Advice and Support : The Early Years, 1941-1960

by Spector, Ronald H.

• ISBN13: 9781410220462
• ISBN10: 141022046X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-02-28
• Publisher: Lightning Source Inc

Table of Contents

PART ONE The American Discovery of Vietnam
Conquest and Revolt	3	(18)
Nine Centuries of War	3	(2)
French Indochina	5	(12)
The Impact of War	17	(4)
From Pearl Harbor to the Japanese Coup	21	(16)
Conflicting Policies	21	(3)
America and Indochina	24	(5)
The Japanese Takeover	29	(8)
From the Japanese Coup to V -- J Day	37	(14)
A Reassessment of Policy	43	(2)
Policy at the Field Level	45	(6)
The Chinese Occupation of North Vietnam, August -- October, 1945	51	(26)
The Occupation and the Viet Minh	53	(6)
Gallagher's Mission	59	(5)
Americans in Southern Vietnam	64	(4)
Possible Trouble	68	(9)
PART TWO The Franco -- Viet Minh War
``Heading Into a Very Bad Mess'': Origins of Military Aid	77	(28)
A Reluctance to Intervene	77	(8)
The French Offensive of 1947	85	(5)
The Bao Dai Experiment	90	(7)
American Aid	97	(8)
Establishing a Military Assistance Program	105	(18)
The Griffin Mission	105	(1)
A Growing Commitment	106	(5)
The Melby-Erskine Mission	111	(4)
The Military Assistance Advisory Group	115	(8)
Defeats in Tonkin, Deliberations in Washington	123	(12)
Increasing Aid and Continuing Debate	126	(5)
Toward a Vietnamese Army	131	(4)
The de Lattre Interlude, 1950 -- 1951	135	(14)
Viet Minh Offensives in Tonkin	136	(5)
The de Lattre Visit	141	(3)
Solving the Supply Problem	144	(5)
Looking for a Way Out, January 1952 -- February 1953	149	(18)
Problems of a Vietnamese Army	153	(2)
A U.S. Role in Training?	155	(2)
Fall Offensives	157	(5)
The Light Battalion Proposal	162	(2)
The Unconventional Warfare Option	164	(3)
The Road to Dien Bien Phu	167	(24)
The Letourneau Plan	170	(6)
Financing the French	176	(3)
The Second O'Daniel Visit	179	(3)
Dien Bien Phu	182	(9)
The Question of Intervention	191	(28)
U.S. Strategic Options	194	(4)
The Debate Over Intervention	198	(6)
Operation Vautour	204	(4)
The Army Resists Intervention	208	(11)
PART THREE Going It Alone
``Political Considerations Are Overriding'': The Decision on Training	219	(12)
Reorganizing the Vietnamese Army	221	(3)
Diem Comes to Power	224	(1)
The Refugee Operation	225	(3)
The Decision on Training	228	(3)
The Collins Mission	231	(24)
Preventing a Coup	232	(6)
Establishing a Training Mission	238	(5)
Confrontations With the Sects	243	(7)
The French Withdraw	250	(5)
Picking Up the Pieces, 1955 -- 1956	255	(20)
The Temporary Equipment Recovery Mission	257	(5)
South Vietnamese Force Structure	262	(6)
Dealing With the Threat From the North	268	(7)
Building a Vietnamese Army, 1956--1959	275	(28)
The State of the Vietnamese Army	278	(4)
Schools and Training	282	(4)
The Language Barrier	286	(5)
The Adviser's Role	291	(4)
The Army Reorganizes	295	(8)
Roots of a New War, 1957 -- 1959	303	(26)
The Uses of American Aid	306	(2)
Land Reform	308	(2)
Communist Strategy After Geneva	310	(6)
Problems of Intelligence	316	(4)
Forces for Internal Security	320	(5)
The Situation Deteriorates	325	(4)
Things Fall Apart, July 1959 -- June 1960	329	(20)
A New Viet Cong Strategy	329	(8)
The Viet Cong Take the Offensive	337	(6)
The Breakdown of the Army	343	(6)
``Something Extra and Special''	349	(26)
The Counterinsurgency Controversy	349	(8)
Crisis Planning	357	(4)
The Counterinsurgency Plan	361	(8)
The Coup Attempt	369	(6)
Assessment	375	(6)
Bibliographical Note	381	(6)
Index	387