Destroy and Build

Destroy and Build challenges the historiography of the Western forces' fight against insurgency in Vietnam.

In this new work, Thomas Richardson explores the 1st Australian Task Force's (1ATF) implementation of pacification in Phuoc Tuy between 1966 and 1972. He argues that pacification, and Australian military history at large, remains a subject discussed only in the context of its impact on the Australian force rather than on its own merits.In 2002, Governor General Michael Jeffrey stated that 'we Australians had everything under control in Phuoc Tuy Province'. This referred not only to military control, but to the policy of 'pacification' employed by the Republic of Vietnam and external 'Free World' allies such as the US and Australia. In the hopes of stemming the tide of Communism, pacification aimed to win the allegiance of the populace through political, economic and social reform. In this new work, Thomas Richardson explores the 1st Australian Task Force's (1ATF) implementation of this policy in Phuoc Tuy between 1966 and 1972. Using material from US and Australian archives, as well as newly translated Vietnamese histories, Destroy and Build: Pacification in Phuoc Tuy, 1966–1972 challenges the accepted historiography of the Western forces' fight against insurgency in Vietnam.