A US Plan to Invade North Vietnam

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JamesL
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A US Plan to Invade North Vietnam

#1

Post by JamesL » 04 Apr 2011, 03:15

Perspective on Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Earle G. Wheeler
A link to a video of a lecture given by LTC Mark A. Viney, Director, U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center, Carlisle, PA. in January 2011.

http://www.carlisle.army.mil/AHEC/media ... .cfm?id=32

Operation Mule Shoe, a heretofore unknown Joint Chiefs of Staff operation plan for a limited invasion, or “lodgement”, into southern North Vietnam to reduce enemy sanctuary areas above the demilitarized zone.

A four division attack – amphibious, ground, airborne, air assault – utilizing the 1st Cavalry Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 5th Marine Division and a second MARDIV, possibly the 3rd Marine Division. No ARVN or other allied forces would be involved.

Of particular note is that the entire 82nd Airborne Division would be flown halfway around the world from North Carolina to North Vietnam. Secondly, a full Marine division would perform an amphibious landing, something that hadn't been done since Korea.

The operations would have taken place to the south of Dong Hoi, North Vietnam.

I found this lecture very interesting.

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Peter H
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Re: A US Plan to Invade North Vietnam

#2

Post by Peter H » 04 Apr 2011, 08:35

Interesting.

Westmoreland mentions in his own memoirs a more ambitious plan---land in the 'panhandle' and move westward into Laos to the Mekong and cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail.Again the idea was to block infiltration and draw the North Vietnamese into battle,chew them up.


chippymick
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Re: A US Plan to Invade North Vietnam

#3

Post by chippymick » 08 Apr 2011, 09:59

The Westmoreland operation was based on SEATO Plan 7. The original SEATO Plan had a Commonwealth Brigade come ashore at Danang and head west through Vietnam and Laos through to the Thai border on the Mekong.

Mick

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Peter H
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Re: A US Plan to Invade North Vietnam

#4

Post by Peter H » 09 Apr 2011, 10:57

Interesting review of Mark Moyar's Triumph Forsaken:
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/20 ... ar_1954_65
Another example that strikes me as credulous at best is his discussion of a suggestion in June 1965 made by a Soviet diplomat in London to an American that the United States send an additional five divisions to Vietnam and "seal off the 17th Parallel, cut off the Viet Cong from their northern logistics, then ignore the North and wait for the Viet Cong to come to terms." (p. 360) Moyar expresses regret that, "The Johnson administration...failed to heed this precious counsel."

Oh yeah, just "precious." Can you imagine being the American official who ventures into the Oval Office in about 1965 and says, "Mr. President, in my opinion we should send most of our remaining ground forces from around the world into Vietnam to try to cut off them Viet Cong."

Interesting idea, responds LBJ, but it leaves us mighty exposed in Europe, if the Warsaw Pact gets frisky, but anyway where did you get the notion?

Oh, over a drink with a Soviet official, you tell the president.

Yup. How much longer do you think you keep your job?

Carl Schwamberger
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Re: A US Plan to Invade North Vietnam

#5

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 11 Jun 2011, 21:41

More likely it was a gambit by the 'Soviet i' to draw out hints about US intentions along that line. Doubtless the American's answer & body language were analyzed for clues.

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