Operational Leadership in Vietnam: General William Depuy vs. Lieutenant General Victor Krulak or Attrition Vice Pacification.

Abstract

The intent of this paper is to examine the competing operational leadership philosophies of Gen Depuy and LtGen Krulak during the Vietnam War. The larger issue in question assesses the appropriate strategy for conducting counterinsurgercy warfare. Depuy espoused a war of attrition while Krulak advocated a pacification theory. In order to structure this comparison, the different philosophies are analyzed within the framework of operational design and the principles of military operations other than war. The conclusion acknowledges that every insurgency is unique and that there is no absolute formula for victory, but that Krulak's method offered a higher probability of success given the circumstances of this conflict.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 19, 1997
Accession Number
ADA328122

Entities

People

  • Michael A. Norton

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Attrition
  • Central America
  • Counterinsurgency
  • El Salvador
  • Geography
  • Lessons Learned
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Operations
  • New York
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • Vietnam
  • Vietnam War
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Regression Analysis.