensive to offensive operations. 70 Strategic Hamlets 118 America’s Allies 144 Operation Junction City Failure of counterinsurgency in South 92 ■ GENERAL WILLIAM WESTMORELAND Johnson’s “More Flags” policy. Role Largest US military operation of the Vietnam. Introduction of Strategic of soldiers from Australia, South war. Parachute assault by US Airborne. Hamlets Program. 94 Bombing North Vietnam Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Armored vehicles in action. Operation Rolling Thunder. Strategic and Thailand. 72 The Buddhist Crisis objectives and rules of engagement. 146 Chemical Warfare Mounting political opposition to North Vietnamese air defenses. 120 Battle of Long Tan Use of Agent Orange and other President Diem. Buddhist protests. Outnumbered Australian infantry defoliants. Effects of napalm and International concern at crackdown. 96 ■ AIRCRAFT defeat the Viet Cong. white phosphorus. 76 Diem Assassinated 98 Air-to-Air Combat 122 War in the Iron Triangle 150 The North Vietnamese Army Military coup leads to death of Diem. North Vietnam’s MiGs versus US Operations Attleboro and Cedar Falls. The NVA as a fighting force. South Vietnam’s government in chaos. fighters. Air-to-air missiles. Search-and- Destruction of the village of Ben Suc. Recruitment, training, and tactics. Kennedy assassinated. rescue missions. Reaction in the US. Morale of NVA soldiers. PLANNING US WAR STRATEGY A US HELICOPTER GUNNER 004-007_Contents.indd 5 20/02/17 2:29 pm 152 ■ NVA KIT AND WEAPONRY 182 ■ TET OFFENSIVE 216 Protest and Elections 240 Medevac and Treatment 1968 US presidential election. Antiwar Evacuation of wounded troops 154 Vietnamese Women at War 184 ■ US GEAR AND WEAPONRY protests at the Democrat convention. from the battlefield. Improved The multiple roles performed by Victory for Nixon. medical treatments. women on both sides of the conflict. 186 The Media and the War The hardships they endured. First televised war. Contentious 242 US Nurses critical coverage of the US war effort Recruitment of American women 156 ■ A WOMAN IN THE NVA by media. for nursing service. Dangers and mistreatment they faced. 158 The Challenges of Ground Combat 188 ■ SAIGON EXECUTION American troops face an alien 244 ■ NURSING THE SERIOUSLY environment. Fear and frustration. 190 The Battle for Hue WOUNDED Psychological impact. NVA troops capture Hue in Tet Offensive. US Marines retake the city. NIXON’S WAR 246 The My Lai Case 162 The War at Home Massacres of Vietnamese civilians. Prosecution of US officers for massacre Growth of the antiwar movement of Vietnamese civilians. JAN 1969– DEC 1971 in America. Context of 1960s’ 194 US Marines in Vietnam protest. Demonstrations. Resistance Origins and training of elite US 248 Cambodia Drawn into the War to the draft. fighting force. Main engagements 220 Introduction End of Cambodian neutrality. in Vietnam War. Sihanouk overthrown in a coup. 222 Timeline Rise of Khmer Rouge guerrillas. 198 US Women at War Range of roles performed by 224 The Nixon Administration 250 The Khmer Rouge US women in Vietnam, such Nixon’s commitment to withdrawal of Origins of the Cambodian guerrilla as intelligence, flight control, US troops. Pursuit of new relationship movement. Ideology of its leader and engineering. with communist powers. Pol Pot. 200 The Siege of Khe Sanh 226 ■ PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON 252 Cambodian incursion THE TURNING POINT Attack on US Marines’ combat base. Attack on communist strongholds Conditions during siege. Air support 228 Vietnamization in Cambodia by US and ARVN of ground troops. Gradual transfer of combat operations forces. Cambodia further destabilized. SEP 1967– DEC 1968 to the ARVN. US aims to help South Theater of war expands. 204 ■ THE SIEGE OF KHE SANH Vietnam achieve self-defense, 168 Introduction self-government, and self-development. 254 Political Storm 206 ■ ARTILLERY IN VIETNAM Antiwar demonstrations in US in wake 170 Timeline 230 ■ GENERAL CREIGHTON ABRAMS of Cambodia incursion. Confrontation 208 Opening Negotiations with prowar supporters. Student 172 Going for Victory Johnson initiates peace talks. 232 The ARVN protesters shot dead at Kent State. Decision of North Vietnamese Discouraging start in Paris. Strengths and weaknesses of the leadership and Viet Cong to launch Operation Rolling Thunder ends. South Vietnamese armed forces. 256 ■ HORROR AT KENT STATE a general offensive. Problems of conscription, commitment, 210 The “Mini Tet” and leadership. 258 Prisoners of War 174 ■ GENERAL GIAP Renewed NVA offensives. Battles Fate of US and South Vietnamese of Dai Do and Kham Duc. High 234 Withdrawal and Demoralization POWs in North Vietnam. Conditions 176 Prelude to the Tet Offensive US casualties. Staged withdrawal of American troops. in captivity. US Special Forces raid Opening moves in NVA and Viet Cong Decline in morale and discipline in Son Tay camp. general offensive. Attacks on US 212 CORDS and Pacification sections of US Army and Marines. combat bases at Con Thien, Dak To, Sustained effort to win the allegiance Outbreaks of fragging. 262 ■ POW OBJECTS and Khe Sanh. of Vietnamese villages. 238 Hamburger Hill 264 Lam Son 719 178 The Saigon Circle 214 The Phoenix Program Last major offensive operation by South Vietnamese invasion of Laos Viet Cong and NVA attack across Controversial CIA-led campaign US ground troops. Affect of weather to attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail. South Vietnam on Tet holiday. to identify and neutralize on air support. Reaction in US media Test of Vietnamization. Role of US Major battle in and around Saigon. Viet Cong cadres. at scale of losses. air support. US ANTIWAR PROTEST SEARCH-AND-DESTROY MISSION 004-007_Contents.indd 6 20/02/17 2:29 pm 290 Mining Haiphong Harbor 312 ■ GENERAL THIEU 340 Aftermath in Indochina US launches Operation Pocket Money. Problems of postwar reconstruction. North Vietnamese ports are blocked 314 Prelude at Phuoc Long Vietnam invades Cambodia. Border with mines laid by the US Navy. NVA attack and seize a provincial war between Vietnam and China. capital. America fails to respond. 292 Linebacker I 342 Indochina into the 21st Century Renewed American bombing 316 The Final Offensive Begins Evolution of politics and economy in campaign against strategic targets NVA offensive starts at Buon Ma Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. EASTER OFFENSIVE in North Vietnam. Use of laser-guided Thuot. North and central South Development of “war tourism.” bombs for the first time. Vietnam abandoned to communists. TO US EXIT Da Nang falls. 344 American Homecoming 294 Progress of the Peace Talks Fate of Vietnam War veterans. Impact Start-stop talks between Le Duc Tho 320 The Battle of Xuan Loc of the war on US foreign policy. JAN 1972–JAN 1973 and Henry Kissinger. Final agreement ARVN stages last-ditch fight on road to Remembrance and commemoration. remains elusive. Saigon. Xuan Loc falls and President 268 Introduction Thieu resigns. 346 ■ THE WAR IN AMERICAN POPULAR 296 ■ HENRY KISSINGER CULTURE 270 Timeline 322 Evacuation 298 The Christmas Bombing Americans and Vietnamese flee 350 Visiting Vietnam 272 Decision to Invade B-52 bombers strike targets in Hanoi Saigon. Evacuation by helicopter as Directory of war-related sites to visit in North Vietnam prepares to invade and Haiphong. Resumption of Paris communist troops close in. Vietnam. the South. Receipt of Chinese and peace talks. Soviet tanks and artillery. Completion 324 The Fall of Saigon 352 Index of Secret Road in triborder area. 300 The Peace Accord NVA tanks reach the presidential Training of troops. Paris peace agreement ends palace in Saigon. South Vietnam 358 Acknowledgments America’s war in Vietnam. Ceasefire surrenders. South Vietnamese hopes 274 American Strategy in 1972 without withdrawal of NVA troops of achieving a shared nationalism fail. The Nixon administration ponders from the South. Departure of last anticipated North Vietnamese invasion. US troops. 326 Khmer Rouge Victory in Cambodia Pursuit of détente with China. Fall of Phnom Penh to communist Preparing the US public. guerrillas. Forcible evacuation of city’s population. 276 Easter Offensive: Quang Tri NVA attacks across the DMZ. Quang 328 The Mayaguez Incident Tri falls. ARVN rallies and mounts a Khmer Rouge capture an American successful counteroffensive. merchant ship. US Marines stage a rescue mission. 280 ■ NAPALM ATTACK ENDGAME AND 330 Pathet Lao Takeover 282 Easter Offensive: Kontum Overthrow of monarchy in Laos. NVA attacks in the Central Highlands. AFTERMATH Communist regime installed. Hmong Effectiveness of US air support in people victimized. repelling the offensive. ARVN AFTER JANUARY 1973 launches counteroffensive. 332 The Fate of South Vietnam Vietnam reunited as a communist 284 ■ ARMORED VEHICLES 306 Introduction state. Executions and re-education camps. The “boat people” flee by sea. 286 Easter Offensive: An Loc 308 Timeline NVA and Viet Cong forces strike 334 ■ BOAT PEOPLE from Cambodia. Three-month siege 310 Breaking the Ceasefire of An Loc. Attack blunted by B-52 Fighting continues in Vietnam. 336 Cambodia under Communism bomb strikes. US Congress turns against providing Effects of Pol Pot and the Khmer financial support for the war. Nixon Rouge regime. Mass deaths in the 288 ■ BESIEGED AT AN LOC resigns over Watergate. “Killing Fields.” ARVN SOLDIERS DURING THE SIEGE OF AN LOC EVACUEES TAKE TO THE ROAD 004-007_Contents.indd 7 20/02/17 2:29 pm Foreword At the end of World War II, the United States emerged as a political and economic superpower in sole possession of nuclear weapons. While America prospered and its influence spread around the globe, it faced a daunting challenge. Despite suffering massive human and economic losses, the Soviet Union also sought to use its newly found power to extend its influence and to spread its contrasting tenets of communism abroad in a direct challenge to the United States. By the late 1940s, communism was firmly entrenched in eastern Europe. In 1949, communist forces seized control of China while the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb, ending America’s nuclear monopoly. Fearful of mutually assured nuclear annihilation, both east and west settled into an uneasy Cold War. But that by no means meant an end to conflict. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century the Cold War frequently erupted into indirect military combat, through the use of proxies. While the United States, communist China, and the Soviet Union parried to an uneasy truce in Korea in the early 1950s, revolutionaries in Indochina fought successfully for their independence from France. The peace was short-lived as Vietnam was divided between the communist north and the capitalist south. Tensions rose until open conflict once again broke out in the early 1960s, this time with the United States entering the fray to counter Soviet influence in the region. America’s involvement increased just as long-brewing social revolution erupted in the United States. As more advisers and then combat troops were sent to support South Vietnam, many American citizens began to openly question the nation’s involvement in a foreign war when so many pressing social issues needed to take precedent. This tumultuous internal conflict was openly expressed as protests, all set against the backdrop of an increasingly unpopular war. Searing images of death and destruction filled television screens during the evening news, further fanning unrest and seismic social upheaval within America’s diverse society. This book takes the reader on a carefully crafted journey through the maze of events that became the war in Vietnam. Remarkably thorough, and extraordinarily well-illustrated, this engaging book provides a well- written analysis through an American lens but does not hesitate to tell the story, no matter how difficult or painful. It is an excellent and highly readable synopsis of a very complicated era and a very complicated war. F. Robert van der Linden, Ph.D. Curator of Aeronautics Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum A purple smoke flare marks the landing spot for an incoming medevac helicopter after a battle in A Shau Valley. 008_009_Foreword.indd 8 28/11/16 4:13 pm

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