Combat at Close Quarters

Combat at Close Quarters
Author: Edward J. Marolda
Publisher: Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2015
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780945274735

This work describes riverine combat during the Vietnam War, emphasizing the operations of the U.S. Navy’s River Patrol Force, which conducted Operation Game Warden; the U.S. Army-Navy Mobile Riverine Force, the formation that General William Westmoreland said “saved the Mekong Delta” during the Tet Offensive of 1968; and the Vietnam Navy. An important section details the SEALORDS combined campaign, a determined effort by U.S. Navy, South Vietnamese Navy, and allied ground forces to cut enemy supply lines from Cambodia and disrupt operations at base areas deep in the delta. The author also covers details on the combat vessels, helicopters, weapons, and equipment employed in the Mekong Delta as well as the Vietnamese combatants (on both sides) and American troops who fought to secure Vietnam’s waterways. Special features focus on the ubiquitous river patrol boats (PBRs) and the Swift boats (PCFs), river warfare training, Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., the Black Ponies aircraft squadron, and Navy SEALs. This publication may be of interest to history scholars, veterans, students in advanced placement history classes, and military enthusiasts given the continuing impact of riverine warfare on U.S. naval and military operations in the 21st century. Special Publicity Tie-In: Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War (Commemoration dates: 28 May 2012 - 11 November 2025). This is the fifth book in the series, "The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War." TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction The First Indochina War The Vietnam Navy River Force and American Advisors The U.S. Navy and the Rivers of Vietnam SEALORDS The End of the Line for U.S. and Vietnamese River Forces Sidebars: The PBR Riverine Warfare Training Battle Fleet of the Mekong Delta High Drama in the Delta Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. Black Ponies The Swift Boat Warriors with Green Faces Suggested Reading

The Evolution of US Army Tactical Doctrine, 1946-76

The Evolution of US Army Tactical Doctrine, 1946-76
Author: Robert A. Doughty
Publisher:
Total Pages: 68
Release: 1979
Genre: Military art and science
ISBN:

This paper focuses on the formulation of doctrine since World War II. In no comparable period in history have the dimensions of the battlefield been so altered by rapid technological changes. The need for the tactical doctrines of the Army to remain correspondingly abreast of these changes is thus more pressing than ever before. Future conflicts are not likely to develop in the leisurely fashions of the past where tactical doctrines could be refined on the battlefield itself. It is, therefore, imperative that we apprehend future problems with as much accuracy as possible. One means of doing so is to pay particular attention to the business of how the Army's doctrine has developed historically, with a view to improving methods of future development.

McWp 3-35.3 - Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (Mout)

McWp 3-35.3 - Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (Mout)
Author: U. S. Marine Corps
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2015-02-01
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 9781312884557

This manual provides guidance for the organization, planning, and conduct of the full range of military operations on urbanized terrain. This publication was prepared primarily for commanders, staffs, and subordinate leaders down to the squad and fire team level. It is written from a Marine air-ground task force perspective, with emphasis on the ground combat element as the most likely supported element in that environment. It provides the level of detailed information that supports the complexities of planning, preparing for, and executing small-unit combat operations on urbanized terrain. It also provides historical and environmental information that supports planning and training for combat in built-up areas

U.S. Army Guide to Boobytraps

U.S. Army Guide to Boobytraps
Author: Department of the Army
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2010-02-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1510720553

Little is more dangerous to U.S. forces fighting insurgents in hot spots around the world than improvised explosive devices. It’s the weapon of choice for under-funded forces aimed to attack American soldiers with low risk to themselves. This official U.S. manual is the complete guide to using and dismantling boobytraps. Here you can learn how to assemble, use, detect, and remove boobytraps and demolition items in almost any situation. With intricate and detailed diagrams, you’ll discover how army troops can disguise boobytraps in household items such as irons, teapots, and televisions; in structures such as window frames, stairways, and wooden beams; and in outdoor areas, in bushes and underground. Find out how boobytraps work, why they are used in the army, and the tactics behind their set-up. Learn the mechanics of the various types of firing devices, detonators, fuses, cords, adapters, blasting caps, and lighters. Also included are detailed instructions for detecting and removing boobytraps. The U.S. Army Guide to Boobytraps explains the responsibilities and safety issues that should be thoroughly understood by anyone using any weapon. Any military enthusiast will appreciate the level of detail this field manual offers.

Bringing Order to Chaos

Bringing Order to Chaos
Author: Peter J Schifferle Editor
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2018-10-12
Genre:
ISBN: 9781727842913

Volume 2, Bringing Order to Chaos: Combined Arms Maneuver in Large Scale Combat Operations, opens a dialogue with the Army. Are we ready for the significantly increased casualties inherent to intensive combat between large formations, the constant paralyzing stress of continual contact with a peer enemy, and the difficult nature of command and control while attempting division and corps combined arms maneuver to destroy that enemy? The chapters in this volume answer these questions for combat operations while spanning military history from 1917 through 2003. These accounts tell the challenges of intense combat, the drain of heavy casualties, the difficulty of commanding and controlling huge formations in contact, the effective use of direct and indirect fires, the need for high quality leadership, thoughtful application of sound doctrine, and logistical sustainment up to the task. No large scale combat engagement, battle, or campaign of the last one hundred years has been successful without being better than the enemy in these critical capabilities. What can we learn from the past to help us make the transition to ready to fight tonight?

Small Unit Action in Vietnam, Summer 1966

Small Unit Action in Vietnam, Summer 1966
Author: Francis J. West, Jr.
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2014-06-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9781500143893

The origin of this publication lies in the continuing program at all levels of command to keep Marines informed of the ways of combat and civic action in Vietnam. Not limited in any way to set methods and means, this informational effort spreads across a wide variety of projects, all aimed at making the lessons learned in Vietnam available to the Marine who is fighting there and the Marine who is soon due to take his turn in combat. Recognizing a need to inform the men who are the key to the success of Marine Corps operations—the enlisted Marines and junior officers of combat and combat support units—the former Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Major General William R. Collins, originated a project to provide a timely series of short, factual narratives of small unit action, stories which would have lessons learned as an integral part. Essential to General Collins' concept was the fact that the stories would have to be both highly readable and historically accurate. The basic requirement called for an author trained in the methodology of research, with recent active duty experience at the small unit level in the FMF, and a proven ability to write in e style that would ensure wide readership. This publication, then, is based upon first-hand, eyewitness accounting of the events described. It is documented by notes and taped interviews taken in the field and includes lessons learned from the mouths of the Marines who are currently fighting in Vietnam. It is published for the information of those men who are serving and who will serve in Vietnam, as well as for the use of other interested Americans, so that they may better understand the demands of the Vietnam conflict on the individual Marine.

U.S. Marines In Vietnam: The Landing And The Buildup, 1965

U.S. Marines In Vietnam: The Landing And The Buildup, 1965
Author: Dr. Jack Shulimson
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 666
Release: 2016-08-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1787200833

This is the second volume in a series of chronological histories prepared by the Marine Corps History and Museums Division to cover the entire span of Marine Corps involvement in the Vietnam War. This volume details the Marine activities during 1965, the year the war escalated and major American combat units were committed to the conflict. The narrative traces the landing of the nearly 5,000-man 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and its transformation into the ΙII Marine Amphibious Force, which by the end of the year contained over 38,000 Marines. During this period, the Marines established three enclaves in South Vietnam’s northernmost corps area, I Corps, and their mission expanded from defense of the Da Nang Airbase to a balanced strategy involving base defense, offensive operations, and pacification. This volume continues to treat the activities of Marine advisors to the South Vietnamese armed forces but in less detail than its predecessor volume, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1964; The Advisory and Combat Assistance Era.