Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Triumph Forsaken
- Southeast Asia
- Map of Indochina
- Map of South Vietnam (Communist)
- Map of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam)
- 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 Prize for Victory: January–May 1965
- 17 Decision: June–July 1965
- Abbreviations Used in Notes
- Notes
- Index
- Plate section
7 - Attack: July–December 1962
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Triumph Forsaken
- Southeast Asia
- Map of Indochina
- Map of South Vietnam (Communist)
- Map of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam)
- 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 Prize for Victory: January–May 1965
- 17 Decision: June–July 1965
- Abbreviations Used in Notes
- Notes
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
at the age of fifty-seven, general paul harkins was still in excellent physical shape. A former hockey and polo star, he had the energy and enthusiasm needed for the difficult post of senior U. S. military adviser to a country with far flung outposts facing attack. Harkins's enemies in the press corps were to accuse him of spending little time in the field and relying solely on statistical reports for information. The journalist and author Neil Sheehan later claimed that “General Paul D. Harkins and his staff sat in their air-conditioned offices in Saigon and waxed optimistic on the same kind of supposedly impressive statistics the French had comforted themselves with during the First Indochina War.” In actuality, as those who worked with him would attest, Harkins spent a great portion of time in the field. “He lived a Spartan military life in Saigon, traveling almost daily around the country in small planes to keep in touch with the war,” noted John Mecklin, the embassy counseler for public affairs. At dusty district headquarters and remote mountain militia posts, Harkins sought firsthand information on the war from South Vietnamese and American officers, and then afterwards obtained independent appraisals to make sure the officers in the field knew their stuff and were not sugarcoating anything for the boss.
General Harkins spent much of the year's second half pressing Diem to fix problems in the South Vietnamese armed forces that had not been fixed during the first half.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Triumph ForsakenThe Vietnam War, 1954–1965, pp. 165 - 185Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006