For this case study I will be covering the Battle of Dong Ap Bia also known as “Hamburger Hill”, one of the bloodiest and most infamous battles of the Vietnam War. This battle took place from May 10-20, 1969 in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam. This battle took place during “Operation Apache Snow” which was the second part of a three phase campaign intended to destroy North Vietnam Army (NVA) Base Areas in the remote A Shau Valley1. This was not the most casualty producing battle but because it took place toward the end of the Vietnam War when it had become very unpopular with the American public it received an excessive amount of negative political and press coverage. It became the focal point of the media and started a debate on our military strategy that led to a major turning point in the War.
The debate put simply was whether or not the cost of American lives was worth it to take a hill that had no strategic value since shortly after the hill was taken it was abandon. This debate led to “Vietnamization” which was President Nixon’s plan to slowly reduce the American forces in Vietnam while strengthening South Vietnams army and political influence to prepare them against a communist takeover and allow the U.S. to leave the conflict with its honor intact.3 Shortly after the battle of Hamburger Hill came President Nixon’s announcement to withdraw 25,000 troops by July of 1969 followed by 35,000 more by that December.
History
After the final bloody assault on the 20th of May a Soldier wrote “Hamburger Hill” on a piece of meal ration box and nailed it to a tree at the base of hill 937 and under that another Soldier wrote “was it worth it?” As previously stated the battle on “Hamburger Hill” was a part of Operation Apach...
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...History, accessed March 10, 2014, http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1875.html
James H. Wilbanks. “Vietnam” Proquest Military Collection, June 2009 http://search.proquest.com/docview/195759868/fulltext?accountid=16366 Kelly Boian, MAJ, “Major General Melvin Zais and Hamburger Hill” (United States Army Command and General Staff College) 35-42
Samuel Zaffiri, Hamburger Hill (New York: The Baltimore Publishing Group, 1988), 36
“The Battle Of Hamburger Hill During The Vietnam War”, Vietnam Magazine, June 12, 2006, http://www.historynet.com/battle-for-hamburger-hill-during-the-vietnam-war.htm
“The Battle Of Hamburger Hill During The Vietnam War”, Vietnam Magazine, June 12, 2006, http://www.historynet.com/battle-for-hamburger-hill-during-the-vietnam-war.htm
“Vietnamization” History, accessed March 10, 2014,
http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnamization
During the 1960’s, the United States was strongly involved in the Vietnam War. In a war there are many battles. Each battle could decide the fate of the war as a whole. The Battle of Khe Sanh was one such battle (or so thought by General Westmoreland) in the Vietnam War. The Battle of Khe Sanh included the preparations, the battle, and the aftermath.
The Vietnam War has become a focal point of the Sixties. Known as the first televised war, American citizens quickly became consumed with every aspect of the war. In a sense, they could not simply “turn off” the war. A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo is a firsthand account of this horrific war that tore our nation apart. Throughout this autobiography, there were several sections that grabbed my attention. I found Caputo’s use of stark comparisons and vivid imagery, particularly captivating in that, those scenes forced me to reflect on my own feelings about the war. These scenes also caused me to look at the Vietnam War from the perspective of a soldier, which is not a perspective I had previously considered. In particular, Caputo’s account of
BACM Research. (2009). Vietnam war: After actions reports lessons learned documents battle assessments. In Beverly Hills, CA: doi: Paperlessarchives.com
The two accounts that I read had many holes and missing parts that I found to be not credible. Account two clearly states that ARVN had forces of over three thousand troops mostly from the Seventh Infantry Division, and the Viet Cong with only two hundred forty soldiers with the help of fifty guerrillas. Later on in account two it says that after the battle the ARVN lost sixty one troops with a hundred or more injured, and the Viet Cong only an estimated twelve. Right off the start this seems completely unrealistic. And here is why the ARVN had nearly ten to one odds with exceptionally superior fire power consisting of helicopters, artillery, and armed vehicles and only manage to kill twelve enemy soldiers. Also what I have learned from the past is that the government often does not give an exact number of people that died suggesting that the numbers came from another source which I found to be not credible. In account two it says “ARVN losses were heavy (sixty-one killed and about one hundred wounded.” The numbers in account two appear to be much too exact. Account two is very much statistical and everything is based on or around statistics which to me looks unbelievable. The second account is seen as a major loss and the ARVN were unable to overrun the out numbered Viet Cong. It seems to me to be a story that was built up very high and had lots of power like a tale of a heroic infantry, and then shot down and demolished into nothing but talk.
Patrick, Joe. “Testing the Rules of Engagement.” Vietnam Memoirs. 2003. 80th Fighter Squadron. 13 Nov. 2003.
Made famous by Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer Rough Rider’s and the Buffalo Soldiers, the Battle of San Juan Hill (July 1, 1898), also known as The Battle of San Juan Heights, was the bloodiest battle of the Spanish American War. After landing on the beachhead, the US V Corps under the command of Major General William Shafter fought their way west toward the port town of Santiago. After an indecisive clash at Las Guasimas on June 24, Shafter readied his men to take the strategic heights around the city, while Cuban insurgents blocked any Spanish reinforcements arriving on the roads to the north, in what would be one of the most decisive battles of America’s “Splendid Little War.” 1
Hynes, Samuel Lynn. "What Happened in Nam." The soldiers' tale: bearing witness to modern war. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: A. Lane, 1997. 177-222. Print.
Brigham, Robert K., and E. Kenneth Hoffman. "Battlefield:Vietnam | History." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
Leahy, Stephen M. "The Historical Battle over Dispatching American Troops." USA Today (Farmingdale). July 1999: 10-12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 May. 2014.
McCloud, Bill. What Should We Tell Our Children About Vietnam. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University, 1989.
Homel, David. "Tim O'Brien Tells Vietnam War Stories Like no Other Author." The Gazette May 05 1990: 0. ProQuest. 17 Dec. 2013.
Fussell, Paul. "Vietnam." The Bloody Game: An Anthology of Modern War. Ed. Paul Fussell. London: Scribners, 1991. 651-6.
Gilbert, Marc Jason. "Vietnam War." World Book Student. World Book, 2010. Web. 21 March 2010.
Willbanks, James H. "The Real History of the Vietnam War." ARMCHAIR GENERAL Nov. 2007: 54-67. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.