Combat operations : staying the course, October 1967 to September 1968 /

Staying the Course describes the twelve-month period when the Viet Cong and their North Vietnamese allies embarked on a new and more aggressive strategy that shook the foundations of the South Vietnamese state and forced the United States to reevaluate its military calculations in Southeast Asia.--P...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Villard, Erik B. (Author)
Format: Government Document Book
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. : Center of Military History, United States Army, 2017.
Edition:First printing.
Series:CMH pub ; 91-15.
United States Army in Vietnam.
Subjects:
Online Access:https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo88253
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Table of Contents:
  • Part One: Opening Battles
  • A question of momentum. Westmoreland's strategy for 1968 ; The chain of command ; The U.S. Army in Vietnam ; The South Vietnamese Armed Forces ; The enemy ; Hanoi's decision to launch a general offensive-general uprising
  • Opening moves: Battles north and west of Saigon. Planning the dry season offensive ; The other side of the hill ; The Battle for Loc Ninh ; Second wave at Song Be and Bo Duc ; Thunder Road ; Screaming Eagles ; Assessing the campaign north of Saigon ; Tropic Lightning strikes at War Zone C ; The situation at the beginning of the new year
  • Protecting the Heartland. Binh Duong and Hau Nghia provinces ; Gia Dinh: a province in transition ; East of Saigon ; Opening Highway 1 ; Long An province ; Taking stock
  • Operations in the Mekong Delta. Taking the offensive ; Firebase CUDGEL ; CORONADO IX ; Supporting the South Vietnamese government ; The Delta at year's end
  • Across the Central Highlands. New threats in the highlands ; The battle begins, 2-6 November ; The Allied counteroffensive, 7-15 November ; Into the Dak Klong Valley ; The pursuit continues: 15-18 November ; Hill 875: 18-24 November ; Results and interpretations ; Good neighbors in the highlands
  • Defending the Central Coast. Pacification support in Binh Dinh ; Battling the Yellow Star Division ; Fighting for Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces ; Defending Southern II Corps ; The balance sheet
  • Reinforcing I Corps. The struggle for the Que Son Basin ; The 2d Division attacks ; The Battle for Quang Tin and Quang Ngai provinces ; The balance sheet in I Corps
  • The gathering storm. Enemy preparations for Tet ; Warning signs ; Khe Sanh besieged ; Allied expectations.
  • Part Two: The General Offensive Begins
  • Tet unleashed. First strikes on the Central Coast ; Clashes in Binh Dinh ; Hard fighting in the highlands ; Initial fighting in Southern I Corps ; The thrust at Da Nang ; Conclusion
  • Saigon embattled. The capital military region on alert ; Attacks downtown ; The Battle for Tan Son Nhut Air Base ; The Joint General Staff compound ; Cholon and the Phu Tho Racetrack ; Battles on the periphery of Saigon ; Battles outside of Saigon ; Assessing the cost
  • Mekong firestorm. The Delta in flames ; The Mobile Riverine Force to the rescue ; Firebase JAEGER ; CORONADO XI ; The post-Tet situation in IV Corps
  • Fighting in the Northern Provinces. The assault on Quang Tri City ; Target: Hue ; A city besieged: 31 January-1 February ; Enter the cavalry: 2-10 February ; Going on the attack in the Triangle and the Citadel: 2-10 February ; West of Hue: 11-20 February ; Stalemate in the Citadel: 11-20 February ; The final push: 20-25 February ; Aftermath.
  • Part Three: Thrust and Parry
  • Reverberations. The communist perspective ; The view from Saigon ; America reacts ; Whither from here? The reinforcement debate
  • The allies strike back. Restoring security in Central III Corps ; Regaining the initiative in the Northern Mekong ; Operations on the Central Coast ; Patrolling the highlands ; The American Division in Southern I Corps ; The My Lai Massacre ; A sense of urgency
  • To Khe Sanh and the A Shau. Operation CARENTAN ; Operation PEGASUS ; Into the A Shau Valley
  • The general offensive renewed. Fighting on the demilitarized zone ; Safeguarding Hue ; The Fall of Kham Duc ; Ambush in Binh Dinh province ; Renewed pressure at Ben Het and Dak Pek
  • Mini-Tet in Saigon. Opening clashes to the east and north of Saigon ; The fight on the western outskirts, 5-12 May ; The Battle for South Saigon, 7-12 May ; Saigon: interlude and the second phase, 13 May-7 June ; Assessing the May offensive
  • A summer of attrition. Continuity and change in I Corps ; Operations in II Corps ; II Field Force and the approaches to Saigon
  • Thwarting the third wave. Allied preparations ; The Battle for Tay Ninh begins ; The offensive widens ; Fighting continues in Tay Ninh province ; The September phase ; Conclusion
  • An evolving war.