The Battle of Ap Bac, Vietnam They Did Everything but Learn from It

Subjects:

• Military Studies » Military History
• Military Studies » U.S. Armed Forces
• History » Vietnam War

Reviews:

• [a] worthy contribution to the literature on the war.
  —Infantry Summer 2002
• David M. Toczek, a serving U.S. Army major, has produced the most detailed account of the battle of Ap Bac, and its presumed antecedents, that we are likely to get for a good long time.
  —Army History Spring 2002
• A new generation of Army officers is evaluating the lessons of America's most divisive foreign war, and both the Army and the nation will benefit. Toczek's book deserves a wide audience.
  —Military Review July-August 2002
• Toczek has covered all the bases here. It is unlikely that anyone need write another book about the battle of Ap Bac.
  —The Journal of Military History January 2002
• Recommended
  —Indochina Chronology .

• Endorsement From Dennis E. Showalter, Ph.D.
  Professor of History
  Colorado College: This is above all a first-rate operational analysis of the 1963 Battle of Ap Bac, where the South Vietnamese defeat was a crucial signpost to the escalation and Americanization of the Vietnam War. In wider contexts the book shows that the Diem government of South Vietnam did have a strategy of its own, and at least the beginnings of an operational doctrine to implement that strategy. South Vietnam's immediate problems were at the tactical level. The army's force-to-mission ratios were low given its poor training and command, in that context, Toczek makes a point too often overlooked. The U.S. initiated a `technowar' at this period less from abstract confidence in machines than to provide some of the force multipliers that were necessary to give ARVN a chance against an enemy with superior `fighting power.'
• Endorsement From James R. Reckner, Ph.D.
  Director, The Vietnam Center
  Texas Tech University: Toczek's examination of the battle and his critique of its aftermath constitute a first-rate contribution to the literature of the war. The work is fresh, imaginative, revisionist. It is one of a new generation of works that will redefine our understanding of the Vietnam War.
• Endorsement From Gen. W.B. Rosson, U.S. Army (Retired)
  Deputy Commander, United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (1969-1970): Major Toczek has produced the definitive study and analysis of the battle of Ap Bac. In doing so, he has made a signal contribution to the record of American involvement in Vietnam during the 1950-1965 time frame. The Battle of Ap Bac supplies an opportunity to rethink, relearn and, when appropriate, to act on the lessons provided by the battle.
• Endorsement From Douglas Pike
  Associate Director of Research, The Vietnam Center: The battle of Ap Bac turned out to be the first of the `big ones' in the Vietnam War. It was not so recognized at the time. Worse, for historical purposes, it was reported by trio of young journalists, (rather than war correspondents) who applied a domestic political spin largely unrelated to what had taken place on the battlefield. There it lay, encrusted in myth, for 25 years. Then David Toczek unearthed battle events and gave Ap Bac a true scholarly examination. The result is a fine piece of military history writing.
• Endorsement From John M. Carland, Ph.D.
  author of Combat Operations: Stemming the Tide, May 1965 to October 1966, a volume in the U.S. Army in Vietnam series.: In Toczek's capable narrative of the 1963 fight at Ap Bac the reader will find all of the reasons for the failure of the United States military policy of advice and support in South Vietnam, and thus for South Vietnam's failure to eliminate the Communist insurgency. His signal accomplishments are to place the battle in its historical and operational context, to properly stress the role of the advisory team in relation to the unit advised, and to illuminate the formidable situational constraints endured by American advisors. Toczek's book should be read by military professionals and all others who wish to separate the pitfalls from the potential when they study how to fight insurgents, guerrillas, and irregular forces in the post Cold War world.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword
• Preface
• The Background
• The Belligerents
• The Fight
• The Aftermath
• Conclusions
• Appendix A: Brief Chronology of Events
• Appendix B: Key American Leaders in Vietnam
• Appendix C: The Ballad of Ap Bac
• Appendix D: Operational Terms
• Appendix E: ARVN Weapon Systems Characteristics
• Appendix F: U.S. Army/ARVN Vehicle/Aircraft Characteristics
• Selected Bibliography
• Index