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Marine Corps Tank Battles in Vietnam - Casemate UK


Julien

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Marine Corps Tank Battles in Vietnam

ISBN : 9781612005327

Casemate UK

 

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The US  Marine Corps is fairly unique in that where ever they operate they generally rely on their own Air Power and own support elements including heavy armour, today operating the M1 Abrams in this role.  Vietnam would seem a strange place for tank battles with its mix of jungle and paddy fields but the USMC tankers would serve with distinction.

 

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Vietnam was a war like no other, it had historical aspects, political aspects, and moral aspects. It was the first war to be shown almost live on television beamed into peoples houses on a nightly basis. From a history point of view units frustratingly kept incomplete records unlike other wars.  We think of this as the air war with hueys dropping in troops accompanied by fast jet air strikes, with B-52s carpet bombing the countryside. Tanks though were used surprisingly a lot in Vietnam, though the tankers themselves were often frustrated that hard won lessons of tank/infantry cooperation learned in Korea and WWII were overlooked by their senior commanders. While they often worked in familiar roles;  Vietnam also placed tanks, guarding outposts, in convoy protection, road blocks, and working in villages. Despite the challenges of a war which had no real front lines and was often more brutal in its fighting, while being hampered by Senior Commanders & politicians the tankers of the USMC fought in the Sand Dunes, paddy fields, villages, jungles, mountains, and historic towns of Vietnam with distinction.

 

The book is divided up into 7 chapters;

  1. Two Thousand year of war (History of Vietnam)
  2. 1965: Taking Measure
  3. 1966: The NVA moves South
  4. 1967: A growing momentum
  5. 1968: Crisis and Decision
  6. 1969: On the Ropes
  7. 1970/75 : Withdrawal and Final Spasms

 

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This book is a reprint in an A5 softbound format by with 293 pages with one section of black & White photographs. The author Oscar Gilbert is an ex Marine himself and winner of the 2016 General Grenne award for outstanding non fiction for his book on USMC Tanks on Tarawa (Also available through Casemate). This book really is also a companion to the Marine Corps Tanks Battles in Korea we reviewed here.

 

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Conclusion

If you're interested in The Vietnam War, Tanks, or the US Marine Corps, this is an interesting book on an interesting subject that should give you some hours of entertainment, and remain on hand as a reference for the modeller or historian. Luckily Vietnam has not been as forgotten as some other wars, however the role of the USMC tankers has largely been ignored; not so now.

 

Highly Recommended.

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