The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1965-1973 [Paperback]

Shelby L. Stanton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 1995

“THE MEN WHO SACRIFICED FOR THEIR COUNTRY ARE RIGHTFULLY HERALDED . . . This is an honest book–one well worth reading. . . . Stanton has laid his claim to the historian’s ranks by providing his reader with well-documented, interpretive assessments.”
–Parameters

The Vietnam War remains deep in the nation’s consciousness. It is vital that we know exactly what happened there–and who made it happen. This book provides a complete account of American Army ground combat forces–who they were, how they got to the battlefield, and what they did there. Year by year, battlefield by battlefield, the narrative follows the war in extraordinary, gripping detail. Over the course of the decade, the changes in fighting and in the combat troops themselves are described and documented. The Rise and Fall of an American Army represents the first total battlefield history of Army ground forces in the Vietnam War, containing much previously unreleased archival material. It re-creates the feel of battle with dramatic precision.

“Stanton’s writing . . . gives the reader a terrifying graphic description of combat in the many mini-environments of Vietnam.”
–The New York Times

“[A] MOVING, IMPORTANT BOOK.”
–St. Louis Post-Dispatch



From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

More praise for The Rise and Fall of an American Army

“Stanton captures vividly . . . the ferocity of the fighting. At times, his descriptions make you think he’s writing about the bloody front in World War I . . . . [This book] provides fresh confirmation that . . . in battle after battle, American troops fought with incredible courage.”
–The American Spectator

“Stanton has written by far the best book yet published about U.S. soldiers and marines in combat in Vietnam. . . . His word pictures of the violent encounters of that war are clear, evocative and authentic.”
–GEN. WILLIAM E. DEPUY
ARMY magazine

“A lasting tribute to the men who fought and died in Vietnam. Those who served there–and those who would understand those who served there–owe [Stanton] an enormous debut of gratitude.”
–COL. HARRY SUMMER
from the foreword

“This is one of those books every infantryman should own.”
–Infantry magazine


From the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Shelby L. Stanton is a noted military historian. During the conflict in Vietnam, he was commissioned as an infantry officer of the U.S. Army and completed the Airborne, Ranger, and Special Forces Officer courses. His six years on active military duty included service throughout Southeast Asia, where he earned the Vietnam service and campaign medals. He was also decorated for advisory duty in direct support of Cambodian operations. After being wounded in Laos, he was medically retired with the rank of captain.

Stanton received a B.A., M.Ed., and J.D. from Louisiana State University. He is also the author of Rangers at War; Vietnam Order of Battle; and Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War II.


From the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Presidio Press (July 26, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891415769
• ISBN-13: 978-0891415763
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,688,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable history, October 15, 2005

By 

Y. Sageev "a garden-variety dude" (Western NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces, Vietnam, 1965-1973 (Hardcover)

The Vietnam War is probably the most maligned, misunderstood, misrepresented, and misreported conflict in military history. Readers who wish to clear their minds of the perpetual cacophony of nonsense surrounding it must turn to a qualified source. Shelby Stanton -- military historian and decorated veteran, Infantry Officer, Ranger, Airborne, and Special Forces in Vietnam, is a qualified source.

Stanton turns his untinted glasses to the conflict in a very scholarly, soldierly manner. The history is primarily engagement-oriented, but weaves these engagements into a backdrop of policy, system-wide challenges, political fiascos, and cultural difficulties.

Stanton covers every major engagement during the war with as much precision as possible for a single volume. He meticulously lists regiments, battalions, companies, squads, etc. before he commences a vivid description of combat. Particularly critical actions by individuals are also mentioned.

The author does not whitewash low points in military conduct. He discusses the poorly-led Americal division, members of which were responsible for My Lai. Substance abuse by soldiers (particularly toward the latter end of the conflict), demoralization and insubordination prior to demobilization and cover-ups in the chain-of-command all receive treatment.

However, Stanton places these problems in perspective and is, above all, fair to the men who served. The simple fact is that the vast, overwhelming majority of troops served honorably, steadfastly and often heroically. In almost no circumstance where the NVA/VC able to hold captured targets for any length of time, and only rarely were they able to overwhelm an entire position. Casualties experienced by the NVA, as best as can be ascertained, outnumbered ours dramatically (a figure given is 500,000 NVA/VC, by an NVA general to journalist Oriana Fallaci). In fact, the use of casualties as a benchmark for successful engagements was one of the problems that (Stanton points out) led to My Lai. Other benchmarks were hard to come by, however, given the "Total War" strategy that deemphasized holding strategic terrain.

Ultimately, the failure to achieve policy objectives in Vietnam rested with political decisions and lack of American will. From a tactical perspective, US Forces on the whole performed admirably -- repulsing Tet and Mini-Tet, winning the "Big Battles" of 1967, and so on.

Rise and Fall is well-written and manages to engage the reader despite the precision. It contains numerous maps by the author as well as illuminating photographs from his collection.

A history that will stand the test of time.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable, August 15, 2004

By 

mike duffy (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1965-1973 (Paperback)

This is a greeat book, though not a perfect one - but certainly a welcome and necessary addition to any Vietnam era reader. Stanton is not really concerned with politics of strategy, only the performance of the Army and Marines in combat in Vietnam and, more unusually, how the Regular Army reacted to the war. Densely written and without enough maps, it certainly is a bit difficult to read, but it is worth it. He covers all of the major operations and battles of the war, including the ones usually ignored by historians. Stanton unfortunately has a strong bias against the ARVN and doesn't bother to conceal it.