Vietnam Firebases 1965-73

Vietnam Firebases 1965-73 PDF Author: Randy E. M Foster
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782002227
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
Artillery fire support bases of the Freeworld forces played a critical role in the conduct of operations during the Vietnam War. They served to lay down high-volume fire on enemy firing sites, supported friendly infantry operations, and executed harassing fire missions where exact targets were not known. But the firebases themselves which housed a range of other facilities such as troop shelters, surveillance radars and command centers had to be defended against ground attack, and as a result became significant fortifications in their own right. This book describes the design, development and operational history of the fire support bases throughout the conflict.

Vietnam Firebases 1965-73

Vietnam Firebases 1965-73 PDF Author: Randy E. M Foster
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782002227
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
Artillery fire support bases of the Freeworld forces played a critical role in the conduct of operations during the Vietnam War. They served to lay down high-volume fire on enemy firing sites, supported friendly infantry operations, and executed harassing fire missions where exact targets were not known. But the firebases themselves which housed a range of other facilities such as troop shelters, surveillance radars and command centers had to be defended against ground attack, and as a result became significant fortifications in their own right. This book describes the design, development and operational history of the fire support bases throughout the conflict.

Vietnam Firebases 1965-73

Vietnam Firebases 1965-73 PDF Author: Randy E. M Foster
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782002480
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
Artillery fire support bases of the Freeworld forces played a critical role in the conduct of operations during the Vietnam War. They served to lay down high-volume fire on enemy firing sites, supported friendly infantry operations, and executed harassing fire missions where exact targets were not known. But the firebases themselves which housed a range of other facilities such as troop shelters, surveillance radars and command centers had to be defended against ground attack, and as a result became significant fortifications in their own right. This book describes the design, development and operational history of the fire support bases throughout the conflict.

The US Army in the Vietnam War 1965–73

The US Army in the Vietnam War 1965–73 PDF Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472802241
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
This book provides detailed information about how US Army units were organised and operated in America's longest war. Vietnam Special Forces veteran Gordon L Rottman examines the different types of infantry battalions and the units that supported them, their training and organisation down to platoon level. Aspects of the US Army's conventional and unconventional warfare doctrine are also addressed, along with a discussion of how replacements were trained and integrated into units. Among other areas of the US Army's involvement covered are individual and crew-served weapons, artillery, armoured fighting vehicles, transport, logistics, the complex chain of command, and combat operations.

Vietnam Infantry Tactics

Vietnam Infantry Tactics PDF Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849085064
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
This book reveals the evolving US, Viet Cong and NVA tactics at battalion level and below throughout the Vietnam War. Beginning with a description of the terrain, climate and the unique nature of operations in this theatre of war, the author, a Vietnam veteran himself, goes on to explain how unit organisation was broken down by combatant forces and the impact this had on the kind of tactics they employed. In particular, the author highlights how units were organised in reality on the battlefield as opposed to their theoretical tables of organisation. US tactics included the standard US tactical doctrine as prescribed by several field manuals and in which leaders and troops were rigourously trained. But it also reveals how many American units developed innovative small unit tactics specifically tailored to the terrain and enemy practices. In contrast, this book also reveals the tactics employed by Viet Cong and NVA units including their own Offensive Operations, Reconnaissance, Movement Formations and Security, and Ambushes.

Soldiering On in a Dying War

Soldiering On in a Dying War PDF Author: William J. Shkurti
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700634037
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
By the autumn of 1971 a war-weary American public had endured a steady stream of bad news about the conduct of its soldiers in Vietnam. It included reports of fraggings, massacres, and cover-ups, mutinies, increased racial tensions, and soaring drug abuse. Then six soldiers at Fire Support Base Pace, a besieged U.S. artillery outpost near the Cambodian border, balked at an order to conduct a nighttime ambush patrol. Four days later, twenty soldiers from a second unit objected to patrolling even in daylight. The sensation these events triggered in the media, along with calls for a congressional investigation, reinforced for the American public the image of a dysfunctional military on the edge of collapse. For a time Pace became the face of all that was wrong with American troops during the extended withdrawal from Vietnam. William Shkurti, however, argues that the incidents at Firebase Pace have been misunderstood for four decades. Shkurti, who served as an artillery officer not far from Pace, uses declassified reports, first-person interviews, and other sources to reveal that these incidents were only temporary disputes involving veteran soldiers exercising common sense. Shkurti also uses the Pace incidents to bring an entire war and our withdrawal from it into much sharper focus. He reevaluates the performance and motivation of U.S. ground troops and their commanders during this period, as well as that of their South Vietnamese allies and North Vietnamese adversaries; reassesses the media and its coverage of this phase of the war; and shows how some historians have helped foster misguided notions about what actually happened at Pace. By taking a closer look at what we thought we knew, Shkurti persuasively demonstrates how combat units still in harm's way adapted to the challenges before them and soldiered on in a war everyone else wanted to be over. In doing so, he also suggests a context to better understand the challenges that may lie ahead in the drawdown of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fire Support Bases Vietnam

Fire Support Bases Vietnam PDF Author: Bruce Picken
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1921941901
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 556

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Book Description
Fire Support Bases Vietnam is a meticulous documentation of the construction, location and role of fire support bases during the Vietnam War, compiled by Vietnam veteran Bruce Picken. Often makeshift bases hacked out of primary jungle, these artillery gun areas provided essential support to infantry field units during operations in South Vietnam. In its simplest sense, a fire support base was an often hastily constructed fortified artillery base position, usually sited forward close to the centre of the area of operations in support of task force, battalion or company operations. The role of the fire support base was to bring artillery and mortar fire within range of friendly forces operating in depth. Artillery gun areas were not unique to the Vietnam conflict. In previous wars they were deployed in allied territory to cover the front lines and to support advancing troops. The concept was first applied in Vietnam by US forces and quickly adapted by Australian forces arriving in Phuoc Tuy Province in May 1966 to fight a new kind of war. This conflict was not like its predecessors and the fire support bases were now more usually sited in territory dominated by the enemy to provide much-needed protection for forces operating in bitterly contested areas. Fire Support Bases Vietnam is a detailed account that identifies every fire support base by date, location and role and provides an outline of the operations in which they participated. This is an essential reference book for those with a serious interest in the Vietnam War, and adds valuable detail to the study of a campaign that occupies a unique place in the Australian psyche.

Vietnam Airmobile Warfare Tactics

Vietnam Airmobile Warfare Tactics PDF Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782005099
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
In this book the author – an Army veteran of Vietnam – explains the composition, capabilities, equipment and missions of the US Army and Marine Corps helicopter and airmobile units in the Vietnam war and exactly how they carried out their missions. It centers on the classic airmobile assault mission: how it was planned and prepared; how the troop-carrying “slicks” and their “gunship” escorts and support teams actually operated; and the opposition and hazards that they faced on the LZ. The text is illustrated with wartime photos, organization charts, and color plates showing both the machines and the tactics that where employed.

Viet Cong and NVA Tunnels and Fortifications of the Vietnam War

Viet Cong and NVA Tunnels and Fortifications of the Vietnam War PDF Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782004653
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 166

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Book Description
During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong (VC) main forces and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) were forced to hide weapons and supplies underground and to dig protective shelters to counter massive US firepower. Their field works defended villages, hidden base camps, and fortified complexes, and took the form of trench systems, individual fighting positions, crew-served weapon positions, bunkers, caches, and extensive tunnel complexes. Camouflage and deceptive measures, and the employment of obstacles and booby traps, went hand-in-hand with such works. This title takes a detailed look at the VC/NVA tunnel systems, field fortifications, base camps. and camouflage and concealment measures employed during the Vietnam conflict.

Tunnel Rat in Vietnam

Tunnel Rat in Vietnam PDF Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849087849
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
In 1965, soon after the first US combat troops had arrived in Vietnam, it was realized that in some areas the Viet Cong had developed vast tunnel complexes in which to hide from the enemy. It was long known that such complexes existed, but it was not realized just how extensive they were in some areas, how important they were to the Viet Cong, and how difficult it was to detect and neutralize them. At first infantrymen volunteered to enter the tunnels armed with only pistols and flashlights – the 'tunnel runners' were born, known to the Australians as 'tunnel ferrets'. Starting as an ad hoc force of infantrymen, combat engineers and chemical troops, it was not long before units were 'formalized' as 'tunnel exploration personnel' and 4–6-man 'tunnel exploitation and denial teams' were created. They came to be known simply as 'tunnel rats' with the unofficial motto Non Gratum Anus Rodentum – 'Not Worth a Rat's Ass'. This title will be based on the personal accounts of those who served in this unique role and will describe the specialist training and equipment, not to mention the tactics and combat experiences, of those who fought an underground war against the Viet Cong in Vietnam.

North Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958–75

North Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958–75 PDF Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1846038677
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
Commonly mistaken for the locally raised Viet Cong, the NVA was an entirely different force, conducting large-scale operations in a conventional war. Despite limited armour, artillery and air support, the NVA were an extremely politicized and professional force with strict control measures and leadership concepts. Gordon Rottman follows the fascinating life of the highly motivated infantryman from conscription and induction through training to real combat experiences. Covering the evolution of the forces from 1958 onwards, this book takes an in-depth look at the civilian and military lives of the soldiers, whilst accompanying artwork details the uniforms, weapons and equipment used by the NVA in their clash against America and her allies.