Osprey Men-at-Arms 104 : Armies of the Vietnam War 1962-1975

On 8 March 1965 the first US combat troops, of 3,500 US Marines, landed in Vietnam at Da Nang to defend the US air base there. On 8 June, following further reinforcements, General Westmoreland authorised his troops to begin 'offensive patrolling'. Shortly afterwards some 800 Australians and a New Zealand artillery battery arrived to join in the war. Later the first 'search and destroy' sweep was made by a combined US, ANZAC and ARVN force. The US 1st Infantry Division landed in July, and troops of the US 101st Airborne Division shortly thereafter. The 1st Cavalry Division [Airmobile] arrived in An Khe in September 1965. America was totally committed to the war. Philip Katcher provides a background overview to the conflict that engulfed Vietnam following the division of the country into two along the 17th Parallel in 1954, and the uniforms and insignia of the US forces, including the Army, Special Forces, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, are dealt with in detail, together with those of the ARVN, the Allied Forces (such as the Royal Thai Army and Korean troops), and also the Communist NLF (Viet Cong) and NVA forces. Mike Chappell's colourful artwork provides plenty of detail to accompany Philip Katcher's text.

Contents

• Historical Background
• Uniforms The U.S. Army
• The Special Forces
• The U.S. Air Force
• The U.S. Navy
• The U.S. Marine Corps
• South Vietnamese Forces
• Allied Forces
• Communist Forces
• The Plates