Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965

by Mark Moyar

• ISBN13: 9780521869119
• ISBN10: 0521869110
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Drawing on a wealth of new evidence from all sides, Triumph Forsaken overturns most of the historical orthodoxy on the Vietnam War. Through the analysis of international perceptions and power, it shows that South Vietnam was a vital interest of the United States. The book provides many new insights into the overthrow of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963 and demonstrates that the coup negated the South Vietnamese government's tremendous, and hitherto unappreciated, military and political gains between 1954 and 1963. After Diem's assassination, President Lyndon Johnson had at his disposal several aggressive policy options that could have enabled South Vietnam to continue the war without a massive US troop infusion, but he ruled out these options because of faulty assumptions and inadequate intelligence, making such an infusion the only means of saving the country.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Heritage

2. Two Vietnams, July 1954-December 1955

3. Peaceful coexistence, 1956 1959

4. Insurgency, 1960

5. Commitment, 1961

6. Rejuvenation, January-June 1962

7. Attack, July-December 1962

8. The battle of Ap Bac, January 1963

9. Diem on trial, February-July 1963

10. Betrayal, August 1963

11. Self-destruction, September-November 2, 1963

12. The return of the twelve warlords, November 3-December 1963

13. Self-imposed restrictions, January-July 1964

14. Signals, August-October 1964

15. Invasion, November-December 1964

16. The price for victory, January-May 1965

17. Decision, June-July 1965.