Huế 1968 : a turning point of the American war in Vietnam /

Huế 1968 : a turning point of the American war in Vietnam /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Bowden, Mark, 1951-
Edition:	First edition.
Imprint:	New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, [2017]
Description:	594 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Language:	English
Subject:	Hue, Battle of (Huế, Vietnam : 1968) Tet Offensive (1968) Vietnam War (1961-1975) Hue, Battle of, Huế, Vietnam, 1968. Tet Offensive, 1968. Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Urban warfare -- United States. Urban warfare. United States. Vietnam -- Huế
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11311510

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9780802127006 (hardcover) 0802127002 (hardcover) 9780802189240 (eISBN)
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references.
Summary:	In mid-1967, the North Vietnam leadership had started planning an offensive intended to win the war in a single stroke. Part military action and part popular uprising, the effort included attacks across South Vietnam, but the most dramatic and successful would be the capture of Huế, the country's intellectual and cultural capital. At 2:30 a.m. on January 31, the first day of the Lunar New Year (called Tet), ten thousand National Liberation Front troops descended from hidden camps and -- led by locals like eighteen-year-old village girl and Viet Cong member Che Thi Mung -- surged across the city of 140,000. By morning, all of Huế was in Front hands save for two small military outposts. The American commanders in country and politicians in Washington refused to believe the size and scope of the Front's presence. Captain Chuck Meadows was ordered to lead his 160-marine Golf Company in the first attempt to reenter Huế later that day. Facing thousands of entrenched enemy troops, he reported: "We are outgunned and outmanned." After several futile and deadly days, Lieutenant Colonel Ernie Cheatham would finally come up with a strategy to retake the city, block by block and building by building, in some of the most intense urban combat since World War II. With unprecedented access to war archives in the United States and Vietnam and interviews with participants from both sides, Bowden narrates each stage of this crucial battle through multiple points of view. Played out over twenty-four days of terrible fighting and ultimately costing more than ten thousand combatant and civilian lives, the Battle of Hue was by far the bloodiest of the entire war. When it ended, the American debate over the war was never again about winning, only about how to leave.
Other form:	Online version: Bowden, Mark, 1951- Huế 1968 First edition. New York, NY : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2017 9780802189240

Description
Summary:	A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist in History <p> Winner of the 2018 Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Greene Award for a distinguished work of nonfiction </p> <p>The first battle book from Mark Bowden since his #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down , Hue 1968 is the story of the centerpiece of the Tet Offensive and a turning point in the American War in Vietnam.In the early hours of January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese launched over one hundred attacks across South Vietnam in what would become known as the Tet Offensive. The lynchpin of Tet was the capture of Hue, Vietnam's intellectual and cultural capital, by 10,000 National Liberation Front troops who descended from hidden camps and surged across the city of 140,000. Within hours the entire city was in their hands save for two small military outposts. American commanders refused to believe the size and scope of the Front's presence, ordering small companies of marines against thousands of entrenched enemy troops. After several futile and deadly days, Lieutenant Colonel Ernie Cheatham would finally come up with a strategy to retake the city, block by block and building by building, in some of the most intense urban combat since World War II.</p> <p>With unprecedented access to war archives in the U.S. and Vietnam and interviews with participants from both sides, Bowden narrates each stage of this crucial battle through multiple viewpoints. Played out over 24 days and ultimately costing 10,000 lives, the Battle of Hue was by far the bloodiest of the entire war. When it ended, the American debate was never again about winning, only about how to leave. Hue 1968 is a gripping and moving account of this pivotal moment.</p>
Physical Description:	594 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN:	9780802127006 0802127002 9780802189240