North Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958-75

Description

Commonly mistaken for the locally raised Viet Cong, the NVA was an entirely different force, conducting large-scale operations in a conventional war. Despite limited armour, artillery and air support, the NVA were an extremely politicized and professional force with strict control measures and leadership concepts. Gordon Rottman follows the fascinating life of the highly motivated infantryman from conscription and induction through training to real combat experiences. Covering the evolution of the forces from 1958 onwards, this book takes an in-depth look at the civilian and military lives of the soldiers, whilst accompanying artwork details the uniforms, weapons and equipment used by the NVA in their clash against America and her allies.

Gordon L Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969-70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments until retiring after 26 years. He was a special operations forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas.

"North Vietnamese Army Soldier by Gordon L Rottman is part of Osprey's 'Warrior' series, which seeks to provide insights into the daily lives of history's fighting men and women, detailing their motivation, training, tactics, and experiences. For most Americans, there is a lot of mystery that surrounds our old adversaries in the Vietnam War. Rottman attempts to shed light on this mystery... This book is an excellent summary of the North Vietnamese Army and its soldiers." --Jeff Grim, Collected Miscellany, www.collectedmiscellany.com (July 2009) "In No. 135 of Osprey's 'Warrior' series, Gordon Rottman, a Special Forces Vietnam veteran with a background in intelligence, among other things, has compiled a detailed dossier on the recruiting, training, indoctrination, equipment, tactics, morale and everyday life of the bo doi... North Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958-75 should give the Vietnam War scholar a better idea of what the Americans and South Vietnamese were up against." --Jon Guttman, Vietnam Magazine (June 2009) "Gordon Rottman's North Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958-75 provides specialty military collections with an in-depth focus on the NVA, a politicized, professional force with strict organizational concepts. From their training to combat routines, chapters survey uniforms, equipment and strategies alike." --California Bookwatch (April 2009) "For modelers there is a wealth of information regarding the appearance of NVA soldiers, both in numerous photographs and very detailed artwork by Brian Delf... for the military buffs the photographs provide an idea of the society from which the NVA came and the impact they had on it... Alla in all, this publication is a thoroughly good read and a much-needed addition to the range of Warrior books." --Karl Hoy, Toy Soldier & Model Figure