Seven Firefights in Vietnam - Softcover

Cash, John A

3.86

98 ratings by Goodreads

9780160019135: Seven Firefights in Vietnam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0160019133 ISBN 13: 9780160019135

Publisher: Government Printing Office, 1998

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The events described in this small book are illustrative of much that took place in Vietnam after American troops were first committed in force in 1965; of heroic achievement and sacrifice, of human error, of experimentation and innovation, of a wily and elusive enemy, and of a new dimension of warfare afforded by the helicopter.

These accounts serve as a preliminary record of the achievements of men who served their nation well, a preface to a full military history of the war that is in preparation. The narratives also serve as valuable lessons to soldiers pursuing lessons of small unit actions.

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About the Author:

Authors

John Albright served in Vietnam as a captain in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and participated in the action, “Convoy Ambush on Highway1.” He received the B.A. degree from Oklahoma State University and is engaged in graduate study at The American University. He has served two short terms in Vietnam as a civilian historian while employed in the Office of the Chief of Military History.

John A. Cash, Major, Infantry, an experienced officer, serviced in Vietnam as a company commander and as a member of a brigade operations staff in the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), in the latter capacity participating in the action, “Fight at Ia Drang.” He also served two short tours in Vietnam as a historian on special missions for the Office of the Chief of Military History, to which he was involved in action, “Gunship Mission.” Major Cash holds the B.A. and M.A. degrees in history from Rutgers University and the M.A. from the University of Wisconsin.

Allan W. Sandsturm, Lieutenant Colonel, Field Artillery, served on the G-3 staff of I Field Force, Vietnam. He received the B.A. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles nd the M.A. degree in history from the University of Texas at El Paso. Colonel Sandstrum is currently assigned to the Office of the Chief of Military History.

Review:

Reviews from Goodreads:

Ben B rated it with 4 stars and had this to say, "Careful, detailed analysis of close combat."

Robert Burr rated it with 4 stars and had this to say, "Not the first place you want to go for information on warfare during this period, but an immensely rewarding read once you have some basic grounding in the way the armies involved worked. The battles are vividly described and thoughtfully analyzed."

Tom rated it with 4 stars and had this to say, "First of these true RVN books I have read in many years. It was better now that I am farther from the events. I could feel myself in a few of those encounters. I knew the territory quite well."

Kristopher Swinson rated it with 2 stars and had this to say, "I could read this sort of stuff all day, but only extract so much of value. Sad to say, there wasn't much to the third story, though the gunboat battle in #4 picked up the pace, and the overrun Special Forces camp at Lang Vei in #6 was rather exciting. (Those were some tough men facing the first successful use of Vietnamese armor (163), and it didn't help events that there was a great deal of confusion about who was Viet Cong and who was CIDG.) I admire those who endured a calm and collected death (24-25), expended all their ammo against the enemy (118), and/or kept returning to aid others at the front, however exhausted they might be (167-168).

One must appreciate the different mode of combat, when it was a "rare opportunity" to openly engage "any concentration of forces" (105). Vietnam was more about conducting warfare against "an aggressive, expertly camouflaged, and well-armed enemy force that could shoot well and was not afraid to die" (24). There was considerable difficulty creating landing locations (40, 109) in the jungle.

I rather liked the streamlined soldierly language of precision, which apprises one fully of overall troop movements as well as individual heroic actions, to say nothing of the reports of brave Americans about whom it was said that "piles of enemy dead in front of the positions testified to the enemy's tactical failure"

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