The Search for Tactical Success in Vietnam
An Analysis of Australian Task Force Combat Operations

Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, this text provides a unique insight into counterinsurgency and Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Andrew Ross (Author), Robert Hall (Author), Amy Griffin (Author)

9781107098442, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 8 September 2015

352 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.4 cm, 0.64 kg

From 1966 to 1971 the First Australian Task Force was part of the counterinsurgency campaign in South Vietnam. Though considered a small component of the Free World effort in the war, these troops from Australia and New Zealand were in fact the best trained and prepared for counterinsurgency warfare. However, until now, their achievements have been largely overlooked by military historians. The Search for Tactical Success in Vietnam sheds new light on this campaign by examining the thousands of small-scale battles that the First Australian Task Force was engaged in. The book draws on statistical, spatial and temporal analysis, as well as primary data, to present a unique study of the tactics and achievements of the First Australian Task Force in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. Further, original maps throughout the text help to illustrate how the Task Force's tactics were employed.

1. Balance of capability
2. The landmark battles
3. The Jungle Patrol
4. Patrol contacts
5. The ambush battle
6. Bunker busting
7. Security contacts
8. Mine warfare
9. Comparisons: 1ATF Infantry, SAS and other allied forces
10. The combat effectiveness of 1ATF
11. Clearing the VC/PAVN from Phuoc Tuy.

Subject Areas: Military tactics [JWKT], Vietnam War [HBWS2], Military history [HBW]