Overview

Beginning with the withdrawal of French forces from South Vietnam in 1955, the U.S. took an ever-widening role in defending the country against invasion by North Vietnam. By 1965, the U.S. had Americanized the war, relegating the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) to a supporting role. While the U.S. won many tactical victories, it had difficulty controlling the territory it fought for. As the war grew increasingly unpopular with the American public, the North Vietnamese launched two large-scale invasions in 1968 and 1972-both tactical defeats but strategic victories for the North that precipitated the U.S. policy of Vietnamization, the drawdown of American forces that left the ARVN to fight alone. This book examines the maturation of the ARVN, and the major battles it fought from 1963 to its demise in 1975. Despite its flaws, the ARVN was a well-organized and disciplined force with an independent spirit and contributed enormously to the war effort. Had the U.S. Vietnamized the war earlier, it might have been won in 1967-1968.

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9781476685854

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The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) fought bravely against the North Vietnamese invaders for more than a decade. Then the U.S. withdrew its support. The ARVN was defeated and destroyed. Vo Nghia tells their heartbreaking story with precision, detail, and enlightened understanding. --Tom Glenn, Vietnamologist and author

Author Information

Nghia M. Vo, a Vietnamese-American, has written multiple books on Vietnamese culture. He helped found the nonprofit Saigon Arts, Culture & Education Institute and works to document Vietnamese-American culture through conferences, publications and a website.

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