⚔️ 1955–1975 Vietnam War, Battle Studies

Firsthand battlefield analysis of Vietnam War campaigns and battles

Walking the battlefields of the Vietnam War (1955-1975)

The Vietnam War (1955–1975) began as an effort to stabilise South Vietnam in the aftermath of the French Indochina War and the French withdrawal in 1955. The war escalated through the early advisory years, the deployment of major U.S. combat forces in 1965, the nationwide crises of 1968, and the gradual handover to South Vietnamese forces during the ‘Vietnamisation’ period from 1969 onwards. The war concluded with the final North Vietnamese offensives in 1975. Throughout, conventional battles, counter-insurgency operations, and strategic bombing campaigns intersected in a conflict defined by shifting strategies, multinational involvement, and competing political visions for Southeast Asia.

Escalation 1960-1968

In the early 1960s, the war centred on a Viet Cong insurgency in the south, and the struggle for control of rural provinces. By mid-1965, U.S. ground forces directly entered the fighting, leading to large-scale engagements such as LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley — the first major meeting of American and North Vietnamese regular forces. Over the next three years, the conflict expanded across the Central Highlands and the demilitarised zone, including the hard-fought battles of Dak To, Hill 875, and the bloody assaults on Khe Sanh.

The Tet Offensive of 1968 marked a turning point: a coordinated nationwide attack that included the brutal urban fighting at Hue, reshaping U.S. public opinion despite being a tactical failure for North Vietnam. In the south, Australian and New Zealand forces conducted counter-insurgency operations across Phuoc Tuy province, exemplified by the intense battle of Long Tan in 1966. Special operations units also played a critical role, culminating in missions such as the Son Tay Raid — an audacious 1970 attempt to rescue American POWs deep inside North Vietnam.

Vietnamisation 1969-1975

From 1969 onward, the war shifted again as U.S. forces gradually drew down and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) assumed greater responsibility. Despite local successes, ARVN struggled to counter major offensives such as the Easter Offensive (1972). In 1975, with American support no longer forthcoming, a rapid conventional campaign by the People’s Army of Vietnam overran South Vietnam, culminating in the fall of Saigon.

This collection of Vietnam War battlefield studies explores these campaigns through a clear, historically grounded lens — drawing on contemporary accounts, operational records, period mapping and on-site field exploration to explain not only what occurred during the conflict, but how key battles shaped its course.