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PLEASE TYPE THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Richardson First name: Thomas Other name/s: Evan Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD School: School of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty: UNSW Canberra Title: As if we were never there? Pacification in Phuoc Tuy province, Republic of Vietnam, 1966-1972. There is a growing view in the historiography of Australia's war in Vietnam that 1 Australian Task Force (1 ATF) succeeded in defeating the Communist insurgency within Phuoc Tuy, the province in which the Task Force was based, by time it withdrew from Vietnam at the end of 1971. This belief comes against a backdrop of a historiography of pacification that is dominated by works looking to win doctrinal battles within the US military. By examining the conduct of pacification in Phuoc Tuy between 1966 and 1972, this thesis challenges both these perspectives. A detailed case study of a single province puts both the operations of 1 ATF in a wider context, and allows pacification to be examined on its own terms rather than through the prism of contemporary counterinsurgency. By focusing on a single province, this thesis is also able to examine the political, economic and military aspects of pacification and how they influenced one another, rather than focusing on a single program or aspect. By taking this view, this thesis is able to examine how successful pacification was in Phuoc Tuy. Despite a flawed conception and frequent mismanagement, pacification did begin to change Phuoc Tuy's political and economic structure and succeeded in eroding the power of the Communist insurgency. Yet ultimately pacification could not overcome the weaknesses inherent in the South Vietnamese government. Equally while 1ATF achieved some success in operations in Phuoc Tuy, it did not have the ability to solve the political problems underpinning the insurgency. Although it was weakened, the Communist insurgency survived. Pacification did not succeed in Phuoc Tuy. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). .. .. ..~ ............... ....... ....... ... l.4../ !..1./1.<f .. .................. Signature 7'.:~~~ i ............... .................... Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and reauire the annroval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS ! As!if!we’d!never!really!been!there?! ! Pacification!in!Phuoc!Tuy!Province,!Republic!of! Vietnam,!1966A1972! ! ! ! ! Thomas!Richardson! ! ! ! ! A!thesis!in!fulfilment!of!the!requirements!for!the!degree!of! Doctor!of!Philosophy! ! ! ! ! School!of!Humanities!and!Social!Sciences! UNSW!Canberra! ! ! ! July!2014 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT 'I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.' Signed , :lz~ Date 2~/1(i<f COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 'I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed Date .L 4: /. .1.. I/.(.Y: .. AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT 'I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format. ' Signed Date .. \. 4../.1.1/ (. .':f:. As!If!We’d!Never!Really!Been!There?! Pacification!in!Phuoc!Tuy!Province,!Republic!of!Vietnam,!1966O72! ! Table&of&Contents& Acknowledgements!..........................................................................................................!i! Glossary!..............................................................................................................................!ii! List!of!Maps!.......................................................................................................................!vi! List!of!Tables!...................................................................................................................!vii! Chapter!1.!Introduction!.................................................................................................!1! Chapter!2.!Drying!the!Grass,!Lighting!the!Fire!....................................................!12! Chapter!3.!Pacification:!an!Introduction!...............................................................!49! Chapter!4.!Phuoc!Tuy!in!1966!...................................................................................!77! Chapter!5.!Preparing!the!Battlefield!....................................................................!110! Chapter!6.!Tet!1968!...................................................................................................!146! Chapter!7.!‘This!Month’s!Fairy!Story.’!..................................................................!183! Chapter!8.!Déjà!vu,!All!Over!Again!........................................................................!213! Chapter!9.!‘The!Wolves!Were!Circling’.!...............................................................!243! Chapter!10.!‘Bereft!of!Their!Australian!Strongmen’.!......................................!271! Bibliography!................................................................................................................!300! ! ! i! As!If!We’d!Never!Really!Been!There?! Pacification!in!Phuoc!Tuy!Province,!Republic!of!Vietnam,!1966O72! ! Acknowledgements! ! It! is! a! cliché,! but! the! completion! of! this! thesis! over! the! past! three! and! a! half! years!was!only!made!possible!by!the!help!and!support!of!the!people!around!me.! The! first! person! who! deserves! thanks! is! my! primary! supervisor! Dr! Bob! Hall,! who!was!willing!to!take!a!punt!on!me!on!the!back!of!a!few!disjointed!emails!and! a!hurried!phone!call.!Throughout!this!process!Bob!has!been!generous!with!his! time,! help! and! advice! –! tolerating! last! minute! requests,! missed! deadlines! and! unanswered!emails.!I!hope!what!I!have!produced!here!meets!the!high!standards! of!scholarship!he!has!set!in!his!professional!work.!! ! My!other!supervisors,!Associate!Professor!Craig!Stockings!and!Dr!John!Connor,! also!deserve!many!thanks.!Craig’s!advice!on!‘writing!to!fulfil!the!requirements! of!the!degree’!has!been!invaluable,!and!his!help!in!the!last!six!months!has!been! particularly!generous.!From!the!beginning!of!my!time!in!Canberra!John!and!(his! family)!have!provided!encouragement!in!my!times!of!panic,!and!support!(and! rugby!seats)!outside!of!university.!Although!they!had!no!formal!responsibility! for!me,!I!have!to!extend!similar!thanks!to!Emeritus!Professor!Peter!Dennis!and! Professor!Jeffrey!Grey.!Like!John,!Professor!Dennis!has!opened!both!his!office! and!his!home!to!me,!for!which!I!am!very!grateful.!His!candid!advice!was!always! welcome.!Professor!Grey!has!given!me!employment,!experience!and!invaluable! insight!not!only!about!Vietnam!but!also!about!the!profession!of!history.!As!he! has! often! remarked,! postgraduate! programs! in! Australian! universities! rarely! teach! only! some! of! the! skills! necessary! to! survive! in! academia.! I’m! extremely! grateful!for!the!effort!he!has!put!into!trying!to!make!me!a!more!wellOrounded!
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