S8 Ep273: THE BATTLE OF IA DRANG AND NVA ADAPTATION Colleague Geoffrey Wawro. In 1965, the US introduced combat troops and air mobility tactics, showcased at the Battle of Ia Drang, where General Westmoreland used infantry as "tethered goats" to draw the enemy out

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🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

THE BATTLE OF IA DRANG AND NVA ADAPTATION Colleague Geoffrey Wawro. In 1965, the US introduced combat troops and air mobility tactics, showcased at the Battle of Ia Drang, where General Westmoreland used infantry as "tethered goats" to draw the enemy out for destruction by artillery. However, the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) quickly adapted by "hugging" American lines to neutralize superior US firepower, proving they could inflict significant damage and control the terms of engagement. Despite high casualties, the NVA utilized human wave attacks and close-quarters combat, turning what the US hoped would be decisive victories into bloody massacres. NUMBER 10

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0:00.0	I'm John Batchel with the author and professor Jeff Warrow.
0:10.9	The book is the Vietnam War, a military history.
0:14.2	Westmoreland has an idea, which is to seek the enemy and destroy him.
0:19.8	We go to the Edang Valley, and an early indication of how the Vietnamese are going to fight.
0:26.7	V.C. is the way they refer to the Viet Cong and the South.
0:31.9	The NVA is the way we refer to the army from North Vietnam.
0:37.0	There are about 40 million people in the whole of Vietnam, north and south.
0:41.3	The majority are in the north with a high birth rate.
0:44.7	The South was created after the French withdrawal in an acceptance of a peace dividend.
0:52.7	The two sides are not equal, however, in terms of passion.
0:57.4	The U.S. gets involved right away,
0:59.3	searching and destroying the NVA.
1:03.1	Jeff, the incident in the Edring Valley,
1:06.0	it's Operation Silver Bayonet,
1:08.2	and we come to one particular battalion led by a man named Hal Moore. What
1:13.4	happens to it? How does the NBA fight this? Well, the Battle of Iodrang, which pulls in the,
1:21.6	you know, Hal Moore's battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, which is the same, the same battalion
1:26.6	that was savaged at the Battle of Little
1:29.0	Bighorn in 1876. So it returns for another rough day at the Battle of the Dragan, November,
1:38.1	1965. And this battle is the centerpiece of what westmullen calls his play coup campaign
1:45.5	play coup is one of the principal towns in the central highlands and central highlands is this you know
1:50.8	southern end of the animite range these these big high mountains that go all the way along the north
	...

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