AH challenge: outstanding US military commanders in Vietnam War

Just read an article in an American hist mag which stated that, unlike in previous wars, no outstanding US military leaderswere found in the US commanders on the ground- alleging that Westmoreland's strategy of attrition was the only policy in lieu of anything effective, while Abrams' greater focus on Vietnamisation was obscured by continuing lack of popular & political will in the US for the continued conduct of the war effort. Now, WI there had come from the Vietnam War a commander who was of similar quality to say Washington, Lee or Grant ?
 
Does anyone remember the names of decent SVN commanders? Thieu himself was fairly decent by most accounts, except when he made the evacuation decision in '75, which led to the collapse.
 

burmafrd

Banned
The collapse was inevitable considering we had cut off most of the logistics support after we left. But then again with the general corruption of the government and military the South was always going to lose.
 
Reading the page on Tiger Force, he doesn't look as good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Force
But it could be a proto-Selous Scouts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selous_Scouts

Hackworth was not involved with Tiger force after June of 1966 and had no part in the incidents of 1967.

Tiger Force was not a Super Elite unit but a group that made use of the 1/327th's Recon and Anti-tank Platoons as an additional combat unit.

Hackworth's "Out G-ing the G" was used by his latter unit in 1969.

As for leaders in Viet-Nam:

Henry Emerson and Hal Moore were both as good or better than Hackworth.
 
The war was unwinnable, no matter how much belief you have in the 'great man theory' is going to change that
 
Because.....?

Lack of public support, difficult logistics, the fact that set peice battles were rare and set peice battles being where 'Great men' count, corruption ammoungst South Vietnamese government, warfare the US wasn't used to and paid for with blood, massive cost of the war and inability to pay for both the war and the progressive great society project, the fact that the war was seen as immoral, the combination of lack of public support and thus making it political suicide to continue to support the war, the failure of U.S troops to win the support of the local and the list goes on.

Thing is no 'great man' will be able to tackle all of these problems, the fact is it was realised when the Americans started Vietnamisation that the war was lost.
 

NothingNow

Banned
Lack of public support, difficult logistics, the fact that set peice battles were rare and set peice battles being where 'Great men' count, corruption ammoungst South Vietnamese government, warfare the US wasn't used to and paid for with blood, massive cost of the war and inability to pay for both the war and the progressive great society project, the fact that the war was seen as immoral, the combination of lack of public support and thus making it political suicide to continue to support the war, the failure of U.S troops to win the support of the local and the list goes on.

Thing is no 'great man' will be able to tackle all of these problems, the fact is it was realised when the Americans started Vietnamisation that the war was lost.

But beating the Small Wars Manual 1940 edition over every millitary leaders head might. As could letting the CIA go to town on the South Vietnamese leadership might.

Also, the Strategic Hamlet program could have done it if it had the benefit of American Long Deployment Volunteers for security assistance and better Management and Control with less corruption (Possibly American).
HueyCobras and Air Cavalry Units as the RRF portion of the plan.

EDIT: Nix "HueyCobras" and replace it with "Attack Aircraft"
 
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