Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam

Three and one half stars.
Lewis Sorley did a stupendous amount of research for this book. There is so much detail that it is almost suffocates the narrative at times.

I don't think he makes his case, however, that Westmorland lost the Vietnam War. He has convinced me that Westy played a large, perhaps pivotal, role in the loss. But, the war was very big and multifaceted; there is plenty of blame to go around. I lay a lot also on Presidents Johnson and Nixon, on McNamara, and on the US Congress. Heck, in one of the notes Sorley even intimates that Douglas MacArthur could share some blame for the loss.

Westmorland's “Americanization” of the war with emphasis on “search and destroy” and body count, while ignoring the needs of the Vietnamese people and army, was a very bad strategy indeed. Some people told him so at the time, but he didn't listen. Also, Westmorland obviously paid no attention to the advice the British gave him based on their Malaysian experience.

It is interesting to me that as his rank increased his ability to take reasonable advice seemed to decrease. He also got farther and farther from his men, eventually loosing all touch with the soldier in the field. I think he was a basically good man and he was a good commander at lower ranks. He was at his best as a division commander and was unsuited for the higher commands he was given. He is a good example of “The Peter Principle” in action.

The book also strongly implies that Westmorland wouldn't have risen so high if not for the social adeptness of “Kitsy” his wife. I don't doubt it. Perhaps the country would have been better served if he had been chosen by a less personable woman.

I think the latter chapters concerning various items after Vietnam – litigation, and politics, and such – were less interesting and weaker than the first part of the book. They tell a sad story actually.