Edge of History

Vietnam War: Soldiers (Part 7)

In the last episode, we covered the problems of the Marines up in "I Corps" on the border of North and South Vietnam. In this one, I would like to stick with the theme that the Vietnam War offered a very different experience to the different kinds of troops that fought in it. Further south, the soldiers of the Army were deployed, patrolling rice paddies, dikes, and forested jungle areas in the heart of South Vietnam. The average soldier in this environment faced challenges unlike many others in the war, and this is dedicated to his experience.

Vietnam War: Marines (Part 6)

When speaking of the American military serviceman's experience in Vietnam, it's important to know that there were many vastly different combat tours, depending on where in the country one was stationed and when they served. An Army soldier "in the bush" down in the rice paddies of South Vietnam's fertile flatlands in 1970 had a very different war than a Marine posted in the mountainous country close to the border with North Vietnam. This episode focuses on some of those very different experiences and the unique disadvantages they presented.  

Vietnam War: Search for a Strategy (Part 5)

In 1965, the United States appeared to be "in it to win it." The trouble was, nobody knew what a winning outcome would look like. The government of South Vietnam was hopelessly corrupt and made up of landlords that simply stepped into the exploitative French system that came before them. Capturing territory meant nothing, because the enemy fled and then returned as soon as American troops went somewhere else to search for them. The civilian government in Washington handcuffed decisive measures like invading North Vietnam for fear of a wider conflict with China and the Soviet Union. What remained: to kill as many of the enemy as possible, wherever they could be found, and keep killing until they gave up.

Vietnam War: Run to the Jungle (Part 4)

In 1965, American President Lyndon Baines Johnson deploys large numbers of American troops to Vietnam for the first time. Massive naval installations and airbases are built in the name of defending South Vietnam from attack. But the enemy moves like water to the weakest points and the most opportune times to strike. America needs to go on offense, despite knowing very little about the terrain, climate, or people…

Vietnam War: Entangling Alliances (Part 3)

By 1964, South Vietnam was a total mess and on the verge of collapse. Trying to prop up the series of incompetent gangster-generals running the show had not worked. The US had a choice: abandon South Vietnam to the tide of totalitarian communism or Double Down. American leadership convinced itself of the latter. Why?