This book describes a critical chapter in the Vietnam conflict, the first eighteen months of combat by the U.S. Army's ground forces. The author focuses on initial deployments and early combat but attempts to presents the war in all of its detail: the enemy's strategy and tactics, General William C. Westmoreland's search and destroy operations, the helicopters and airmobile warfare, the immense firepower American forces could call upon to counter Communist control of the battlefield, the out-of-country enemy sanctuaries, and the allied efforts to win the allegiance of the South Vietnamese people to the nation's anti-Communist government.

Part 1.The U.S. army enters the war -- At the crossroads -- Establishing the bridgeheads -- Divisions deploy -- Part 2. First battles : -- Pressing out from Saigon -- Into the highlands -- The Pleiku campaign -- Patterns of perseverance -- Part 3. The theater buys time -- The Saigon corridors -- Attrition and pacification in Phu Yen -- Testing in Binh Dinh -- Spoiling operations on the high plateau -- Part 4. The tempo quickens -- New momentum on the coast -- Raising the stakes on the border -- The 1st division's war -- The 25th division's war -- Summing up. pt. 1. The U.S. army enters the war. At the crossroads -- Establishing the bridgeheads -- Divisions deploy -- pt. 2. First battles. Pressing out from Saigon -- Into the highlands -- The Pleiku campaign -- Patterns of perseverance -- pt. 3. The theater buys time. The Saigon corridors -- Attrition and pacification in Phu Yen -- Testing in Binh Dinh -- Spoiling operations on the high plateau -- pt. 4. The tempo quickens. New momentum on the coast -- Raising the stakes on the border -- The 1st division's war -- The 25th division's war -- Summing up.