We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young: by Harold Moore for $2.99
From the description:
"In November 1965, some 450 men of the First Battalion, Seventh Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Harold Moore, were dropped into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was brutally slaughtered. Together, these actions at the landing zones X-Ray and Albany constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War. They were the first major engagements between the US Army and the People’s Army of Vietnam.
How these Americans persevered creates a vivid portrait of war at its most devastating and inspiring. Lt. Gen. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway interviewed hundreds of men who fought in the battle, including the North Vietnamese commanders."
An interesting account of the first major engagement of the Vietnam war. 4.7 stars for 532 pages, note a buck more than usual.
I've read this book in paperback form. It was later turned into a fairly decent movie starring Mel Gibson. When you read this book it is important to recall that the U.S. Army in 1965 was very different from the one that was on the same ground in 1968 or 1969. This was a somewhat more professional Army, and certainly had greater unit cohesion than later on.
Both sides had grossly underestimated each other. The U.S. anticipated that they would be able to deal large amounts of damage in a major engagement due to their overwhelming superiority in indirect fire and air support (largely true) and this would force the North Vietnamese to accept a negotiated settlement (totally false). The NVA anticipated they could infiltrate into the Central Highlands, then descent into the South in force, wipe away opposition, then the South Vietnamese would rise up with them and topple the regime in the South. It also turned out to be not that simple.
The movie was not good at all, sorry.
The book is pretty good. I bought it a couple months ago for a dollar cheaper, very much worth it
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