Casemate Publishing

Marine Corps Tank Battles in Vietnam

by  Oscar E. Gilbert

Reviewed By  Ken Williams, IPMS# 45861

MSRP: $32.95 ISBN-13: 9781932033663 ISBN: 1932033661 Web Site: www.casematepublishing.com Oscar Gilbert has given us far more than a chronology of tank battles in Vietnam. His depth of knowledge and extensive research have provided us with an insightful history of Indochina, specifically that of Vietnam. This historical perspective provides the reader with a firm historical basis on which to base an understanding of the motivations and subsequent actions of Ho Chi Minh and the North Vietnamese people as well as that of the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) commanders General Paul D. Harkins, General William Westmoreland and General Creighton Abrams. Especially in the Oriental mind, thinking and subsequent military strategy are long-term considerations. It is with this in mind that Gilbert leads the reader through two thousand years of Vietnamese history. The author's crisp and succinct writing style and his frequent use of anecdotes keeps an otherwise boring history lesson from becoming a burden to the reader. The history quickly leads the reader to the introduction of American advisors in the 50's under President Eisenhower and through the escalation under the Kennedy administration. Gilbert writes extensively regarding the management of the war during the Johnson/McNamara era and finally he covers the end of the war under Nixon. History, even the history of something as fascinating as the tank, can become tedious if not presented in a skillful manner. This book could easily have fallen prey to this historical tedium, but it does not. As Gilbert explains in his introduction, he did not rely heavily on unit records maintained at the battalion level and higher. These records, if they still exist, tend to be terse, lacking the actual pulse of combat. This is especially true with tank engagement records since tanks are commonly-especially during the Vietnam War-deployed as attachments to small infantry units where there is a lack of comprehensive historical data. To compensate for the lack of recorded history, Gilbert relies heavily on oral history, letting the veterans tell their stories in their own words-the rough words of Marines. There are many oral histories presented including extensive accounts from Captain Conwill W. Casey who commanded the tank units at the battle for Hue, William "JJ" Carroll who enlisted after seeing "The Sands of Iwo Jima" and retired as a Sgt Major, and Battalion Commander Karl Fontenot who opened Route 9 as far as Khe Sanh during the fierce battles of Operation Pegasus. The armor modeler will find this book to be of invaluable help in detailing armor pieces taken from the Vietnam era. Gilbert gets down in the dirt at the personal level as he describes how tanks were outfitted and fought. The author covers all of the tanks in the theatre from the M103 Heavy to the M48 Patton and M48A3 but he goes further, describing most of the supporting armor vehicles used in the conflict. He writes authoritatively on the M50A1 Ontos and the M42 "Duster." He describes the use of the M51 Retriever and relates several meaningful stories of its deployment. Other armored vehicles covered are the M109 self propelled Howitzer, M113 armored personnel carrier, the M26 Pershing, the M67A2 Flame Tank, and the mighty M88 Armored recovery vehicle. Gilbert takes the reader-through the eyes and words of actual participants--into major battles and operations such as Dewey Canyon, Arc Light, and Dagger Thrust to name a few. The author gives detailed accounts of the role played by the Navy transport ships that carried the armor into battle and struggled to get the heavy vehicles onto the beach. He takes the reader onboard the U.S.S. Alamo, the U.S.S. C. Turner Joy, the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, the hospital ship U.S.S. Sanctuary, and many others. Due to the terrain and climate of Vietnam, combat bases became major landmarks and they became major objectives for the NVA and the VC. He explains that tanks were often used-many say "misused"-as pillboxes in the defense of the line. Without room to maneuver, the tanks lost much of their tactical advantage. A few of the many combat bases covered in the book are Cam Lo, Dong Ha, Con Thien, and Khe Sahn. Although the book is primarily dedicated to covering the battles fought by the United States Marine Corps, the author does not ignore the other services, giving credit to Army units, Navy support vessels, and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN.) It is a well rounded book that provides an authoritative insightful look at commanders, commands, and the tanks and armor that supported them. If you build armor models from the Vietnam War, this is a must read. Many thanks to Tara Lichterman and Casemate Publishing for the chance to review this excellent book.

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