Westmoreland's War: Reassessing American Strategy in Vietnam (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780199316502)

General William C. Westmoreland has long been derided for his failed strategy of "attrition" in the Vietnam War. Historians have argued that Westmoreland's strategy placed a premium on high "body counts" through a "big unit war" that relied almost solely on search and destroy missions. Many believe the U.S. Army failed in Vietnam because of Westmoreland's misguided and narrow strategy

In a groundbreaking reassessment of American military strategy in Vietnam, Gregory Daddis overturns conventional wisdom and shows how Westmoreland did indeed develop a comprehensive campaign which included counterinsurgency, civic action, and the importance of gaining political support from the South Vietnamese population. Exploring the realities of a large, yet not wholly unconventional environment, Daddis reinterprets the complex political and military battlefields of Vietnam. Without searching for blame, he analyzes how American civil and military leaders developed strategy and how Westmoreland attempted to implement a sweeping strategic vision.

Westmoreland's War is a landmark reinterpretation of one of America's most divisive wars, outlining the multiple, interconnected aspects of American military strategy in Vietnam-combat operations, pacification, nation building, and the training of the South Vietnamese armed forces. Daddis offers a critical reassessment of one of the defining moments in American history.

Author: Gregory Daddis
ISBN-10: 0199316503
ISBN-13: 9780199316502
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 01/15/2014
Pages: 280
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.40w x 1.00d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/28/2013
Library Journal 02/01/2014 pg. 82
Choice 07/01/2014