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The Vietnam War was Australia’s longest and most controversial military
commitment of the twentieth century, ending in humiliation for the
United States and its allies with the downfall of South Vietnam. The war
provoked deep divisions in Australian society and politics, particularly
since for the first time young men were conscripted for overseas service
in a highly contentious ballot system. The Vietnam era is still identified
with diplomatic, military and political failure.
Was Vietnam a case of Australia fighting ‘other people’s wars’ ? Were we really ‘all the way’ with the United States? How valid was the ‘domino theory’? Did the Australian forces develop new tactical methods in earlier Southeast Asian conflicts, and just how successful were they against the unyielding enemy in Vietnam? In this landmark book, award-winning historian Peter Edwards skillfully unravels the complexities of the global Cold War, decolonisation in Southeast Asia, and Australian domestic politics to provide new, often surprising, answers to these questions. From the Cabinet room in Canberra to the Viet Cong strongholds in Phuoc Tuy province, Australia and the Vietnam War provides fresh insights drawn from three decades of work by the historians and researchers who produced the highly acclaimed Official History of Australia’s Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975. Told through the experiences of politicians, diplomats, military leaders, protesters, and soldiers and their families, this book is much more than a war history: it is a major contribution to understanding Australia as it faces the challenges of the twenty-first century. |
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