Combat at Close Quarters

📖 The Scoop

 This work describes riverine combat during the Vietnam War, emphasizing the operations of the U.S. Navy’s River Patrol Force, which conducted Operation Game Warden; the U.S. Army-Navy Mobile Riverine Force, the formation that General William Westmoreland said “saved the Mekong Delta” during the Tet Offensive of 1968; and the Vietnam Navy. An important section details the SEALORDS combined campaign, a determined effort by U.S. Navy, South Vietnamese Navy, and allied ground forces to cut enemy supply lines from Cambodia and disrupt operations at base areas deep in the delta. The author also covers details on the combat vessels, helicopters, weapons, and equipment employed in the Mekong Delta as well as the Vietnamese combatants (on both sides) and American troops who fought to secure Vietnam’s waterways. Special features focus on the ubiquitous river patrol boats (PBRs) and the Swift boats (PCFs), river warfare training, Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., the Black Ponies aircraft squadron, and Navy SEALs. This publication may be of interest to history scholars, veterans, students in advanced placement history classes, and military enthusiasts given the continuing impact of riverine warfare on U.S. naval and military operations in the 21st century.

Special Publicity Tie-In: Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War (Commemoration dates: 28 May 2012 - 11 November 2025). This is the fifth book in the series, "The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War."

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
The First Indochina War
The Vietnam Navy River Force and American Advisors
The U.S. Navy and the Rivers of Vietnam
SEALORDS
The End of the Line for U.S. and Vietnamese River Forces

Sidebars:
The PBR
Riverine Warfare Training
Battle Fleet of the Mekong Delta
High Drama in the Delta
Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr.
Black Ponies
The Swift Boat
Warriors with Green Faces

Suggested Reading

Genre: History / Wars & Conflicts / Vietnam War (fancy, right?)