by Max Hastings
Vinh Kim (village), 4, 237
Võ An, Lt.Col., 599
Võ Văn Ba, 631
Võ Nguyên Giáp: education, 5; on Ho, 7; forms Liberation Army, 9; and Patti’s guerrillas, 9; on ruthlessness, 11–12; political beliefs, 12; character, 16; military strategy and successes, 17, 19, 22, 25–7, 32, 37; receives Chinese support, 23, 42; suffers defeats, 27; and Dienbienphu campaign, 39–40, 42–3, 45, 51, 53–4, 56–7, 60, 64; artillery tactics, 48; troop numbers at Dienbienphu, 68; victory at Dienbienphu, 70; achievements, 71; favours political settlement, 76, 375; suppresses landowners in North, 86; opposes further war, 89; favours Russia over China, 103; criticised by colleagues, 128; demands disciplinary action against Tran Quy Hai, 192; opposes big-unit showdown, 252; surgery in Hungary, 376–7; consults with Ho in Beijing, 378; Abrams mocks after Tet defeat, 416; urges acceptance of Paris Accords, 585; on conclusive campaign, 597; and fall of Saigon, 607, 610; names ‘the people’ as best general, 639
Võ Văn Kiệt, 384, 386
Vogel, Sgt. Ronald, 260
Vogt, Lt.Gen. John, 514
Voros, Pfc Ed, 505
Vũ Quang Hiền, Corporal, 592
Vũng Tàu, 468, 625
Walker, Patrick Gordon, see Gordon Walker, Patrick
Wall Street Journal, 404, 417
Wallace, Mike, 401
Walleye TV-guided bomb, 317
Walrath, Lt. Brian, 470–1, 512
Walt, Lt.Gen. Lew, 353
Warner, Denis, 124, 239
Warnes, Catherine Anne, 456
Warnke, Paul, 214
Warren, Maj. ‘Fritz’, 430, 438
Washington Post, 144, 272, 405, 572
Watergate (1974), 579, 583
Waters, John, 282
Waxman, Henry, 606
Wayne, John, 621
Weir, Brig. Stuart, 464
Weise, Bill, 424–31, 433–9
Weise, Ethel, 439
Wendt, Allan, 395–7
West, Richard, 373, 615
Westerman, Bill, 306
Westin, Lt. Andy, 409
Westin, Brian, 306
Westmoreland, Gen. William: takes command of MACV, 180–2; and differences between North and South Vietnamese discipline, 199; and study on Vietcong, 207; requests Marines to protect Danang base, 212; sense of mission, 213, 641; on dispatch of US troops to Vietnam, 215; reports on weakness of ARVN, 218; requests large numbers of troops, 218–20, 222, 228, 234; rivalry with Marine Corps, 222; and Ia Drang Valley battle, 245–6; requests longer tours of duty, 249; advantage in big-unit actions, 252; tactics, 253; and Vietcong persistence, 269; warned of South Vietnam’s government incompetence, 276; fanciful plans, 278; on civilian casualties, 279; predicts victory over North Vietnam, 282; on poor background of battle casualties, 331; policy of attrition, 334; successes, 335; and publicity, 355; and impending Tet offensive, 379–80, 383; on harassment of Khe Sanh, 381–2; underestimates enemy commitment to Hue battle, 391; and conduct of Tet battle, 392; ill behaviour, 397; informed of attack on US embassy in Saigon, 397; Johnson loses faith in, 401; criticised by press, 405; ordered to abandon nuclear contingency planning, 406; psychological defeat at Khe Sanh, 409; criticises Marines’ actions at Hue, 414; replaced by Abrams, 416; vetoes idea to take command of South Vietnam troops, 416; criticises Australian methods, 463; on suppressing bad news, 511; Abrams succeeds as army chief of staff, 546
Weyand, Lt.Gen. Fred: on McNamara’s wrong facts, 125; praises Vann, 161, 529; supports Johnson’s bombing campaign, 283; disbelieves in policy of attrition, 334; on limitations of CIA intelligence, 336; careful planning, 383; and Tet offensive, 388; ensures proper communications, 399; on Saigon’s soldiers’ performance, 405; on defence of Saigon, 416–17; on lack of information base in local population, 447; and transfer of divisional HQ to ARVN, 492; criticises Sutherland, 498; on failure of Lam Son 719, 501; on US dependence on air power, 512; on communist obduracy at Paris talks, 521; takes temporary command of MACV, 524; replaces Abrams, 546
Wheeler, Gen. Earle: caution, 173; replaces Taylor as chairman of JCS, 180; urges McNamara to make military commitment, 196; on McNamara’s aggressiveness, 210; optimism about victory, 222; and George Ball’s pessimism over US soldiers’ performance, 224; warns Westmoreland of Saigon’s incompetence, 276; opposes Operation Shotgun, 278; urges intensification of air war, 291; believes in large-scale bombing campaign, 326; on US objectives, 336; on AR–15 rifle, 352; and Johnson’s considering using atomic bomb, 406; and Westmoreland’s request to reinforce command, 416; believes victory forthcoming, 443; compared with Gen. Cao Van Vien, 494
White, Theodore, 178, 559; The Making of the President 1964, 193
Whitewing, Operation, 255
Whitlam, Gough, 469, 572, 614
Whitmar, Sgt. Maury, 410
Wicker, Tom, 572
Wickline, Jerry, 564
Wildfang, Chief W/O Henry, 381
Willcox, Maj. William, 238
Williams, Harry, 162–3, 186
Williams, Capt. Jim, 338, 339, 346, 423–4, 426–8, 460
Williams, Gen. Sam, 108
Wilson, Harold: declines to support US with troops, 199; protests against US escalation in Vietnam, 211; attempts peace negotiations, 290; condemns US’s proposed use of atomic weapon, 406; Harold Holt criticises, 462
Wilson, Louis, 514
Wilson, Woodrow, 5
Winger, Debra, 490
Wirtz, James, 382
Wiseman, Dave, 497
women: US female personnel in Vietnam, 234; Russians forbidden to fraternise with, 317–18
Woodley, Arthur (‘Gene’), 249, 460
Woody, Bruce, 564
Woolridge, Sgt.Maj. William, 272
World War II: ends, 10
Wright, Lt. John, 250
Wyndham, Dr Norman, 361, 469
Xá Lợi temple, Saigon, 15
Xi Jinping, 648
Xuân Lộc, 610–12
Xuân Thuỷ, 440
Yankee Station, Tonkin Gulf, 295
Yom Kippur War (1973), 597
York, Brig.-Gen. Robert, 140
Young, Gary, 418
Young, Gavin, 194, 589, 615
Zahky, Sgt., 159
Zaitsev, Anatoly, 319
Zajtchuk, Russ, 644
Zalipsky, Petr, 314–19
Zeit, Die (newspaper), 572
Zhou Enlai: at Geneva conference (1954), 72, 74–6, 79; challenges Le Duan, 129; on impending war with US, 193; Kissinger meets, 517, 520
Zumwalt, Adm. Bud, 493
Also by Max Hastings
REPORTAGE
America 1968: The Fire this Time
Ulster 1969: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland
The Battle for the Falklands (with Simon Jenkins)
BIOGRAPHY
Montrose: The King’s Champion
Yoni: Hero of Entebbe
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Did You Really Shoot the Television?
Going to the Wars
Editor
HISTORY
Bomber Command
The Battle of Britain (with Len Deighton)
Das Reich
Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy
Victory in Europe
The Korean War
Warriors: Extraordinary Tales from the Battlefield
Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944–45
Nemesis: The Battle for Japan 1944–45
Finest Years: Churchill as Warlord 1940–45
All Hell Let Loose: The World at War 1939–45
Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914
The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939–1945
COUNTRYSIDE WRITING
Outside Days
Scattered Shots
Country Fair
ANTHOLOGY (EDITED)
The Oxford Book of Military Anecdotes
About the Publisher
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