Documentary - 290 mins
Audience - General
Classification - Exempt
Region - 2
Format - PAL
Language - English

Product weight 450g

DVD compatibility

 

Disc 1. Into The Quagmire 1954-1964

After the1954 French defeat in Vietnam, the country was divided between a communist north and capitalist oriented south. The north was eager to unify the country and rid it of western influence. The Americans saw this as part of the great global communist conspiracy for world domination and slowly moved forces into the south. The Vietnam War had begun.

Disc 2. Next Stop is Vietnam 1964-1966

In 1964, the U.S. had just 21,000 troops in Vietnam, mostly advisors or specialist troops. By the summer of 1966 that number had risen to 430,000 and many of these were conscripts. In '64 American military theorists speculated that U.S. technology and sheer strength of numbers could win the war, particularly through the use of airpower. It was a disastrous miscalculation.

Disc 3. America's War 1966-1967

The United States was deeply committed to the war by 1966. Nearly 200,000 troops were "in country". The U.S. had virtually taken military control away from the South Vietnamese. The main strategy was to employ "search and destroy" missions to kill as many enemy fighters as possible. High body counts, not solving Vietnam's political problems, was the goal.

Disc 4. The Fading Light 1969-1970

In 1969 Richard Nixon became president and wanted the South Vietnamese Army to take more responsibility in combat. U.S. forces turned to large scale offensive operations away from population centers, aimed at invading North Vietnamese soldiers. The Americans were trying to get out, desperate to achieve Peace with Honor, but little of either could be found in Vietnam.

Disc 5. Dust Off 1970-1975

By 1971, America was in retreat from Vietnam, its air force providing covering fire, as troops withdrew. They would be leaving their South Vietnamese allies to their own fate. The end would soon come. In April 1973, a mass of North Vietnamese forces crossed the border and swept down on Saigon, almost without a fight. The 10,000 Day War was over.

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