Men against Fire in Vietnam

Abstract

This thesis examines combat effectiveness in Vietnam. Did American soldiers in Vietnam put out an effective volume of small arms fire? This question and its applicability to current training and future combat are addressed in this monograph. The basis for analysis is two surveys, one of 500 Vietnam veteran members of the 1st Cavalry Division Association and a second of 63 officers who served as platoon leaders or company commanders in Vietnam. The surveys questioned respondents regarding personal engagement of the enemy, engagement by other unit members, causes for failing to fire, and training advice for contemporary soldiers. The results bode well for an American army that may fight in other Vietnam-type wars or have to fight outnumbered and win. Over 83% of the soldiers equipped with individual weapons and over 86% of those manning crew-served systems engaged the enemy in Vietnam.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 08, 1987
Accession Number
ADA191403

Entities

People

  • Russell W. Glenn

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ammunition
  • Army
  • Artillery
  • Classification
  • Indirect Fire
  • Infantry
  • Korean War
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • New York
  • Second World War
  • Small Arms
  • Students
  • Training
  • War
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Library and Information Science/ Studies, Southeast Asia Studies, Bibliography of Vietnam and Lao Studies.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military Science