Customer Reviews

Ringed in Steel: Armored Cavalry, Vietnam 1967-68

5 star:		(4)
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COL Michael D. Mahler served as the personnel officer (S-1) of the 1st Brigade/1st Infantry Division from August-December 1967 and Executive Officer of 3-5th Cavalry/9th Infantry Division from December 1967 to August 1968. The weirdest thing about this memoir is that Mahler never identifies his own unit or any other, or any individuals; everything and everyone is referred to in generic terms. It is very odd to read an account where no names are mentioned. With all this secrecy, I'm surprised that Mahler didn't conceal that this was a Vietnam memoir and instead call it "Orangeland". Essentially, this is a collection of anecdotes, war stories and observations strung together. Some are interesting, some are not. This work is lacking in humanity, since there are no characters (just generic, faceless, company commanders, platoon leaders, etc.) and there are no great lessons here. It is also odd for a non-green tabber (i.e. a unit commander) to be writing a memoir; the actual trigger-pullers might have done a better job. There is not even any of the drama of supporting a combat unit; Mahler could have gotten much more into the specifics of armor logistics but instead he just glosses over it. Overly generalized to a fault. One suspects Mahler is some kind of weenie by the end. Of note, the squadron intelligence officer (S-2) is never mentioned, so I guess intelligence and what the enemy was up to was not a big concern for Mahler. The maps are few and crude. The only slight value of this book is the paucity of other armored unit memoirs from Vietnam. This book is far inferior to Sergeant Ralph Zumbro's Tank Sergeant.

Major Mahler served in an Armored cavalry unit in Vietnam before and during the Tet Offensive, and here he relates his experiences during that time.

One may not associate armor with Vietnam, but armor did play a significant role in the war, as Major Mahler demonstrates here.

The stories within run the gamut, from the Birddog pilot shot down to the discovery of VC grains hidden along a road that the troopers confiscate, only to find that a nearby village gets pillaged by the VC because the grain was hidden along the road for the VC to take; the troopers gather enough grain to give back to the stricken villagers. There is also the tunnel that an APC falls into - and promptly unearths a surprised NVA general. There are the running shootouts during the Tet Offensive, and children accidently hit by .50 caliber machine gun fire and operated on by Army medics. There is the night an enemy company literally walks into an ambush by armor and a delightfully one-sided battle with an NVA batallion holed up in a large village, a battle that somewhat resembles the climax of Invasion USA.

There is also Major Mahler's note on the situation on the ground following Tet - of how farmers who could not use roads the year before could now take their crops to market, "and this was progress that could be seen and felt in a war where progress could not easily be quantified."

Major Mahler takes us to Vietnam through his words and we see what went on.

Having served under Major Mahler during a time covered by part of his book, I can say everthing presented in the book is accurate. The book contains a factual account of the actions of the 3rd of the 5th Armored Cavalry in Viet Nam while Major Mahler was Executive Officer. With it lack of blood and guts, or gory details, it is a book which my wife and family can read as a way of getting some insite into what my life was like during those days so long ago. For years I had wondered why our officers had kept bringing us back to the same over-night position. We came back so many times that, as expected, we were attacked in force by a well prepared NVA. Our losses were high, both in terms of men and equipment. Even as a PFC, I had known our repetative use of the same positions, right along the side of Highway 1, was potentially desasterious. Until reading "Ringed in Steel", I had placed the blame opon our officers. Major Mahler exposed the orders, given by the Marines, objected to by our officers, which dictated that our unit return to this position every night. My confidence is now renewed in the decision making capability of the United States Army Officers Corps. For an insite into how our military operates, how decisions are made, what factors enter into those decisions, this book is a must read.

I was in this unit and I found Mr. Mahler accounts accurate and well written. There is no digression in politics or the suffering of the vietnamese people (which was the biggest story of that miserable, soul less, and youth killing event called the vietnam war). This made the book an objective military history on a unit of squadron size. However, I did find it puzzling that Mr. Mahler did not name the units directly.

Masterfully written, this work was difficult to put down. A must for cavalrymen and students of cavalry and armor.

This is yet another personal memoir of service in Vietnam. The author was an officer and so his perspective is more pointed towards command and the lack of it rather than personal experiences. The impression from the title and the back cover matter would seem to indicate that there's some significant amount of discussion of the use of armor in the conflict, but it doesn't appear all that much in the narrative. Only recommended if you have an interest in the Vietnam memoir genre.

If you are looking for a detailed look at the use of armor in Vietnam this book is adequet in that regard. It is from the viewpoint of a career army officer and is reasonably detailed account of his tour in-country 1967-68. I personally liked his style of writing as it is very flowing and draws you into his story. At times the narrative slows down a little when he describes operation details (he served as battalion S-3 for this tour. He did ( in my opinion) gloss over some of the emerging fractures that would plauge the U.S. Army in Vietnam as the war progressed such as drug use and racial tensions in units. But for that this book is an excellent view of one mans tour in armor at war. I would recommend this book for any serious student of the Vietnam war and specifically for those who want to learn more about the role of armor in a guerilla war of low-intensity conflict.

I WAS IN THE SAME UNIT AS COL. MAHLER IN VIETNAM IN 70-71
WE TRADED IN THE HEAVY/SLOW M-48 AND M-60 TANKS FOR FASTER/LIGHTER M 551 SHERIDANS WITH 152MM GUNS AND MOVED FROM DOWN SOUTH TO THE DMZ AT DONG HA. KNOWN AS THE (...) CAV..

LOOK FORWARD TO READING THE BOOK.. JUST FOUND IT ON THE 3/5 CAV BLACKKNIGHT WEB SITE.

The previous reviewer missed the point. As an Executive Officer Mike Mahler was second in command, and often on-site commander of the unit. In this position he also had a lot of day-to-day contact with supporting and supported units. This is not a blood and guts account of fighting tanks, but one of how Armored Cavalry works. As a former Armored Cav Officer it was a great read and Colonel Mahler did a great job of explaining the complexities and challenge of Cavalry Operations. I wish I had had officers as good as he was commanding me.

As to not ID'ing the unit, that is his choice and I will not fault him for it. Maybe he just did not want to drag up the names of dead or incompetent officers. Who knows.

If I could I would love to talk with the Colonel one on one about his experiences. Great book for anyone interested in Armored Cavalry.