The following vietnam war timeline is a guide to the complex political and military issues involved in a war that would ultimately claim millions of lives. The vietnam war started in the 1950s, according to most historians, though the conflict in southeast asia had its roots in the french colonial period of the 1800s. The final death toll of the battle was 8 american soldiers and 3 men missing in action. Before being killed in vietnam in 1967, he wrote eight books that many claim are some of the best history books about the french war and the beginnings of the vietnam war. The narratives do not get into the politics of the war nor do they spend time describing the events on the home front. The first american fatality was in 1956 when an offduty airman was shot by a colleague for talking to some children. The top 30 vietnam war books to read this winter historynet. The first major battle between american and vietnamese forces, the battle of ia drang. Known as the second indochina war, the vietnam war officially began when the u. The ensuing battle, the first major battle of the vietnam war, was a savage.
Crucial battles of the vietnam war major battles in us history by katy duffield jan 1, 2017. This musthave 480page book features the narrative of over 100 major battles conducted by u. This book is widely viewed as the best concise history of the vietnam war. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. American comics, on the other hand, tend to reflect the popular attitudes of the. Zone was one of the first vietnam war memoirs released by a major publisher.
Perhaps the only decent thing to emerge from the vietnam war is a body of literature unsurpassed by the writing thats come out of any other war. How comics captured americas opinions about the vietnam war. A chronology of key events in the history of vietnam. Learn about some of the battles that defined the war in vietnam and explore the. Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. The battle of kham duc is one of the least knownand least understoodmajor battles of the vietnam war. Ready to read the most celebrated and best vietnam war books. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign relations. It was the last major confrontation between united states ground forces and north vietnam of the vietnam war. Three medals of honor and five distinguished service crosses were awarded to the men who fought at ripcord.
Battle of khe sanh 21 january 9 april 1968 dan talks to giant of journalism, sy hersh. Ia drang the battle that changed the war in vietnam by harold g. It was designed to rapidly place soldiers in the center of the legs of the horseshoe and. Books examine special operations forces during the vietnam war. The 1968 tet offensive and the epic battle to survive the vietnam war. The work also included a damning warning about what the u. The united states, france, china, the soviet union, cambodia, laos and other countries would over time become involved in the lengthy war. In the short history of vietnam war literature, publishers would hardly touch a book on the war until the late 1970s and early 1980sa part of the selfinduced national amnesia about that conflict and its outcome. After sufficient time had elapsed to ease some of the war s psychic wounds, we saw a mini explosion of important books.
Reader center wirecutter live events the learning network. Histories of war are often told through the major battles and the views of the generals and politicians in power. A timeline of the most important events of the vietnam war. The vietnam war stands as one of the pivotal moments in recent u. Tet offensive 30 january 28 march, 1968 with us and south vietnamese.