US Armed Forces in Vietnam, 1954-1975

This material is held atLiddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Scope and Content

US Armed Forces in Vietnam, 1954- 1975 are microfilmed copies of official and unofficial papers relating to the US Army involvement in the Vietnam War, 1954-1975. Papers are categorised into the following sections: 'Vietnam: Reports of US Army Operations', US Army after action reports during the Vietnam War, 1966-1969; 'Vietnam: US Army senior Officer Debriefing Reports', senior US Army officer debriefing reports during the Vietnam War, 1968-1973; 'Vietnam: Lessons Learned', post-action analyses of the conflict in Vietnam, 1972-1980, and; 'Indochina Studies', reports presented to the US Army Center of Military History, Washington, DC, relating to the effect of the Vietnam War on the Republic of Vietnam, Cambodia (and later the Khmer Republic), and Laos, 1979-1980. US Army after action reports presented to the US Adjutant General's Office (Army), Washington, DC, relate to military operations, including the US joint operation, Operation CRIMP, the attack by air and land to strike at Viet Cong strongholds in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), Jan 1966; and, search and destroy missions and military operations pursued in the Republic of Vietnam by US 1 Infantry Div, US 1 Cavalry Div, US 1 Cavalry Div, US 25 Infantry Div, US 18 Infantry Div, US 101 Airborne Div (Airmobile), US 1 Air Cavalry Div, US 4 Infantry Div, US 11 Armored Cavalry Regt, 1 Australian Task Force, US 1 Special Forces, Feb 1966-Apr 1969. Senior officer debriefing reports presented to the Adjutant General's Office (Army), Washington, DC, relate to US Army organisation and command; Vietnamese local government counterinsurgency actions; the Mission of the US Army Support Command, Saigon; the causative factors of Vietnamese insurgency; US psychological operations (PSYOPS); US Army medical statistics; the US pacification program; the US 101 Airborne Div (Airmobile) re-organisation following the Tet Offensive, 30 Jan- 24 Feb 1968; US Special Forces assistance to the Vietnamese Special Forces; land clearing in Indochina; US Long Range Patrol Activities; the Phoenix Program; the process of 'Vietnamization'; and, the US Army Drug Abuse Program, Feb 1968-Nov 1972. Papers presented to the US Department of the Army on lessons learned from the Vietnam War primarily relate to base development in the Republic of Vietnam; US Army communications and electronics; airmobility; riverine operations; US Army Special Forces operations; US Army command and control; financial management of the campaign in Vietnam; logistics and support; US military intelligence; US tactical and material innovations; allied participation and contributions to the war; US training of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam; and, the effect of the war on the US soldier, 1972-1980. 'Indochinese Studies' papers presented to the US Army Center of Military History, Washington, DC, relate to the Vietnam War and its effect on Cambodia and the communist Khmer Rouge; the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong Easter Offensive against the Republic of Vietnam; the effect of the pacification program on the South Vietnamese population; the state of Royal Lao Army; and, the effect of the war on South Vietnamese society and the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, 1979- 1980.

Administrative / Biographical History

US Armed Forces in Vietnam, 1954- 1975 is a themed microfilm compilation of sources drawn from official US Army papers and after action reports presented to the US Adjutant General's Office (Army), Washington, DC, for the purposes of post-operation analysis, 1966-1973; post-war analyses presented by senior US Army officers to the US Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1972-1980; and papers presented by senior South Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian officers to the US Army Center of Military History, Washington, DC, 1979-1980.

Arrangement

Microfilmed documents are arranged as follows: Indochina Studies (MF 792-795); Vietnam: Lessons Learned (MF 796-803); Vietnam: Reports of US Army Operations (MF 804-808); Vietnam: US Army Senior Officer Debriefing Reports (MF 809-812). The documents in each section are arranged thematically and chronologically therein.

Access Information

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Acquisition Information

University Publications of America, Inc., Bethesda, MD, with fully indexed guides edited by Paul Kesaris and compiled by Ruth McClure, Dale Reynolds, and Robert Lester.

Other Finding Aids

Summary guide available on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/archives/cats/, and in hard copy in the Centre's reading room, Paul Kesaris, Ruth McClure, Dale Reynolds, and Robert Lester (eds.), US Forces in Vietnam, 1954- 1975 (University Publications of America, Inc, Bethesda, MD, 1983).

Conditions Governing Use

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be provided for research use only. Enquiries concerning the copyright of the original material should be addressed to University Publications of America, Inc., 4520 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD, 20814-3389, USA

Corporate Names

Geographical Names