Ambush

by S.L.A. Marshall

Focuses on the Vietnam battle which ensued in 1966 after the maneuver to block a Vietcong attack uncovered a cache of enemy supplies and equipment

Genres: Military Fiction

242 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

S.L.A. Marshall (full name, Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall) served in World War I and then embarked in a career in journalism. In World War II, he was chief combat historian in the Central Pacific (1943) and chief historian for the European Theater of Operations (1945). He authored some 30 books about warfare, including Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action, The River and the Gauntlet and Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command in Future War.

Reviews

[Kenneth Tubman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This documentary discloses how ill prepared the U.S. was to jungle warfare in Viet Nam.
Together with the fear to shoot syndrome and poor communication on the battle lines that U.S. Army soldiers experienced led to many more casualties for our side.

I was in the Marine Corps at that time, and went on many practice maneuvers in Hawaii during the years 1963-65. I never went to Viet Nam, as I was discharged with a leg injury prior. But, I believe the Marine Corps was better suited for this type of combat due to our rigid boot camp training and jungle warfare training. I'm sure there are Army vets out there that will disagree with me, but it is my generalization opinion and from conversations I've had with Marine combat vets.

I supported the prevention of Communist expansion but I did not support the lies Johnson fed the United States society about the Tonkin incident. That episode was a lame excuse to get us into that war. He wasted a ton of lives on that political football.