This episode deals with some usually neglected areas of the Vietnam War. For one thing, we don't usually think of Vietnam as tank territory. It's all jungle -- at least in the movies. But there were territories that were well suited to the deployment of tanks, particularly in the northern provinces. Then, too, we get a description of what happened in Vietnam between the time the US pulled out its troops and the final humiliation of those helicopters taking off from the embassy roof. Usually, those several years of combat are ablated from our media and our memories, as if they'd never happened.
Tank warfare in Vietnam, as described in this program, evolved through three states.
First, we used tanks in half-demolished cities like Hue, where they weren't suited to the terrain. No tank is, because there is no room for maneuver. The American's heavy tanks were delayed or destroyed by rocket-propelled grenades.
In the second phase, the NVA introduced their own light tanks, under-armed and lightly-armored -- but amphibious, which was a great advantage in the areas around the Mekong delta in the south.
Third, the Allied troops pulled out and left the battles and the tanks to the South Vietnamese, who took several years to lose the war, despite sometimes putting up fierce resistance. By this time the NVA had its own battalion of heavy tanks.
The political background of the Vietnam War is briefly sketched in. It could hardly be avoided since the increasing disillusionment of the American public was one of the determining factors. But no value judgment are made and the film remains balanced.
The CGIs are splendid, as they are in other episodes of this series. I've never seen better.
Tank warfare in Vietnam, as described in this program, evolved through three states.
First, we used tanks in half-demolished cities like Hue, where they weren't suited to the terrain. No tank is, because there is no room for maneuver. The American's heavy tanks were delayed or destroyed by rocket-propelled grenades.
In the second phase, the NVA introduced their own light tanks, under-armed and lightly-armored -- but amphibious, which was a great advantage in the areas around the Mekong delta in the south.
Third, the Allied troops pulled out and left the battles and the tanks to the South Vietnamese, who took several years to lose the war, despite sometimes putting up fierce resistance. By this time the NVA had its own battalion of heavy tanks.
The political background of the Vietnam War is briefly sketched in. It could hardly be avoided since the increasing disillusionment of the American public was one of the determining factors. But no value judgment are made and the film remains balanced.
The CGIs are splendid, as they are in other episodes of this series. I've never seen better.
