Author Archives: dallow2000

As I recently read about the Vietnam War Border Battles during 1967 I was once again reminded of the incredible hardship members of the United States Marine Corps have endured during the United States’ military conflicts. Of course all branches of the military suffer hardship, and certainly all soldiers and marines in the field inContinue reading “Marines in the Mud”

The exigencies of war prompt the development of new, better and more deadly weapons systems. As hostilities escalate, weaknesses in weapons system arise which accelerates the development of new technologies. An excellent example is German tank development during World War II. The mainstay of the Reich’s tank arm in 1939 was the Panzer Kampfwagen III.Continue reading “Weapons and War”

During my daily reading I was encouraged to find in Michael Eggleston’s book, Dak To and the Border Battles of Vietnam 1967-1968, an affirmation of my analysis that the North Vietnamese communists were winning the war in the south after President Ngo Dinh Diem’s assassination. Murphy also reinforced my claim that when the U.S. escalatedContinue reading “Westmoreland, Vietnam Part II”

General William Westmoreland’s approach to fighting the Vietnam War was to find NVA and Viet Cong troop concentrations, force them to fight, then use technology and superior combat power to annihilate them. The ultimate goal of this approach was to force North Vietnamese communists to give up their goal of overthrowing the Republic of SouthContinue reading “Westmoreland and Vietnam”

I’m no movie critic but I recently watched two 1950s vintage motion pictures and I was prompted to write. The first film was The Bridges at Toko-Ri, a fictional Korean War story based on the novel by James Michener. The film starred William Holden and Grace Kelly, two Hollywood heavyweights. I found the film fascinatingContinue reading “Panthers and Peacemakers”

Military historians are forever debating when the advantage in a conflict shifts from one combatant to the other. These shifts, or turning points, are ephemeral. It’s difficult, even in retrospect, to ascertain at what point during a war that the momentum actually changed. That’s why there is debate. In most cases, there is no trulyContinue reading “Turning Points”

My name is James Eaton and I’ve been fascinated with the history of war for most of my life. I started young; my mother gave me Bruce Catton’s brilliant trilogy about the Army of the Potomac when I was nine years old. The American Civil War was an early interest, but that interest soon branchedContinue reading “Introduction to Military History”