Want to learn the ideas in Hue 1968 better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden here.

Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.

Video Summaries of Hue 1968

We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Hue 1968, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Mark Bowden.

1-Page Summary of Hue 1968

Overview

The Vietnam War is still a special part of American history and has international significance. The war symbolized the futility of America’s cold war policy.

The US government’s attempt to prevent the spread of Communism by force was futile. Both sides suffered heavy losses, and this made it clear that America could not stop Communism from spreading with military might alone.

Despite this, not everyone saw the Vietnam War as a just war. In fact, many people supported it when it first began.

The Battle of Hue in Vietnam had a big impact on US politics and military strategy. Anti-war sentiment led to the downfall of Lyndon B. Johnson’s political career, as well as some basic strategies for urban warfare and the symbolism of raising the flag over Hue by Communist forces.

Big Idea #1: The Vietnam War was rooted in the region’s colonial history.

The Vietnam War is remembered as a conflict that took place in the 1960s. However, it actually started much earlier. The French ruled over what are now Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia under the name of French Indochina since the nineteenth century. As empires crumbled after World War II, France was faced with increasing cries for national self-determination in their colonies. Specifically, in Vietnam, they found themselves fighting against an organization called Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh who wanted independence from France. This First Indochina War lasted from 1946 to 1954.

Even though the French military was backed by US advisors and weaponry after 1950, they were still defeated.

The French and the Vietnamese eventually reached a peace agreement in Geneva. The French would leave, while Vietnam would become independent. However, it was divided into North and South Vietnam at the seventeenth parallel. North Vietnam was communist; South Vietnam had free elections with support from France and America.

The 1956 elections were intended to reunite the countries of Egypt and Syria under one government.

However, the South Vietnamese government reneged on a treaty when they saw that communism was winning. The US rallied behind them because it was a Western-style republic and could help contain the spread of communism from the northern Communist state. This decision led to the Viet Minh launching an armed resistance in South Vietnam. To them, their neighbors to the south were not democratic and were controlled by America.

The South Vietnamese government was weak, and it seemed like the Viet Cong would take over. It became necessary for the US to intervene with troops.

Big Idea #2: American involvement in Vietnam evolved into all-out war, but with little success.

America’s involvement in Vietnam started out with a limited goal of stopping the spread of communism, but it quickly got out of hand. President Kennedy and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), were both against communist expansion, yet LBJ dramatically increased troop numbers after JFK’s assassination in 1963. Ground operations began in 1965 to support bombing campaigns that had already killed thousands of Vietnamese civilians by then; more bombs fell on Vietnam than Europe during World War II.

The U.S. government wanted to force North Vietnam to negotiate by bombing their territory, but they didn’t want a full-scale war with the Soviet Union in case things got out of hand. Despite the American onslaught, Communist forces showed no signs of retreating and actually grew stronger because of Soviet assistance. The people in America were starting to doubt whether or not this was worth it anymore.

However, if you look at the situation differently, it becomes clear that the bombing campaign was futile. Vietnam was still an agricultural society with few industrial targets. The strategy used by US forces in World War II wasn’t effective for this war. It also seemed like each Communist death only inspired ten new recruits to join their cause. Even McNamara had given up on the idea of winning by 1968 and resigned himself to failure, but Westmoreland thought otherwise.