James H. Willbanks has 2 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators. The most-rated is A Raid Too Far: Operation Lam Son 719 and Vietnamization in Laos.
The Battle of An Loc
Summary
With the knowledge born of firsthand experience, James H. Willbanks tells the story of the 60-day siege of An Loc. In 1972, late in the Vietnam War, a small group of South Vietnamese held off three North Vietnamese divisions and helped prevent a direct attack on Saigon. The battle can be considered one of the major events during the gradual American exit from Vietnam. An advisor to the South Vietnamese during the battle, Willbanks places the battle in the context of the shifting role of the American forces and a policy decision to shift more of the burden of fighting the war onto the Vietnamese troops. He presents an overview of the 1972 North Vietnamese Easter Offensive, a plan to press forward the attack on US and ARVN positions throughout the country, including Binh Long province and Saigon. The North Vietnamese hoped to strike a decisive blow at a time when most American troops were being withdrawn. The heart of Willbanks's account concentrates on the fighting in Binh Long province, Saigon, and the siege of An Loc. It concludes with a discussion of the Paris peace talks, the significance of the fighting at An Loc, and the eventual fall of South Vietnam.
©2005 James H. Willbanks (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks
A Raid Too Far: Operation Lam Son 719 and Vietnamization in Laos
Summary
In February 1971, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) launched an incursion into Laos in an attempt to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail and destroy North Vietnamese Army (NVA) base areas along the border. US ground forces would support the operation from within South Vietnam and would pave the way to the border for ARVN troops, and US air support would cover the South Vietnamese forces once they entered Laos, but the South Vietnamese forces would attack on the ground alone. The operation, dubbed Lam Son 719, went very well for the first few days, but as movement became bogged down the NVA rushed reinforcements to the battle and the ARVN forces found themselves under heavy attack. US airpower wreaked havoc on the North Vietnamese troops, but the South Vietnamese never regained momentum and ultimately began to withdraw back into their own country under heavy enemy pressure. In this first in-depth study of this operation, military historian and Vietnam veteran James H. Willbanks traces the details of battle, analyzes what went wrong, and suggests insights into the difficulties currently being incurred with the training of indigenous forces. The book is published by Texas A&M University Press. The audiobook will be published by University Press Audiobooks. "This is a well-written and informative book. A good read for those interested in the Vietnam War." (Military) "Successfully combines policy and operational history in a comprehensive and definitive account of a controversial military campaign… a worthy addition to the literature on the Vietnam War." (The Journal of American History) “A stand out work, one that will be of great importance in the world of professional academic historians and will be of great interest to a broader military history readership.” (Andrew A. Wiest, author of Vietnam's Forgotten Army: Heroism and Betrayal in the ARVN)
©2014 James H. Willbanks (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks