In the Post-Cold War Era, the possibility of large-scale military conflict between the superpowers has been replaced by the probability of a series of minorand perhaps not so minorregional ones. Many, if not most of those, will take place within reach of seaborne expeditionary forces. France organized such an expedition at the close of World War II, in 1945-1946, to return to Indochina. This account of that expedition provides a good case study of what such expeditions involve and, moreover, illustrates many politico-military lessonsand warningsfor those like the U.S., who would project power from the sea east of the Suez today.CHARLES W. KOBURGER, JR., is a consultant on maritime affairs. He has published widely on naval and maritime subjects, including
Sea Power in the Twenty-First Century: Projecting a Naval Revolution(forthcoming, 1997),
Pacific Turning Point: The Solomons Campaign, 1942-1943(1995),
Naval Warfare in the Baltic, 1939-1945: War in a Narrow Sea(1994),
Franco-American Naval Relations, 1940-1945(1993),
Naval Warfare in the Eastern Mediterranean: 1940-1945(1993), and
The French Navy in Indochina: Riverine and Coastal Forces, 1945-54(1991), all from Praeger.
Illustrations
Foreword by Admiral Yves Leenhardt, French Navy (ret.)
Preface
Prologue: World War II
The Expedition is Formed
The Problem
Cochin-China (Saigon)
The Mekong Delta and South Annam
Tonkin
Bentr?
The Landing
Epilogue
Conclusion
Appendixes
Bibliography
Index