Algeria and Vietnam: A Study of Counterinsurgencies

Abstract

The United States could have shortened the war or changed the outcome by adopting Trinquier's principles in Vietnam. The French reacted rapidly and separated the guerrilla from the population. The United States moved the population to strategic hamlets, alienating the population against the government. The French held the terrain, but to the United States occupying and controlling key terrain wasn't a priority unless there was enemy contact. The French secured the borders and kept pressure across the country. In Vietnam, politics, international boundaries, and terrain made constant pressure impossible. Both counterinsurgencies have similarities with the current Global War on Terror. Adopting his principles now for our fight in Iraq and Afghanistan could shift the counter-insurgency battle dramatically in our favor.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 10, 2008
Accession Number
AD1139783

Entities

People

  • Robert Hixson

Organizations

  • United States Army Sergeants Major Academy

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan
  • Boundaries
  • Civilian Population
  • Counterinsurgency
  • Governments
  • Insurgency
  • International Organizations
  • Law Enforcement
  • Military Intelligence
  • New York
  • North Vietnam
  • Rural Areas
  • Terrain
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Vietnam
  • War

Readers

  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.