Search and Destroy: American Combat Strategy in the Jungles of Vietnam

Search and destroy emerged not from military academies or strategic planning committees, but from the fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the conflict in Vietnam. When the first American combat troops landed at Da Nang in March 1965, they brought with them a doctrine forged in the conventional battles of World War II and Korea. The concept was deceptively simple: locate enemy forces, engage them with overwhelming firepower, and destroy their capacity to fight. In the context of Vietnam, this translated into aggressive patrolling, rapid response to intelligence reports, and the liberal use of artillery and air support to eliminate Communist forces.