IA DRANG 1965: The Struggle for Vietnam's Pleiku Province

by Garryowen Mon Aug 16, 2021 6:31 am

J. R. Harris and J. Kenneth Eward

Osprey, 2020, 96 pages.

Summary:

The book follows the standard Osprey format for their Campaign series. However, unlike the book I reviewed on Quang Tri, this is virtually all relevant to the action itself. The strategic background section is only two pages long. The chronology is only one page long. The section on opposing commanders is seven pages long. It covers the important commanders with interesting background that is relevant to the subject.

The section on opposing forces is outstanding. The information contained therein should be kept at hand when reading any books on any part of this campaign. It is laid out in a very concise form that gives you all of the information you need to know to keep track of the units.

Neither side’s plan was very complex, so they are succinctly covered in two pages.

The battles of the campaign are covered from pages 32 through 91. of the coverage of the combat is devoted to Plei Me Special Forces Camp (both the siege and relief), LZ Xray, and LZ Albany. But also included are the raid on Catecka and the hospital fight initiated by the 1/9^th Air Cavalry. Covered in lesser detail are the minor actions at LZs Mary, Crooks, and Columbus, plus the commendable actions of the RVN Airborne Brigade.

Thoughts:

This is an outstanding book. I would suggest that it would be the starting point for any study of the 1965 action in Pleiku Province. It would be good to read before reading or rereading We Were Soldiers Once and Young or Death in the Highlands. For that matter, it would probably add a lot to a re-viewing of the movie We Were Soldiers.

The authors’ acknowledgments gave me a clue as to the potential quality of this book. They included Merle Prebbenow, the foremost English language authority on the NVA, Dave Nuttal who played the leading role in the founding of the CIDG program, Joel Sugdinis who commanded A Company of the Second Battalion, Seventh Cavalry and the J. D. Coleman and Harold Moore families as well as Joe Galloway. So far, I have not seen any Osprey book with any better credentials than these.

Considering the limitations of a book the size of an Osprey, it packs in a lot of detail on the military action. It gives an interesting, concise account of the battles in the campaign.

The use of NVA reports added a great deal to the book. They are surprisingly honest about their tremendous losses and demoralization.

Tom