Arvn

Download Arvn full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online Arvn ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

ARVN

Author : Robert K. Brigham
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700630570
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis ARVN by : Robert K. Brigham

Download or read book ARVN written by Robert K. Brigham and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2020-07-17 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scorned by allies and enemies alike, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was one of the most maligned fighting forces in modern history. Cobbled together by U.S. advisers from the remnants of the French-inspired Vietnamese National Army, it was effectively pushed aside by the Americans in 1965. When toward the end of the war the army was compelled to reassert itself, it was too little, too late for all concerned. In this first in-depth history of the ARVN from 1955 to 1975, Robert Brigham takes readers into the barracks and training centers of the ARVN to plumb the hearts and souls of these forgotten soldiers. Through his masterly command of Vietnamese-language sources-diaries, memoirs, letters, oral interviews, and more-he explores the lives of ordinary men, focusing on troop morale and motivation within the context of traditional Vietnamese society and a regime that made impossible demands upon its soldiers. Offering keen insights into ARVN veterans' lives as both soldiers and devout kinsmen, Brigham reveals what they thought about their American allies, their Communist enemies, and their own government. He describes the conscription policy that forced these men into the army for indefinite periods with a shameful lack of training and battlefield preparation and examines how soldiers felt about barracks life in provinces far from their homes. He also explores the cultural causes of the ARVN's estrangement from the government and describes key military engagements that defined the achievements, failures, and limitations of the ARVN as a fighting force. Along the way, he explodes some of the myths about ARVN soldiers' cowardice, corruption, and lack of patriotism that have made the ARVN the scapegoat for America's defeat. Ultimately, as Brigham shows, without any real political commitment to a divided Vietnam or vision for the future, the ARVN retreated into a subnational culture that redefined the war's meaning: saving their families. His fascinating book gives us a fuller understanding not only of the Vietnam War but also of the problems associated with U.S. nation building through military intervention.

Vietnam's Forgotten Army

Author : Andrew Wiest
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 081479467X
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (147 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Vietnam's Forgotten Army by : Andrew Wiest

Download or read book Vietnam's Forgotten Army written by Andrew Wiest and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2009-10 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: War.

The ARVN and the Fight for South Vietnam

Author : Nghia M. Vo
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476643199
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The ARVN and the Fight for South Vietnam by : Nghia M. Vo

Download or read book The ARVN and the Fight for South Vietnam written by Nghia M. Vo and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-09-08 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955–75

Author : Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1849081824
Total Pages : 50 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (49 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955–75 by : Gordon L. Rottman

Download or read book Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955–75 written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-20 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolved from the colonial units created by the French, this book discusses the original reorganization of these forces into the first national army. Complete with a detailed history of the command structure and orders of battle, the author also sheds light on the little known divisional histories of the army through rare, original source material. Moreover, the author examines in detail the evolution of such key units as armoured forces, ranger commands as well as combat unit organisation. This together with a detailed analysis of the experiences of the typical rank and file soldier as well as officer corps provides a concise and detailed history of an army that is too often neglected or quickly judged.

Steel and Blood

Author : Ha Mai Viet
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1612514332
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (125 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Steel and Blood by : Ha Mai Viet

Download or read book Steel and Blood written by Ha Mai Viet and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When South Vietnam was abandoned by its American allies and consequently defeated by the North Vietnamese in 1975, all its military records were lost to the enemy. This has led to a paucity of factually based analyses of the war by South Vietnamese authors. In a project lasting some ten years, and financed by his own hard-earned resources, Colonel Viet has researched, documented, and analyzed the Vietnam War from the perspective of South Vietnamese armor forces, elements in which he himself played an important role as leader, teacher, and innovator. His travels to interview hundreds of people with first-hand knowledge of these matters took him back and forth across the United States (and to Canada, France and Australia) and enabled him to piece together the story as recalled by virtually every senior South Vietnamese who was involved, along with many of lesser rank but important experience, and many Americans as well. The result is a unique and invaluable work, one recounting from the early days of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam its organization and development, its combat operations, and its interaction with American advisors and then later with deployed American units. Viet tells this story as an historian would, not glossing over the shortcomings and failures of his fellow Vietnamese soldiers (or of the Americans), but also providing definitive accounts of their successes, their innovations, their courage and determination, and the hardships experienced and survived in the course of a long, difficult, and ultimately unsuccessful struggle. In Colonel Viet's words: "In order to give the truth back to history, we did not hide anything, whether it be victory or defeat." Finally, in a very touching portion of the work, Colonel Viet memorializes his fallen comrades of the armored force and commemorates the service of all the American advisors to the armored force he was able to identify.

M113 APC 1960–75

Author : Jamie Prenatt
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1472817478
Total Pages : 49 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis M113 APC 1960–75 by : Jamie Prenatt

Download or read book M113 APC 1960–75 written by Jamie Prenatt and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-11-30 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The M113 is the most widely used and versatile armoured vehicle in the world. Fielded in 1960 as a simple 'battlefield taxi', over 80,000 M113s would see service with 50 nations around the world and 55 years later, many thousands are still in use. In addition to its original role of transporting troops across the battlefield, specialized versions perform a multitude of other functions including command and control, fire support, anti-tank and anti-aircraft defence, and casualty evacuation. This new fully illustrated study examines the service record of the M113 from its initial fielding through to the end of the Vietnam War. It will also describe the many US, South Vietnamese, and Australian variants of the M113 used in the Vietnam War as well as information on tactics, unit tables of organization and equipment, and a selection of engagements in which the M113 played a decisive role.

Kontum

Author : Thomas P. McKenna
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813140366
Total Pages : 378 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Kontum by : Thomas P. McKenna

Download or read book Kontum written by Thomas P. McKenna and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2011-09-09 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the spring of 1972, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam in what became known as the Easter Offensive. Almost all of the American forces had already withdrawn from Vietnam except for a small group of American advisers to the South Vietnamese armed forces. The 23rd ARVN Infantry Division and its American advisers were sent to defend the provincial capital of Kontum in the Central Highlands. They were surrounded and attacked by three enemy divisions with heavy artillery and tanks but, with the help of air power, managed to successfully defend Kontum and prevent South Vietnam from being cut in half and defeated. Although much has been written about the Vietnam War, little of it addresses either the Easter Offensive or the Battle of Kontum. In Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam, Thomas P. McKenna fills this gap, offering the only in-depth account available of this violent engagement. McKenna, a U.S. infantry lieutenant colonel assigned as a military adviser to the 23rd Division, participated in the battle of Kontum and combines his personal experiences with years of interviews and research from primary sources to describe the events leading up to the invasion and the battle itself. Kontum sheds new light on the actions of U.S. advisers in combat during the Vietnam War. McKenna's book is not only an essential historical resource for America's most controversial war but a personal story of valor and survival.

Hell in An Loc

Author : Quang Thi Lâm
Publisher : University of North Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 1574412760
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (744 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Hell in An Loc by : Quang Thi Lâm

Download or read book Hell in An Loc written by Quang Thi Lâm and published by University of North Texas Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Three days before Easter last spring, the North Vietnamese struck South Vietnam with a fury unknown to the Vietnam war since the Tet offensive four years earlier. They poured south across the DMZ, smashed into the central highland from Laos, crossed the border from Cambodia and, with an army of 36,000 men and 100 Russian-made tanks, raced toward Saigon, boasting that they'd be in the city by May 19, Ho Chi Minh's birthday. From one end of the country to the other, bases and villages fell before the savagery of their onslaught. By April 5, all that blocked them from Saigon was a ragtag band of 6,800 South Vietnamese regulars and militiamen and a handful of American advisors holed up in An Loc, a once-prosperous rubber-plantation town of 15,000 astride Highway 13, which led to the capital, 60 miles to the south ... In Thi's opinion, reporting the victory of An Loc would contradict the U.S. media's basic premise that the war could not be won because ARVN was a corrupt and ineffective force. Subsequent published studies of the conflict provide a wealth of details about the use of U.S. airpower and the role of the U.S. advisors, but they fail to provide equal coverage to the activities and performance of ARVN units participating in the siege. Thi believes that it is time to set the record straight. Without denying the tremendous contribution of the U.S. advisors and pilots to the success of An Loc, this book is written primarily to tell the South Vietnamese side of the story and, more importantly, to render justice to the South Vietnamese soldier who withstood ninety-four days of horror and prevailed"--Publisher's website.

The Twenty-five Year Century

Author : Quang Thi Lâm
Publisher : University of North Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 1574411438
Total Pages : 449 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (744 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Twenty-five Year Century by : Quang Thi Lâm

Download or read book The Twenty-five Year Century written by Quang Thi Lâm and published by University of North Texas Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For Victor Hugo, the nineteenth century could be remembered by only its first two years, which established peace in Europe and France's supremacy on the continent. For General Lam Quang Thi, the twentieth century had only twenty-five years: from 1950 to 1975, during which the Republic of Vietnam and its Army grew up and collapsed with the fall of Saigon. This is the story of those twenty-five years. General Thi fought in the Indochina War as a battery commander on the side of the French. When Viet Minh aggression began after the Geneva Accords, he served in the nascent Vietnamese National Army, and his career covers this army's entire lifespan. He was deputy commander of the 7th Infantry Division, and in 1965 he assumed command of the 9th Infantry Division. In 1966, at the age of thirty-three, he became one of the youngest generals in the Vietnamese Army. He participated in the Tet Offensive before being removed from the front lines for political reasons. When North Vietnam launched the 1972 Great Offensive, he was brought back to the field and eventually promoted to commander of an Army Corps Task Force along the Demilitarized Zone. With the fall of Saigon, he left Vietnam and emigrated to the United States. Like his tactics during battle, General Thi pulls no punches in his denunciation of the various regimes of the Republic, and complacency and arrogance toward Vietnam in the policies of both France and the United States. Without lapsing into bitterness, this is finally a tribute to the soldiers who fell on behalf of a good cause.

General Hieu, ARVN

Author : Tin Nguyen
Publisher : Tin Nguyen
ISBN 13 : 1617923648
Total Pages : 886 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (179 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis General Hieu, ARVN by : Tin Nguyen

Download or read book General Hieu, ARVN written by Tin Nguyen and published by Tin Nguyen. This book was released on 2011-03-31 with total page 886 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This biography, a reader would notice at the outset, was not written by a historian, an investigative reporter, or a professional biographer. It originates instead from the pen of a younger sibling seeking to resolve the mystery surrounding his brother's untimely death. This legitimate curiosity has evolved into a collection of articles depicting General Hieu as a family man, a patriot, a military strategist, and a man of integrity. This collection of articles authored by siblings, friends and fellow military men unexpectedly converges to project a dynamic image of an intelligent soldier and brilliant strategist engaged in the twofold quixotic tasks of overcoming a corrupted military hierarchy and fighting the invading North Vietnamese communist army. The book presents the reader with glimpses of a man living the yin aspect of the Vietnamese society (egalitarian, flexible, spiritual, congenial) and, at the same time, confronting the yang aspect of the neo-Confucianist military and government hierarchy (male dominant, rigid, self-serving, elitist, concerned with face and status). Without any claim to being systematic or thorough in his research, the author has nevertheless gathered a number of revealing personal anecdotes, testimonies from living witnesses, declassified documents from the National Archives, letters from former military academy classmates, phone interviews, excerpts from books, and so forth. From this cacophony of voices emerges the image of a virtuous man, caring father, loving spouse, and competent general respected by Vietnamese and American military personnel of all ranks. The reader would no doubt be surprised to discover this unsung hero in the stark background of negative memories of the Vietnam War and betrayal of the people by the neo-Confucianist military and government hierarchy. Though modest in its presentation, the book managed to do justice to a dedicated soldier and competent general, who was mostly unknown to both the Vietnamese and the American public. After reading this fascinating biography, the reader comes away wondering what might have been had this uncommon general, who epitomized the true Vietnamese people, been allowed to fully exercise his military competence.

Major General Nguyen Van Hieu, ARVN

Author : Van Tin Nguyen
Publisher : iUniverse
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 484 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Major General Nguyen Van Hieu, ARVN by : Van Tin Nguyen

Download or read book Major General Nguyen Van Hieu, ARVN written by Van Tin Nguyen and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2000 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brigadier General George Wear once noted, "When the ARVN troops were well led they fought as well as anyone's soldiers. They simply needed commanders who would support them properly and who could win their confidence and make them believe that their cause was worth risking their lives for." General Hieu had been one of such commanders. Colonel John Hayes, 5th ARVN Division senior advisor remarked in 1970, "General Hieu is an above average commander. Good qualities include dedication, experience as a combat leader, ability to stimulate and maintain morale, and ability to control those in his command. He is quite religious and patriotic, and demands high standards of conduct and discipline. He is methodical but decisive. He is rated better than the average US Division commander in overall performance." American Veterans who had served in Vietnam might be interested in knowing that General Hieu had collaborated closely with the following American units: USMC HMM-364, 52nd Combat Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, 174th Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Battalion/50th Mechanized Infantry, 7/15th Field Artillery Battalion, 19th Engineer Combat Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade/82nd Airborne Division, 12th Aviation Group and 3rd Squadron/17th Air Cavalry. * General Hieu was obviously a great soldier who put his country and his people foremost. (General Fred C. Weyand) * Biography of a South Vietnam general officer who has been likened to Patton, Rommel, Montgomery, and LeClerc. He was much admired by Vietnamese civilians and respected by his American advisors. (Douglas Pike) * This book sheds light on the ARVN Forces never before told. (Darryl Nelson) * I do not see how anyone studying the Vietnam War on the ARVN side can neglect your book at all. (James Miguez)

Général Hieu, ARVN

Author : Nguyen Van Tin
Publisher : Tin Nguyen
ISBN 13 : 1617923664
Total Pages : 1034 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (179 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Général Hieu, ARVN by : Nguyen Van Tin

Download or read book Général Hieu, ARVN written by Nguyen Van Tin and published by Tin Nguyen. This book was released on 2011-04 with total page 1034 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biographie du Général Nguyen Van Hieu de l'Armée de la République du Viet Nam (ARVN)

Under Fire with ARVN Infantry

Author : Bob Worthington
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476634440
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Under Fire with ARVN Infantry by : Bob Worthington

Download or read book Under Fire with ARVN Infantry written by Bob Worthington and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-10-10 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1945 to 1973, more than 100,000 members of the U.S. military were advisors in Vietnam. Of these, 66,399 were combat advisors. Eleven were awarded the Medal of Honor, 378 were killed and 1393 were wounded. Combat advisors lived and fought with South Vietnamese combat units, advising on tactics and weapons and liaising with local U.S. military support. Bob Worthington's first tour (1966-1967) began with training at the Army Special Warfare School in unconventional warfare, Vietnamese culture and customs, advisor responsibilities and Vietnamese language. Once in-country, he acted as senior advisor to infantry defense forces and then an infantry mobile rapid reaction force. Worthington worked alongside ARVN forces, staging operations against Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army units, and coordinated actions with the U.S. Marines. He describes a night helicopter assault by a 320-man ARVN battalion against a 1,200-man NVA regiment. On another night, the Vietcong ceased fire while Worthington arranged a Marine helicopter to medevac a wounded baby.

Team 19 in Vietnam

Author : David Millie
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813143276
Total Pages : 347 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Team 19 in Vietnam by : David Millie

Download or read book Team 19 in Vietnam written by David Millie and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Australian Army veteran offers a rare glimpse into the multi-national operations of the Vietnam War in this vivid and thoroughly researched memoir. In Team 19 in Vietnam, David Millie offers an insightful account of his twelve-month tour with the renowned Australian Army Training Team Vietnam in Quang Tri Province—a crucial tactical site along the demilitarized zone that was North Vietnam's gateway to the south. This firsthand narrative vividly demonstrates the importance of the region and the substantial number of forces engaged there. Drawing from published and unpublished military documents, his personal diary, and the letters he wrote while deployed, Millie introduces readers to the daily routines, actions, and disappointments of a field staff officer. Millie also discusses his interactions with province senior advisor Colonel Harley F. Mooney and Major John Shalikashvili, who would later become chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Few Australian accounts of the Vietnam War exist, and Millie offers a fresh perspective on the year after the Tet offensive. He contends that responsibility for the catastrophe inflicted on Vietnamese civilians is shared by an international community that failed to act effectively in the face of a crisis.

The Battle of Ap Bac, Vietnam

Author : David M. Toczek
Publisher : US Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 9781591148531
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (485 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Battle of Ap Bac, Vietnam by : David M. Toczek

Download or read book The Battle of Ap Bac, Vietnam written by David M. Toczek and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On January 2, 1963, the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) and its American advisors were soundly defeated by Viet Cong guerrilla forces at Ap Bac. The loss should have caused U.S. policy makers to question the value of their efforts to train and equip the ARVN troops, but they failed to perceive the battle's significance. In this book, a longtime U.S. Army officer and history professor at West Point provides the most comprehensive treatment of the battle in print. David Toczek not only analyzes the operation in detail but places it in the larger context of the war to better evaluate the meaning of what happened. He shows that U.S. civilian and military leadership missed an opportunity early on to learn from their mistakes when they failed to draw any connection between the ARVN's dismal performance at Ap Bac and American policies toward South Vietnam. Toczek notes that while a few tactical changes resulted from the battle, no policy changes were made, not even to the structure of the advisory system. The author also takes a look at the actions of John Paul Vann, the outspoken U.S. Army advisor at Ap Bac that Neil Sheehan wrote about in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Bright Shining Lie. Such a careful examination of a battle seen as a metaphor of the entire Vietnam War will prove useful to readers today eager to avoid the pitfalls of the past as they consider how best to fight insurgents of the 21st century.

ARVN

Author : Robert Kendall Brigham
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis ARVN by : Robert Kendall Brigham

Download or read book ARVN written by Robert Kendall Brigham and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Offering insights into ARVN veterans' lives as both soldiers and devout kinsmen, Brigham reveals what they thought about their American allies, their Communist enemies, and their own government. He describes the conscription policy that forced these men into the army for indefinite periods with a shameful lack of training and battlefield preparation and examines how soldiers felt about barracks life in provinces far from their homes. He also explores the cultural causes of the ARVN's estrangement from the government and describes key military engagements that defined the achievements, failures, and limitations of the ARVN as a fighting force. Along the way, he explodes some of the myths about ARVN soldiers' cowardice, corruption, and lack of patriotism that have made the ARVN the scapegoat for America's defeat.".

The ARVN and the Fight for South Vietnam

Author : Nghia M. Vo
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476685851
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The ARVN and the Fight for South Vietnam by : Nghia M. Vo

Download or read book The ARVN and the Fight for South Vietnam written by Nghia M. Vo and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.