US Army general who commanded American forces in South Vietnam from 1964 to 1968 and pursued a strategy of attrition measured by body count
Westmoreland adopted attrition and “search and destroy” in Vietnam, treating enemy body counts as a key measure of success. U.S. forces grew to more than half a million, but the enemy replenished its losses; his optimistic claims of progress lost credibility after the 1968 Tet Offensive.
From South Carolina, he graduated first in his West Point class in 1936 and served in the European theatre of the Second World War and in Korea. Sent to South Vietnam in January 1964, he took command of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam in June. After the Marines landed he argued for abandoning a defensive posture in favour of an attrition war in which US forces sought out and destroyed the enemy, using artillery and air power on a huge scale. In November 1967 he said “the end comes into view”; after the Tet Offensive his request for 200,000 more troops leaked and he was replaced in March 1968. He was Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972.
Activities and affiliations
- Military command · United States state institutions
Career Timeline
- 1936Graduated from West Point and was commissioned in the Army.
- 1942–1945Commanded the 34th Field Artillery Battalion in World War II, then served as chief of staff of the 9th Infantry Division.
- 1958–1963Commanded the 101st Airborne Division, then served as superintendent of West Point.
- 1964–1968Commanded U.S. forces in Vietnam and directed a war of attrition. After the Tet Offensive, he returned to the United States and became Army chief of staff.
- 1968–1972Served as U.S. Army chief of staff.