u/daspaceasians

Linebacker III: An Alternate History of the Vietnam War is an alternate history novel written by John Pierson and Thomas Newman. I’ll be reviewing this book as a historian of the Vietnam War. I did my Masters’ degree on the American and Canadian government’s responses to the Vietnamese refugee crisis, comparing both of them. During my studies, I studied under Christopher Goscha, one of the world’s leading historians on modern Vietnam, and one of his protégés,  Phi Van Nguyen, a historian specializing on war, migration and religion in modern Vietnam. 

Summary

In this alternate timeline story, the Watergate scandal never happens as the conspirators aren’t caught. As a result, Richard Nixon remains President of the United States when North Vietnam once more begins its attacks against a beleaguered South Vietnam, also known as the Republic of Vietnam. The story is told through various viewpoints with various real people serving as characters.

This includes people such as Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Cao Van Vien or Nguyen Cao Ky who were involved in the Vietnam War. However, the authors also created two fictional characters, the American Colonel John Paul McVann, a US officer stationed in South Vietnam to assist it in its battles against the Communists and the South Vietnamese Colonel Long Tran, an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) leading an armored unit preparing to fact the North Vietnamese onslaught. These two characters are inspired from multiple real people

When the story starts, the Republic of Vietnam is in dire straits. Morale is at an all-time low and the ARVN is facing disaster with dwindling supplies and no help in view. Entire parts of the army are cut off and surrounded by communist troops, unable to escape or to be rescued. Despite this, there are a few brave officers and soldiers willing to die for their homeland. Among them is Colonel Long Tran who is ready to die alongside his men, knowing that he is but a small roadblock in the face of the communist assault on South Vietnam.

Suddenly, planes appear above them. It is the US Air Force and US Navy conducting airstrikes against the advancing communist forces!
As American air power pounds the enemy, can the Republic of Vietnam seize the opportunity to save the nation? 

Meanwhile, President Nixon must also face his own battle against Congress, the latter angered at the President overstepping his boundaries and impeachment is on the table. Will President Nixon and his political allies be able to play American politics long enough to save their allies in South Vietnam?

Realistic characters faced with hard choices

The first thing that struck me with this story is how it handles the various characters, both real and fictional. There is no character that is a perfect saint or a complete monster. Instead, they are nuanced. They make mistakes and bad decisions while at other times they’ll make the right call. For example, Colonel Long Tan is shown to be a brave, obedient soldier during his introduction, ready to die for the Republic of Vietnam. At the same time, he bends the rules to allow his subordinate, a young man, to flee the frontlines and return to his family in Saigon. Later on, he accepts a bribe from his new leader as a way of showing loyalty. Despite this, Long Tan remains dedicated to the preservation of South Vietnam and a competent officer.

It also features realistic depictions of North Vietnamese troops as well. They range from trained conscripts that barely understand the political context to hardened officers, veterans and cadres that are fanatical in their pursuit of a communist victory in Vietnam. Some are fanatical, literally described as being of a hivemind by certain South Vietnamese characters. Some others, such as General Vo Nguyen Giap, can exert caution and pragmatism when faced with an stalemate.

A realistic take on the consequences of an American Intervention

The authors have depicted a very plausible American intervention in 1975. It is primarily an air war, with US airpower being thrown into the fray to stop the communist onslaught. Given the American public opinion that is openly opposed to sending boots on the ground in Vietnam again, it was the only way President Nixon could intervene. 

However, because this was done in complete violation of Congress and its act to limit how the presidency’s ability to prosecute war freely, President Nixon’s political career is destroyed as he is eventually impeached over his decision to launch Linebacker III, despite his best efforts. 
As for South Vietnam, its struggles are not just on the battlefield but also through its tumultuous politics. The RVN government is highly unstable with factions that all covet power and the story presents a very good scenario on how its volatile political arena could easily go out of control even if it was saved from destruction by American aid.

The story doesn’t shy away from various political intrigues as well. Many backroom deals, creative interpretations of rules and other manipulations are depicted. For example, in order to resupply South Vietnam, the Americans establish secret deals with their Asian allies to ensure that weapons, equipment and ammunition from their old stocks are supplied to the ARVN in exchange for American money.

North Vietnam is also not neglected in this story. The failure to conquer South Vietnam has grave consequences for the Communist Vietnamese. Their alliances with the People’s Republic of China and Khmer Rouge are as tenuous as they were in real-life. As such, when the assault on the Republic of Vietnam fails and the war drags out, these alliances fall apart very quickly, with grim consequences for all those involved. As for the Soviet Union, like in real life, its support wanes as the war drags on, slowly choking off vital supplies to North Vietnam.
The ending, without getting too much into detail, is rightfully bittersweet and fitting given the situation.  

Historical mistakes and other

The research put into Linebacker III: An Alternate History of the Vietnam War is very well done overall. There are a few mistakes here and there as well as some omissions. For example, the story mentions that Land to the Tiller is an American proposal when it was in fact a South Vietnamese one, as mentioned in George J. Veith’s Drawn Swords in a Distant Land: South Vietnam’s Shattered Dreams. Another omission would be the fact that Marshall Nguyen Cao Ky attempted to run in the 1971 South Vietnamese Election but ended up throwing a tantrum and armed his supporters before sending them against the voting stations, something mentioned in the aforementioned work by George J. Veith.

There are also a few spelling and grammar mistakes that could have been polished out. For example, the right way to refer to Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky without using the military rank is to simply use Ky, not Cao Ky. The authors also seem to have trouble using other names than Nguyen for very minor characters and certain real officers could have been used instead of placeholder names. For example the IVth Corps Commander, who in real life was the legendary General Le Van Hung, the decorated and much beloved hero of An Loc, is replaced by an unnamed officer instead.

Conclusion

Overall, Linebacker III: An Alternate History of the Vietnam War is a very thought out alternative history of how an American intervention could have changed the fate of Vietnam. It does not hesitate to show complex characters, conflicting moralities, difficult choices and avoids the pitfalls of certain alternate histories in being either too optimistic or too bleak. 
As a historian, I must remind the readers that this does remain a work of fiction and a very interesting thought process. Therefore, Linebacker III: An Alternate History of the Vietnam War should never be seen as a definitive conclusion to an American intervention in Vietnam in 1975 as there is no way to predict the result of “what if” scenarios. In conclusion, I highly recommend this book for any Vietnam war enthusiast and give it a solid 8/10.

After watching episode 11 as an anime-only, I couldn't help but remember the days of when I was a graduate student doing my Masters' Thesis in History. Back then, I had a wonderful, encouraging thesis director that was always willing to help and never judged or made me feel bad if I made mistakes or anything. Because of his guidance, I was able to graduate with my Masters' degree a few years ago. I felt a bit sad when I heard he was retiring because my old department would lose one of its finest professors and future students wouldn't be able to have the chance of having such an inspiring man to teach them. Qifrey reminded me a bit of how amazing my old thesis director was.

I also had a buddy who was trying to do a Masters in some form of engineering and his experience was terrible. His thesis director was an expert in his field but he was a terrible professor because of many reasons such as being a poor communicator and being unable to realize that not everyone could be on his level of thought all the time. It was unbearable for my friend and he ended up giving up on his Masters because he couldn't learn under that man. He wasn't the only one who had such troubles with their thesis directors and a lot of those who had experiences never graduated.

This episode really nailed how having a good mentor/teacher/professor can have a decisive impact on one's academic success no matter how old the student is.