[expatpat]

Yes, civil wars are intense, as you point out. However, there's no question that the US took over what started as a civil war, dominated the fighting agianst the VC, and thus changed it from a civil war into a war between the US vs. VC, with the S. Viets merely as camp-followers.

[mrustow]

Westy was a good man, but a lousy general. His two mortal sins were 1. as you noted, taking over the fight from the South Vietnamese, and 2. fighting a conventional war against guerillas.

[VietVet]

I don't think you can say that the ARVN was "reduced to the role of camp followers." For one thing, they continued to do the bulk of the fighting, in small unit actions, and took as many casualties *per year* as we suffered during the whole war. Most of these fights were small garrisons defending local positions, and never made the Western News media, leaving the impression that the Allies, mainly the US, were doing most of the fighting. One of my first missions, in country, was to reinforce the garrison of RF/PF's guarding a bridge across a stream in the Mekong Delta. I was there only for one night; these local militiamen were there night after night, month in month out, year after year.