Victory in Vietnam - (Modern War Studies) (Paperback)

About the Book

The first English-language translation of the definitive chronicle of the Vietnamese military's view of the Vietnam War, published for the first time in the United States.

Book Synopsis

What was for the United States a struggle against creeping Communism in Southeast Asia was for the people of North Vietnam a "great patriotic war" that saw its eventual victory against a military Goliath. The story of that conflict as seen through the eyes--and the ideology--of the North Vietnamese military offers readers a view of that era never before seen.

Victory in Vietnam is the People's Army of Vietnam's own account of two decades of struggle, now available for the first time in English. It is a definitive statement of the Vietnamese point of view concerning foreign intrusion in their country since before American involvement--and it reveals that many of the accepted truths in our own histories of the war are simply wrong.

This detailed account describes the ebb and flow of the war as seen from Hanoi. It discloses particularly difficult times in the PAVN's struggle: 1955-59, when Diem almost destroyed the Communist movement in the South; 1961-62, when American helicopter assaults and M-113 armored personnel carriers inflicted serious losses on their forces; and 1966, when U.S. troop strength and air power increased dramatically. It also elaborates on the role of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the Communist effort, confirming its crucial importance and telling how the United States came close to shutting the supply line down on several occasions.

The book confirms the extent to which the North orchestrated events in the South and also reveals much about Communist infiltration--accompanied by statistics--from 1959 until the end of the war. While many Americans believed that North Vietnam only began sending regular units south after the U.S. commitment of ground forces in 1965, this account reveals that by the time Marines landed in Da Nang in April 1965 there were already at least four North Vietnamese regiments in the South.

Translator Merle Pribbenow, who spent several years in Saigon during the war, has sought to render as accurately as possible the voice of the PAVN authors, retaining much of the triumphant flavor of the text in order to provide an uncensored feel for the Vietnamese viewpoint. A foreword by William J. Duiker, author of Ho Chi Minh: A Life and other books on Vietnam, puts both the tone and content of the text in historical perspective.

Review Quotes

"An important . . . book . . . well worth reading. A unique addition to the history of the war. . . . While heavily laced with Marxist-Leninist rhetoric and Socialist propaganda, the book offers unique, often surprising insights."--Military Review

"A significant addition to the historiography of the Vietnam War. . . . The importance of this book is that it provides the viewpoint of our enemy during our longest and probably most controversial war."--Armor

"This book is important and will serve as an essential source for those writing about the Vietnam War. If for no other reason, scholars and students will be able to refer to it to discover the official Hanoi position on various aspects of the war."--The Historian

"This translation offers Asian specialists of all disciplines, military and political historians, and students of revolutionary movements a wealth of information, much of it previously unavailable in any language, and a critical perspective that are certain to stimulate controversy and suggest new avenues of research for decades to come. As such, Victory in Vietnam is essential reading."--Journal of Asian Studies

"This book, the definitive statement of the Vietnamese communist point of view, reveals that many of the accepted truths in our own histories of the war are simply wrong."--Air & Space Power Journal

"Merle Pribbenow's fine translation of this important PAVN official history of the war from 1954 to 1975 contains much detail never before available in English. . . . A valuable resource for serious students of the Vietnam War."--Edwin E. Moïse, author of Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War

"Pribbenow's skillful and graceful translation provides valuable insights into many aspects of the Vietnam War from the North Vietnamese perspective, which is often surprisingly candid. He deserves our thanks for making this important volume accessible to a wider audience."--Lewis Sorley, author of A Better War

"Fills a yawning gap in the growing literature on the Vietnam War."--William J. Duiker, author of Ho Chi Minh: A Life