“Truly magnificent” – USMC Col. Andrew R. Finlayson (Ret.), author of Killer Kane: A Marine Long-Range Recon Leader in Vietnam, 1967-1968 and Rice Paddy Recon: A Marine Officer’s Second Tour in Vietnam, 1968-1970
J. Keith Saliba, award-winning author of Death in the Highlands: The Siege of Special Forces Camp Plei Me, returns to the fiery crucible of America’s final harrowing year in Vietnam.
The US is on its way out. Troop strength plummets to its lowest ebb since early 1965. Meanwhile, President Richard Nixon’s Vietnamization policy to train and equip South Vietnam to stand alone continues apace. All that remains is to achieve the “honorable peace” he had long pledged. But Nixon’s overtures fall on deaf ears. Convinced that final victory is at last within reach, North Vietnam’s ruling politburo instead launches a massive invasion of the South on three battlefronts. As tanks roll and artillery thunders, the plan is simple: crush South Vietnam’s military, depose its “puppet” regime, and force the US to withdraw unconditionally.
But even as South Vietnam teeters on the brink, communist leaders severely underestimate their adversary in Washington. Nixon, despite overwhelming public and Congressional pressure to finally call it quits in Vietnam, vows instead to crush Hanoi’s very ability to wage war. What follows is the most devastating air and naval campaign of the conflict, pummeling not just invading communist forces but striking at the very heart of North Vietnamese power and industry.
Drawing on archival research, interviews with combat veterans, and perspectives from all sides, J. Keith Saliba takes you into the heat of the fight—both on the battlefield and at the bargaining table. Can Hanoi’s massive invasion be rolled back before South Vietnam collapses? And what of Nixon’s “honorable peace”? After sacrificing so much blood and treasure, would America’s nearly two-decade effort to realize a stable and non-communist South Vietnamese republic finally come to fruition? The coming months would tell the tale.
J. Keith Saliba
Crucible 1972
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“Truly magnificent” – USMC Col. Andrew R. Finlayson (Ret.), author of Killer Kane: A Marine Long-Range Recon Leader in Vietnam, 1967-1968 and Rice Paddy Recon: A Marine Officer’s Second Tour in Vietnam, 1968-1970
J. Keith Saliba, award-winning author of Death in the Highlands: The Siege of Special Forces Camp Plei Me, returns to the fiery crucible of America’s final harrowing year in Vietnam.
The US is on its way out. Troop strength plummets to its lowest ebb since early 1965. Meanwhile, President Richard Nixon’s Vietnamization policy to train and equip South Vietnam to stand alone continues apace. All that remains is to achieve the “honorable peace” he had long pledged. But Nixon’s overtures fall on deaf ears. Convinced that final victory is at last within reach, North Vietnam’s ruling politburo instead launches a massive invasion of the South on three battlefronts. As tanks roll and artillery thunders, the plan is simple: crush South Vietnam’s military, depose its “puppet” regime, and force the US to withdraw unconditionally.
But even as South Vietnam teeters on the brink, communist leaders severely underestimate their adversary in Washington. Nixon, despite overwhelming public and Congressional pressure to finally call it quits in Vietnam, vows instead to crush Hanoi’s very ability to wage war. What follows is the most devastating air and naval campaign of the conflict, pummeling not just invading communist forces but striking at the very heart of North Vietnamese power and industry.
Drawing on archival research, interviews with combat veterans, and perspectives from all sides, J. Keith Saliba takes you into the heat of the fight—both on the battlefield and at the bargaining table. Can Hanoi’s massive invasion be rolled back before South Vietnam collapses? And what of Nixon’s “honorable peace”? After sacrificing so much blood and treasure, would America’s nearly two-decade effort to realize a stable and non-communist South Vietnamese republic finally come to fruition? The coming months would tell the tale.
