Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965
Drawing on a wealth of new evidence from all sides, Triumph Forsaken, first published in 2007, 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 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.
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Contents
iii | |
Copyright
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iv |
Dedication
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v |
Contents
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vii |
List of Illustrations
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ix |
Preface
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xi |
Acknowledgments
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xxv |
CHAPTER 1 Heritage
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1 |
CHAPTER 8 The Battle of Ap Bac
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186 |
CHAPTER 9 Diem on Trial
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206 |
CHAPTER 10 Betrayal
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229 |
CHAPTER 11 SelfDestruction
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244 |
CHAPTER 12 The Return of the Twelve Warlords
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275 |
CHAPTER 13 SelfImposed Restrictions
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288 |
CHAPTER 14 Signals
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310 |
CHAPTER 15 Invasion
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330 |
CHAPTER 2 Two Vietnams
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32 |
CHAPTER 3 Peaceful Coexistence
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60 |
CHAPTER 4 Insurgency
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87 |
CHAPTER 5 Commitment
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120 |
CHAPTER 6 Rejuvenation
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148 |
CHAPTER 7 Attack
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165 |
CHAPTER 16 The Prize for Victory
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350 |
CHAPTER 17 Decision
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392 |
Abbreviations Used in Notes
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417 |
Notes
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419 |
503 | |
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Common terms and phrases
action Ambassador Ap Bac April areas armed forces Asian attack August Bao Dai battalions battle Binh Xuyen Buddhist Bundy China Chinese civilian command Cong’s Corps coup DDRS Defense Diem and Nhu Diem government Diem’s Dong Durbrow Eisenhower enemy fight French FRUS government’s Halberstam Hanoi Harkins helicopters Hilsman History Ho Chi Minh Huong Indochina Indonesia infiltration JFKL Johnson Joint Chiefs journalists July June Kennedy Kennedy’s Khang Chien Khanh Lansdale Laos Laotian large numbers LBJL Le Duan leaders leadership Lodge Lodge’s McNamara Mekong Delta memcon National Ngo Dinh Ngo Dinh Diem Nguyen Nolting North November October officials operations People’s political President province Saigon September Sheehan soldiers South Vietnamese Army South Vietnamese government Southeast Asia Soviet strategic hamlet program Sukarno Taylor told Tri Quang U.S. government United Vann Viet Cong Viet Minh Vietnam Vietnam War Vietnamese Communists village VNCF Washington weapons Westmoreland York