Hunting the Viet Cong Volume 1

The early 1960s are considered to be a period of failure in the fight against the Viet Cong. However, new research reveals that the VC came very close to being defeated. They were – in their own words – being ‘cut up’.

Hunting the Viet Cong: Counterinsurgency in South Vietnam 1961–1963 presents a new perspective on the early stages of the Vietnam War. It shows how the counterinsurgency policy of the American-backed Diem government was effective in separating the Viet Cong from many of their supporters, forced many VC into hiding and created a platform for further government success.

This first volume, The Strategic Hamlet Programme, examines both the Counterinsurgency Plan and the Strategic Hamlet Programme (based upon British success in the Malayan Emergency) and explains how these began to strangle insurgent activity. In many parts of South Vietnam, the VC were reduced to scavenging and intimidating the local people in order to survive. Tragically, this was a period when victory against the VC was possible but political ineptness, arrogance and military delusion threw this chance away.

Using documents captured from the Viet Cong, VC prisoner interviews and American military reports the book reveals just how close the insurgents came to being beaten. It contradicts and challenges many of the assumed notions of this time period; it reveals just how much American planners knew about Viet Cong methods, shows how they developed an excellent counterinsurgency strategy to combat insurgent violence and illustrates how – in contrast to the established wisdom – large parts of South Vietnam were under government control before the Diem coup in 1963.

Hunting the Viet Cong – The Counterinsurgency Campaign in South Vietnam 1961–1963 Volume 1: The Strategic Hamlet Programme includes 180 photographs of the conflict prior to major direct US intervention and a range of specially commissioned colour artworks of aircraft, vehicles and troops.

"...a quality product rich in photographs, illustrations, maps, and a concise narrative supported by extensive research." The VVA Veteran

"The author has taken a very detailed look at the overall situation in the early years of US involvement, as one can see by the multiple pages of references that have been provided at the end of the book. It shows how very close the US and South Vietnam came to eradicating the VC influence in the country. It is a book that should be read by everyone who has an interest in this conflict. It should change some perceptions of the war in Southeast Asia. Well worth picking up." ModellingMadness.com

"I have long had an interest in the history of the Vietnam War and I found this a really good addition to the story, with a new take on a part of that history compared to what I have read before, and while the Viet Cong guerrillas were the enemy rather than the uniformed conventional North Vietnamese Army which brought the war to a close in 1975." Robin Buckland, Military Model Scene

“This is a good book for another look at the early years of the American involvement in Vietnam.” IPMS/USA

"...this set is valuable, both as a tool for modelers, and as a summary of our growing understanding of the period, and the factors that led to the defeat of the United States and South Vietnam in the 1970s." Armorama