Overview

Did America's departure from Vietnam produce the ""peace with honor"" promised by President Richard Nixon or was that simply an empty wish meant to distract war-weary Americans from a tragic ""defeat with shame""? While James Willbanks doesn't offer any easy answers to that question, his book convincingly shows why America's strategy for exiting the Vietnam War failed miserably and left South Vietnam to a dismal fate. That strategy, ""Vietnamization,"" was designed to transfer full responsibility for the defense of South Vietnam to the South Vietnamese, but in a way that would buy the United States enough time to get out without appearing to run away. To achieve this goal, America poured millions of dollars into training and equipping the South Vietnamese military while attempting to pacify the countryside. Precisely how this strategy was implemented and why it failed so completely are the subjects of this eye-opening study Drawing upon both archival research and his own military experiences in Vietnam, Willbanks focuses on military operations from 1969 through 1975. He begins by analyzing the events that led to a change in U.S. strategy in 1969 and the subsequent initiation of Vietnamization. He then critiques the implementation of that policy and the combat performance of the South Vietnamese army (ARVN), which finally collapsed in 1975. Willbanks contends that Vietnamization was a potentially viable plan that was begun years too late. Nevertheless some progress was made and the South Vietnamese, with the aid of U.S. advisers and American airpower, held off the North Vietnamese during their massive offensive in 1972. However, the Paris Peace Accords, which left NVA troops in the south, and the subsequent loss of U.S. military aid negated any gains produced through Vietnamization. These factors coupled with corruption throughout President Thieu's government and a glaring lack of senior military leadership within the South Vietnamese armed forces ultimately led to the demise of South Vietnam. A mere two years after the last American combat troops had departed, North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon, overwhelming a poorly trained, disastrously led, and corrupt South Vietnamese military. But those two years had provided Nixon with the ""decent interval"" he desperately needed to proclaim that ""peace with honor"" had been achieved. Willbanks digs beneath that illusion to reveal the real story of South Vietnam's fall.

Full Product Details

9780700616237

Table of Contents

Reviews

The finest account to date of American military and political policy from the aftermath of the Tet Offensive to the 'fall' of Saigon. This book should be considered required reading by all students of the American War in Vietnam, whether they are in the classroom, the newsroom, the sitting room, or the war room. - Journal of American History As Willbanks demonstrates, no expenditure of firepower, blood, or personal heroics can redeem flawed strategies and policies.... Willbanks effectively demonstrates that a flawed U.S. exit policy led to the raising of a Viet Cong flag over Saigon on April 29, 1975. - Vietnam History is not supposed to repeat itself, but one is drawn to some sobering similarities between our current attempts to create a stable and secure Iraq and the legacy of the failed policy of Vietnamization. - Parameters At a time when the United States once again finds itself trying to withdraw with honor from a foreign military entanglement, this book is an excellent read for the professional military officer, diplomat, politician, and academic who hope to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated. - Proceedings, U.S. Naval Institute

Author Information

James H. Willbanks is a professor in the Combat Studies Institute at the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available