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Text originally published in 1976 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

ARMOR IN VIETNAM

By

Frederick Eugene Oldinsky

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ABSTRACT 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5

LIST OF FIGURES 7

I. BACKGROUND 9

Early Concepts 9

World War I 9

World War II 10

Armor in Korea 12

Korea to Vietnam 14

II. FIGHTING IN VIETNAM 16

The French Experience 16

French Lesson Learned 17

The American Experience 17

The Need for Tanks—Limited Build-up 27

Organizational Considerations 30

Problems Caused by Insufficient Armor 33

Supply and Maintenance Support 42

Considerations for an Armored Division 45

Armored Cavalry Regiments — Another Option 47

Armor’s Performance in Vietnam 57

Armor Employment by VC/NVA Forces 78

III. LESSONS LEARNED—CONCLUSION 85

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 87

BIBLIOGRAPHY 88

Books 88

Government Publications 88

Periodicals 90

Personal Interviews 90

Personal Letters 90

GLOSSARY 92

Armor 92

Chemical energy ammunition 92

Consumable cartridge case 92

Kinetic energy ammunition 92

Jet Stream 92

Napalm 93

Round (of ammunition) 93

Shillelagh missile 93

Half-track 93

M8 Armored Car 94

M113A1 Marginal Terrain Assault Bridge (MTAB) 94

M88 Vehicle, Tank Retriever (VTR) 94

ARVN 95

Base Camp 95

Basic load (tank ammunition) 95

Battalion trains area 95

Battery (of artillery) 95

Breakthrough— 95

Collective protector (tank) 95

Crew-served weapon 95

Cryptographic 95

Cupola— 95

Dead Man 96

Exploitation 96

FAC (Forward Air Controller) 96

Fire Support Base (FSB) 96

Laager 96

Minus (-) 96

Mobile defense 96

POL 96

PSP 96

RRF (Ready or Rapid Reaction Force) 96

Steering laterals 96

Strong point 97

Tactical Area of Responsibility (TAOR) 97

Tank 97

Tank battalion 97

Tank platoon 97

Task Force 101

TO&E (Table of Organization and Equipment 101

M-72 Light Antitank Weapon (LAW) 101

APPENDIX A — CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF ARMOR 102

Limitations 102

Capabilities 104

APPENDIX B — ARMOR DOCTRINE 106

An Infantry Support Weapon 106

Armor in the Leading Role 107

Armor Doctrine in Vietnam 108

Use of Armor by Other Countries 109

APPENDIX C — ATTITUDE OF THE INFANTRY 111

APPENDIX D — EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS IN VIETNAM 113

APPENDIX E — VITA 116

ABSTRACT

This thesis begins with a brief history of armored vehicles from their earliest concepts to the modern battle tank of today. It critically examines the decision not to include tank units with the first American combat forces deployed in Vietnam and the irrationality of that decision in light of a similar decision made prior to the Korean conflict.

Tanks were deployed in limited numbers in Vietnam in spite of a decision to the contrary and, once there, I proved their usefulness and their ability to perform in a tropical environment against an elusive enemy. Examples of the tank’s effectiveness in Vietnam are given and the feasibility of deploying major armored forces to that country is discussed.

Problems created by insufficient armor are addressed as well as the limitations and vulnerabilities of tanks and other armored vehicles.

Armor doctrine is traced from the tank’s role in breaking the stalemate of World War I through the formative years of World War II, and its application to the war in Vietnam.

Since most armored weapons were designed primarily for conventional warfare, a number of modifications were required to adapt the weapons to an unconventional war. Some of the more significant modifications are described.

Finally, lessons learned by the Vietnam experience and their future application are discussed. Concluding consideration in the paper is whether or not decision makers will need these lessons learned or continue to make the same mistakes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my appreciation to those who devoted so much of their time and effort to assist me not only in the completion of this thesis but especially in my studies at Trinity preceding the thesis.

In particular I wish to thank Dr. Noel F. Parrish for his considerable guidance which led to the selection of my thesis topic and for his patience and counseling through the many stages of thesis development.

I especially wish to thank Dr. James H. Mannock who devoted an inordinate amount of time and effort to assist me in my writing arid research and the attainment of my goal.

I am also indebted to Dr. Joe C. Ashby for taking time from his busy schedule to sit on my Thesis Committee.

Without the assistance of Mr. John Campbell and the staff of the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, the research for the thesis would have been much more difficult. To them and LTC George Dramis who made the Armor Monograph files available to me I offer my heartfelt thanks.

Many others, too numerous to mention, rendered invaluable assistance in the completion of this thesis. To one and all I shall always be grateful.

LIST OF FIGURES

1. Map of South Vietnam Showing Province Boundaries and Corps Tactical Zones

2. Map of Vin Thanh Valley, South Vietnam

3. Map of Soul Ca Valley, South Vietnam

4. Map Showing Location of Plei Me Special Forces Camp

5. Map Showing Area of Operation Circle Pines Near Cu Chi, South Vietnam

6. Schematic Diagram of the Elements of the Division Base Organization

7. Schematic Diagram of Armored, Infantry and Mechanized Infantry Division Organization

8. Illustration of Tank Platoon Movement by Bounds

9. Map Showing Location of 2d Battalion, 34th Armor, in War Zone C, February 1968

10. Map Depicting the Vicinity of Cu Chi Including the Hobo Woods, 25th Infantry Division Base Camp FSB Crockett and Tan Hoa

11. Map of South Vietnam Indicating Location of Lang Vei Special Forces camp and all Major Actions Depicted in the Text

12. Map of South Vietnam Showing Location of Major Free World Ground Forces, Particularly Phu Bai, Location of Displaced Company C, 2d Battalion, 34th Armor

13. Map of South Vietnam Showing Geomorphic Regions Which Illustrate How the Monsoon Season Affects the Northern Area at a Different Time from the Southern Area

14. Table of Percentages of Traffic ability in the Four Corps of South Vietnam for Tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers during the Wet and Dry Season

15. Trafficability Map of I Corps, Dry Season

16. Trafficability Map of I Corps, Wet Season

17. Trafficability Map of II Corps, Dry Season

18. Trafficability Map of II Corps, Wet Season

19. Trafficability Map of III Corps, Dry Season

20. Trafficability Map of III Corps, Wet Season

21. Trafficability Map of IV Corps, Dry Season

22. Trafficability Map of IV Corps, Wet Season

23. Hap Depicting U.S. incursion into Cambodia

24. Schematic Diagram of the Organization of an Armored Cavalry Regiment

25. Illustration of Armored Column Formation

25A. Illustration of Armored Line Formation

26. Illustration of Herringbone Formation

27. Map Showing 11th ACR Base Camp, Xuan Loc and Ambush Site of 31 December 1967

28. Map Depicting Location of Ap Bau Bang

29. Diagram of Battle of Ap Bau Bang

30. Map Showing Location of FSB Gold

31. Diagram of Battle of FSB Gold and Location of Samat Stream

32. Map Showing Location of Lang Vei Special Forces Camp

33. Map Showing Location of Ben Het Special Forces Camp

34. Map Showing Location of 20th ARVN Tank Regiment and Advance of NVA Armor Column

I. BACKGROUND

Early Concepts

Man is inquisitive and inventive. He has used these traits not only to make his life easier and more comfortable but also to improve his ability to defeat his enemies. He has sought the means by which to inflict injury upon his opponent while protecting himself from harm. Relatively simple protective devices such as a shield and body armor soon evolved, and applied in mounted combat to protect the horse and the chariot. One of the earliest recorded uses of armor appears in the Bible in the Book of Judges, chapter 1, 19th version And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountains but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron.

Over the centuries there were a number of innovations in very rudimentary vehicles which relied on horse or manpower for their mobility, and wood, leather or metal for protection from enemy weapons. One of the most notable of these was a covered chariot designed by Leonardo Da Vinci in a shape similar to a Chinese coolie hat. The most significant aspect of Da Vinci’s vehicle was its intended use. He visualized this, chariot attacking and ... behind them the infantry can follow in safety and without opposition...{1} This Lactic closely resembles a method of employment in World War I where the tanks would move forth ...flattening the barb wire for the Infantry advance and directing fire against hostile machine gun nests.{2} A similar tactic is used today in certain situations.

World War I

There was a serious attempt by James Cowan, an Englishman, to develop an armored fighting vehicle in the nineteenth century but limited technology and