The Vietnam war was not your standard conflict by any means. The Allied nations had basically become involved in a civil war, a war that was not fought using what was until then, standard warfare. There were no front lines and the Allies had overwhelming material and technologic superiority. What the North Vietnamese had was manpower and a will to continue to the end.

As you might expect, the average soldier in the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) was conscripted into service for the duration. Used to living in hardship, most of these men were able to survive the minimalist life that was provided to them when they went south to fight. Most of those men who did venture into South Vietnam died there with only the badly wounded returning north. Even then, they were put into camps that were out of sight of the general populace so that it would not be known to their families how many were actual casualties. One result of this was insufficient training for the actual conditions the new recruits would find in the war zone. Nonetheless, these men persevered and in the end were victorious.

In this book, author Gordon Rottman takes a look at what it meant to be a soldier in the NVA. It starts with recruitment and training, the conditions of service, how they were dressed and equipped, what held the units together and something about what it was like to fight a war far from home. Thanks to a tight political system, many of these men were highly motivated to do what they could to overthrow the government of the south and those who supported it. They very much considered themselves to be an army of liberation.

It makes for another fascinating look at how these men were able to perform their duties and cope with the war situation. A book that I found eminently readable and fascinating. I know you will as well.

February 2009

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