Destroy and Build: Pacification in Phuoc Thuy, 1966–1972

Description

In 2002, Governor General Michael Jeffrey stated that 'we Australians had everything under control in Phuoc Tuy Province'. This referred not only to military control, but to the policy of 'pacification' employed by the Republic of Vietnam and external 'Free World' allies such as the US and Australia. In the hopes of stemming the tide of Communism, pacification aimed to win the allegiance of the populace through political, economic and social reform. In this new work, Thomas Richardson explores the 1st Australian Task Force's (1ATF) implementation of this policy in Phuoc Tuy between 1966 and 1972. Using material from US and Australian archives, as well as newly translated Vietnamese histories, Destroy and Build: Pacification in Phuoc Tuy, 1966-1972 challenges the accepted historiography of the Western forces' fight against insurgency in Vietnam. Cover Half title Series Title Copyright Dedication Contents Maps Figures Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 1 Pacification: An Introduction 2 Phuoc Tuy, 1966 3 Preparing the battlefield: January 1966 – December 1967 4 Tet, 1968: January–October 1968 5 ‘This month’s fairy story’: November 1968 – August 1969 6 Déjà vu, all over again: September 1969 – November 1970 7 ‘The wolves were circling’: November 1970 – November 1971 8 ‘Bereft of their Australian strongmen’: November 1971 – January 1973 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index