This title is highly illustrated account of the Ia Drang campaign of
1965, a key event in the Vietnam War, which was immortalized in the film
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young.
The Pleiku campaign of October-November 1965 was a major event in the
Vietnam War, and it is usually regarded as the first substantial battle
between the US Army and the People's Army of Vietnam. The brigade-sized
actions involving elements of the US 1st Cavalry Division at Landing
Zones X-Ray and Albany in the valley of the river Drang have become
iconic episodes in the military history of the United States.
In 1965, in an effort to stem the Communist tide, the Americans began to
commit substantial conventional ground forces to the war in Vietnam.
Amongst these was the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), a new type of
formation equipped with a large fleet of helicopters. On October 19,
North Vietnamese forces besieged a Special Forces camp at Plei Me, and
after the base was relieved days later, the commander of the 1st Cavalry
Division, General Harry Kinnard, advocated using his troops to pursue
the retreating Communist forces. A substantial North Vietnamese
concentration was discovered, but rather than the badly battered troops
the US expected, these were relatively fresh troops that had recently
arrived in the Central Highlands. On the morning of November 14, 1965,
1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, commanded by Lt. Col. Hal Moore, landed at
LZ X-Ray to start the first major set-piece battle of the Vietnam War.
This title explores the events of the campaign that followed, using
detailed maps, specially-commissioned bird's-eye views, and full-color
battlescenes to bring the narrative to life.
