USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -William Westmoreland commanded U.S. forces in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He treated the conflict as a war of attrition, which diminished domestic support. In December 1956 he was promoted to major general; at 42 years old, he was then the youngest person holding that rank in the U.S. Army.

Detailed explanation-2: -In contrast to the air attacks on North Vietnam, the U.S.-South Vietnamese war effort in the south was fought primarily on the ground, largely under the command of General William Westmoreland, in coordination with the government of General Nguyen Van Thieu in Saigon.

Detailed explanation-3: -Westmoreland took charge of the U.S. military effort in Vietnam in March 1964.

Detailed explanation-4: -March 10, 1968 The New York Times reports that General Westmoreland has requested an additional 206, 000 U.S. troops for Vietnam to reinforce the over 500, 000 service people already there, and that administration officials are divided over the request.

Detailed explanation-5: -General Westmoreland’s strategy of attrition, in 1967, failed because it reduced security across the countryside, ostracized the people within South Vietnam, and did not affect the South Vietnamese communists.