Vietnam War Bibliography:

Reference Works Published by the U.S. Army

French Indochina. A series (17 volumes were planned, and probably all of these were actually published) of civil affairs handbooks, published by the US Army Service Forces in 1944, some (perhaps all) actually written by the Department of Commerce, originally restricted to government use, but released to civilian libraries after the end of World War II. "Section" (volume) 1, Geographical and Social Background, was Army Service Forces Manual M 359-1. 75 pp.
W 109.12.359-1

Gazetteer to AMS 1:250,000 Maps of Indochina.
D 103.20:In 2

VC/NVA-RVN Gazetteer. Combined Intelligence Center, Vietnam (CICV), February 1970. Gives the relationship between the place names used by Communist forces in South Vietnam and the place names used by the RVN, with coordinates for each place in both the VC/NVA and the UTM coordinate systems.

The Law of Land Warfare. Department of the Army Field Manual FM 27-10. Washington: Department of the Army, 1956. iii, 236 pp. Very nearly the full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in six sections: front matter and pp 1-39 (but pp. 20-21 are missing);   pp. 40-85;   pp 86-111;   pp 112-159;   pp 160-205;   pp 206-236.

Treaties Governing Land Warfare. Department of the Army Pamphlet 27-1. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 1956. i, 295 pp. The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in six sections: front matter and pp 1-48 (pp. 24-47 are the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, 12 August 1949);   pp. 49-98 (the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 12 August 1949, starts on p. 67);   pp. 99-148 (the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 12 August 1949, ends on p. 134; the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 12 August 1949, starts on p. 135);   pp. 149-198;   pp 199-248 (pp. 247-48 is the beginning, from "Accounts" to "Armistice," of what looks like a very good subject index); and pp 249-295 (the remainder of the subject index, from "Arms" to the many subcategories of "Wounded, sick or shipwrecked").

Civil Affairs Operations Department of the Field Manual FM 41-10. The Army has placed several editions of this work online in the Army Heritage Collection Online. 1967 edition. ii, 179 pp. 1969 edition. This had been very substantially re-written. The body text expanded moderately, from 117 to 132 pages (chapters paginated separately), while the appendices approximately doubled in length.

Weapons and Equipment Recognition Guide: Southeast Asia.  Washington: Headquarters, Department of the Army, 1966.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 381-10.  xv, 318 pp.

George L. Harris, et. al., Area Handbook for Vietnam. DA PAM 550-40. ix, 513 pp. Dated September 1962. A revised version of a volume originally published in the private sector in 1957. (When it was revised again in 1967, there were separate volumes for South and North Vietnam; see below.) The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in eleven sections: front matter and pp. 1-40,   pp. 41-,   pp. 93-,   pp. 145-,   pp. 198-,   pp. 250-,   pp. 302-,   pp. 355-,   pp. 405-,   pp. 458-,   pp. 492-513,  
D 101.22:550-40

Harvey H. Smith et. al., Area Handbook for South Vietnam. DA PAM 550-55. Washington: GPO, 1967. xiv, 510 pp. The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in eleven sections. Start with the front matter and pages 1-39, pp. 40-,   pp. 91-,   pp. 141-,   pp. 192-,   pp. 244-,   pp. 296-,   pp. 347-,   pp. 399-,   pp. 450-,   pp. 481-510.
D 101.22:550-55

Harvey H. Smith et. al., Area Handbook for North Vietnam. DA PAM 550-57. Washington: GPO, 1967. xii, 494 pp. The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in ten sections: front matter and pages 1-42 [Section I, Social, starts here]; pp. 43-94; pp. 95-144; pp. 145-195 [Section II, Political, starts on p. 165]; pp. 196-248; pp. 249-301 [Section III, Economic, starts on p. 257]; pp. 302-353; pp. 355-405 [Section IV, National Security, starts on p. 375]; pp. 406-430; [Bibliographies start on p. 414; pp. 431-456 of the Bibliographies are missing]; pp. 457-494 [the remainder of the Bibliographies, the Glossary, and the Index].
D 101.22:550-57

U.S. Army Special Warfare School, Montagnard Tribal Groups of the Republic of South Viet-Nam. Fort Bragg, NC: The School, 1964. 2d ed. 1965.

Joann L. Schrock et. al., Minority Groups in the Republic of Vietnam. DA PAM 550-105. Washington: GPO, 1966. ix, 1163 pp. Prepared at the Cultural Information Analysis Center, American University, as one volume of the Ethnographic Study Series. When I purchased my copy from the National Technical Information Service (it was available there as item AD649980), what I got was simply a stack of loose paper, with holes punched so I could install it in a 3-ring binder, but the price was very reasonable. The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in 23 sections: front matter and pp. 1-41 (Bahnar), pp. 42-94 (Bahnar, Bru, Cua), pp. 95- (Cua, Halang), pp. 147- (Halang, Hre), pp. 199- (Hre, Hroi), pp. 253- (Hroi, Jarai), pp. 305- (Jarai, Jeh, Katu), pp. 358- (Katu, Koho), pp. 410- (Koho, Ma), pp. 461- (Ma, M'nong), pp. 512- (M'nong, Muong), pp. 563- (Muong, Raglai, Rangao), pp. 616- (Rengao, Rhade), pp. 666- (Rhade), pp. 717- (Rhade, Sedang, Stieng), pp. 770- (Stieng, Binh Xuyen), pp. 823- (Binh Xuyen, Cao Dai, Cham), pp. 876- (Cham), pp. 928- (Cham, Chinese), pp. 978- (Chinese, Hoa Hoa), pp. 1031- (Hoa Hao, Khmer), pp. 1084- (Khmer, Indians and Pakistanis; indices for Bahnar through Hre), pp. 1137-1163 (indices for Hre through Indians and Pakistanis--there is a separate alphabetical index for each minority category).

Minority Groups in North Vietnam. DA PAM 550-110. One volume of the Ethnographic Study Series.
D 101.22:550-110

Thomas .D. Roberts et. al., Area Handbook for Laos. DA PAM 550-58. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1967. Probably a revised version of a work edited by Gerald C. Hickey, published in the private sector in 1955.
D 101.22:550-58

Donald P. Whitaker, Area Handbook for Laos. Department of the Army Pamphlet No. 550-58. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1972.
D 101.22:550-58/2

Frederick P. Munson, et. al., Area Handbook for Cambodia. Washington: GPO, 1963. xiv, 415 pp. DA PAM 550-50. A revised version of a work by Mitchell G. Zadrozny, et. al., published in the private sector in 1955 and 1956.
(SuDoc number presumably D 101.22:550-50)

Frederick P. Munson, et. al., Area Handbook for Cambodia. Washington: GPO, 1968. xviii, 364 pp. An almost complete text (most of the index is missing) has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in eight sections: front matter and pages 1-36, pp. 37-,   pp. 86-,   pp. 138-,   pp. 190-,   pp. 240-,   pp. 293-,   pp. 348-353.
D 101.22:550-50 [probably /2]

Area Handbook for the Khmer Republic (Cambodia). DA PAM 550-50. Washington: GPO, 1973.
D 101.22:550-50/3

Army Lineage Series.  These volumes trace the major units of the U.S. Army: when units were activated and deactivated, renamed, and rearranged.  Volumes likely to be particularly useful for the Vietnam war include:

Wayne M. Dzwonchyk, Aviation.  Washington: Center of Military History, 1986.  xii, 155 pp.
D 114.11: Av 5

John Patrick Finnegan, Military Intelligence.  Washington: Center of Military History, 1998.  xx, 437 pp.
D 114.11:In 8

John K. Mahon and Romana Danysh, Infantry, Part I, Regular Army.  Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1972.  xvi, 938 pp.
D 114.11:In 3/pt.1


The Ground War: Private Sector Publications

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Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2013, Edwin E. Moïse. This document may be reproduced only if this copyright notice is reproduced with it. Revised October 26, 2013.