The Lost Battalion: Controversy and Casualties in the Battle of Hue

(Hardback)

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Description

In 1968 in South Vietnam, a US infantry battalion was ordered to charge a fortified North Vietnamese Army force 200 yards away, over an open field without artillery or air support. When the Lost Battalion finally escaped encirclement, after nine hours, fighting against an enemy that outnumbered them three to one, the tragic episode disappeared from official memory and relevant US Army records. This is the story of the event, told in the words of those present.

Reviews

"Anyone who has fought will recognize this as a real story about some very tough battles, written by a real soldier who was there. Fortunately, Charles Krohn is a keen observer who with just the right amount of trenchant humor tells a tragic story, tells it extremely well, and lets the emperor appear unclothed whenever it is appropriate to do so. A superb chronicle about a handful of brave men who did what they were asked to do despite the odds against them--on both sides."- General Donn A. Starry, USA-Ret.
"Only the mediocre are always at their best. This book tells about the price a U.S. Army cavalry battalion paid in blood when a few senior officers were off form during the 1968 Tet Offensive."-John Collins Senior Defense Specialist, Library of Congress
"This book calls to account those responsible for 'cutting loose' the 2/12th Cavalry to suffer grievous losses in the fighting north of Hue. The account is very interesting, often moving, and authentic."- Lewis Sorley Author of Thunderbolt, a biography of General Creighton Abrams
His first-rate account demonstrates what can happen in combat when such systems do break down.-Publishers Weekly
"His first-rate account demonstrates what can happen in combat when such systems do break down."-Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

CHARLES A. KROHN, now retired, began his career as a Transportation Corps officer and transferred to the infantry in Vietnam while serving as the intelligence officer of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry, 1st Air Cavalry Division. He spent the last five years of his 20-year military career in the Pentagon, serving as a special assistant/speechwriter to several generals, including General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.