An account of the battle of Kham Duc, one of the least known and most misunderstood battles in the American Phase of the Second Indochina War (1959 to 1975).
The strategic potential of the three-day attack of two NVA regiments on Kham Duc—a remote and isolated Army Special Forces camp—on the eve of the first Paris peace talks in May 1968, was so significant that former President Lyndon Johnson included it in his memoirs. This gripping, original, eyewitness narrative and thoroughly researched analysis of a widely misinterpreted battle at the height of the Vietnam War radically contradicts all the other published accounts of it. In addition to the tactical details of the combat narrative, the authors consider the grand strategies and political contexts of the US and North Vietnamese leaders.
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“The account of the battle is both detailed and exceptionally well-written; McLeroy’s participation in the battle adds authenticity to the narrative…Highly recommended for anyone interested in how large-scale battles were fought in Vietnam at the height of U.S. commitment on the ground there.”
— Journal of Military History
“This book is one of those rare historical narratives that explains in rich detail a battle that was little understood or reported on at the time it was fought but was of strategic importance and heroic dimension.”
— Marine Corps Gazette“This first-hand, exhaustively documented account of a large battle in the Vietnam War shows the decisive role of air power in all its forms.”
— Carl Schneider, major general, USAF, retired“The most authentic account to date of the historic battle of Kham Duc in the Vietnam War…Well written, impressively researched, and filled with new details, Bait is highly recommended for scholars, students, and general readers of military history.”
— Robert Turner, Professor and Distinguished Fellow at University of VirginiaBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Gregory W. Sanders witnessed a detailed analysis of the battle at the Americal Division headquarters prior to a joint US and South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) operation at and around Kham Duc in 1970.
James D. McLeroy lived at Kham Duc and led an elite group of US and indigenous Special Forces troops in the battle.