Out-Country War Volume 1

The United States lost South Vietnam (the In-Country War) because it was defeated in Laos and Cambodia (the Out-Country War). This is the first of a series which will provide, for the first time, the full story of the Out-Country War and the influence of decisions in Washington, Hanoi and Bangkok. The Secret War Begins will show how Hanoi's determination to make Laos a Communist state wrecked the 1954 Geneva Agreement. It will show, in detail, how its Pathet Lao puppet regime helped to polarise the nation and Hanoi then ignored a second Geneva Agreement in 1962. The strategic reasons for this included the need to develop the Ho chi Minh Trail to support the struggle in South Vietnam. In response the Americans and their allies, who followed the second agreement in name if not spirit, began a covert proxy war with CIA-backed guerrillas and by using air power. But by now Laotian anti-Communist leaders were almost out of control leaving Laos by the end of 1963 a powder keg ready to explore. The Secret War Begins will look not only at the battles on the ground but also the growing deployment of air power as well as the events and decisions which influenced them, including surprising French influence. In telling the full story, the authors will use, often for the first time, numerous local sources to augment those published in the West. The book will be richly illustrated with rare photos, many never previously published, and detailed maps.