A lot of good choices. I would leave out Khe Sanh. As tough as the defenders were, and as well planned as the campaign was, Giap at Khe Sanh was not fighting the French as at Dien Bien Phu, and they knew it. The goal was to put the US forces to the ultimate test, drawing down resources and morale, much the same as the Tet Offensive. The US had the means, will and methods to emerge victorious from those battles, and a Vietnamese overcommitment would have severely weakened the Vietnamese forces. Instead, they demonstrated what could be done in both instances, and then withdrew to fight another day.
Giap (who died last week at the age of 102) was one of the best generals of the 20th century not because he beat the French at Dien Bien Phu, a solid victory, but because he then faced a foe with endless resources and changed his strategic objective from defeating the enemy at a battle to ensure withdrawal to a long war hurting the superior enemy over and over again until the opposing warring country had enough, despite technically winning virtually every engagement. I haven’t read any of his memoirs (if he has them) but this was essentially the same strategy Washington used against the British with the help of the French. Giap had the help of the Soviets and Chinese with supplies, but not with troops.
Had the Vietnamese tried to fight in the open field, as Washington intended to do on Long Island before he came to his senses, we would still be there today.
Had FDR lived another 4 years, he would likely have done to DeGaulle and France what he had done with Churchill and the British Empire: emasculated it into a commonwealth and made friends with Ho Chi Minh. FDR used WWII to strong arm Churchill into abandoning expensive empire (against Churchill’s desire) and gave the UK empire a tidy wind down and beneficial (largely) commonwealth of former colonies. France under DeGaulle happily tried to keep its empire in Algeria and Southeast Asia using the Foreign Legion that nobody cared about, and had years of strife and prestige losing battles.
Well there was that one time Xena killed like a thousand soldiers who attacked the house where Gabrielle was dying. She won.
The Saint of Killers did the same thing with God’s angel army in Preacher.
The heavenly army attacked by Satan’s army in the South Park episode where Kenny has a PSP won out.
And in Gladiator, the small band of slaves intended to lose the historical reenactment end up winning, beating both odds, numbers, and intended outcome.
The guys from 300 killed like 10,000 soldiers.
If I think of any other worthless pop-fiction references, I’ll let you know.
The Union had retreated to Chattanooga after the battle of Chickamauga. The Confederates moved in around them, and held the high ground at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, and yet the Union managed to attack uphill and drive off the Confederates.
wiki According to many accounts of the battle, between five and seven Texians surrendered Note 15 ^* Edmondson speculates that these men might have been sick or wounded and were therefore unable to fight. (Edmondson (2000), p. 373)*
Me too. A book about the subject I highly recommend is Empires of the Sea by Roger Crowley. It’s a fantastically entertaining and informative book about an area of history that isn’t as well known as it should be.
