Break in the Chain - Intelligence Ignored: Military Intelligence in Vietnam and Why the Easter Offensive Should Have Turned Out Differently
W. R. Baker
(Author)
Description
A riveting combination of war memoir and unique examination of the role of intelligence during the Easter Offensive 1972 written by an intelligence analyst who was there in 1972.For the first two weeks of the Easter Offensive of 1972, the 571st Military Intelligence Detachment provided the only pertinent collateral intelligence available to American forces. Twice daily, the Detachment provided intelligence to the USS Buchanan (DDG-14), US Navy SEALS, and Special Forces units including tactical and strategic forecasts of enemy movements, information that was otherwise unavailable to U.S. units and advisors in-country.
In the weeks before the offensive, vital agent reports and verbal warnings by the 571st MI Detachment had been ignored by all the major commands; they were only heeded, and then only very reluctantly, once the Offensive began. This refusal to listen to the intelligence explains why no Army or USMC organizations were on-call to recover prisoners discovered or U.S. personnel downed behind enemy lines, as in the BAT-21 incident, as the last two Combat Recon Platoons in Vietnam had been disbanded six weeks before the offensive began. The lessons and experiences of Operation Lam Son 719 in the previous year were ignored, especially with regard to the NVA's tactical use of tanks and artillery. In his memoir, Bob Baker, the only trained military intelligence analyst with the 571st MI Detachment in 1972, reveals these and other heroics and blunders during a key moment in the Vietnam War.
Product Details
Price
$34.95
$32.50
Publisher
Casemate
Publish Date
August 03, 2021
Pages
264
Dimensions
6.0 X 9.1 X 0.9 inches | 1.32 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781612009919
BISAC Categories:
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About the Author
W.R. (Bob) Baker graduated first in the first Intelligence (Order of Battle) Analyst class to graduate from Fort Huachuca, Arizona in 1971. He was then the only intelligence analyst assigned to the 571st Military Intelligence Detachment/525th Military Intelligence Group in Da Nang, Vietnam, present at the time of the Easter Offensive of 1972. His further assignments after Vietnam included various positions for a combined total of 8 years with the European Defense Analysis Center/HQ, USEUCOM. He has received the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service, Joint Service and Army Commendation Medals. Bob has authored several articles on the Easter Offensive of 1972, intelligence, and Vietnam.
Reviews
"I'm honored to endorse Bob Baker's book, Break in the Chain: Intelligence Ignored, a grass-roots look at the intelligence prepared and presented to command elements warning of an impending attack - what we now know as the 'Easter Offensive of 1972'. I'm excited that his historical work is being published to help counter the misperception by many of an 'intelligence failure', an oft maligned term typically used to cover the failure of leadership itself."--G Duane Whitman, MSG USA (Ret), DoD Civilian (Ret)
"The riveting account of those few U.S. Military Advisors in the Northern region of South Vietnam near the DMZ as Armored Regiments and Infantry Divisions of North Vietnamese readied themselves to cross the Cua Viet River into South Vietnam in the spring of 1972 and continue the Easter Offensive."--CDR. E.L. Hansen, Jr., USN (Ret.), Executive Officer, USS Buchanan (DDG-14) (1971-1972)
"Bob Baker has written a powerful, fact-based and highly readable account of US Army intelligence operations during the latter years of America's involvement in the Vietnam War."--Colonel, USMC (Ret.) Andrew R. Finlayson, author of 'Killer Kane' and 'Rice Paddy Recon'
"Written with the authority of an intelligence professional whose experience of the Offensive is augmented with years of intensive research, Break in the Chain delivers a stinging condemnation of the historical tendency of senior military officers to privilege intelligence supporting their preferred interpretation of the battlefield reality."--David Hanna, Veteran, British Army in Northern Ireland
"Bob Baker has done prodigious and commendable research on the intelligence failure that occurred during the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam in Easter of 1972."--W.E. Boomer, General, U.S. Marine Corps (ret)
" The book contains stories of treachery and bravery, stories that all too often are missing from the telling of this "lost war". If you think you know about the Vietnam War, this book will surprise you."--Roger Soiset, M.A., 199th Lt. Inf. Bde. 1969-70
"One hopes that the lessons in this book will help military and government leaders pay closer attention to intelligence and make the correct decisions in the future."-- "The VVA Veteran"
"...Baker's volume offers some valuable insights into the diminished role of intelligence in the closing stages of a long war."-- "International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence"
"Bob Baker provides an accurate and emotional first-person account of the significant challenges intelligence professionals faced in the dynamic crucible of combat in Vietnam."-- "The Military Intelligence Corps Association"
"...a well-documented account that sheds light on an important intelligence contribution to the Vietnam War and the role of intelligence at the tactical level."-- "Studies in Intelligence"
"...not only corrects errors presented in other widely distributed books about the Vietnam War but it also makes for an interesting case study that should be included in such studies for both military officers and intelligence professionals...This book is highly recommended to both intelligence professionals and any readers that enjoy detailed descriptions of military battle."-- "American Intelligence Journal"
"...provides the historical intelligence example that can be used today by current military leaders and educators regarding the planning staff's responsibility to help the commander's visual the battlefield."-- "Military Review"
"This book is a well-written and extensively documented account by an intelligence insider who was there during the events described. It is a much-needed corrective to the narrative of a part of the Vietnam War that has received relatively little attention by most historians of the war."--James H. Willbanks, PhD, LTC, USA (Ret) author of "Abandoning Vietnam" and "A Raid Too Far"
"The riveting account of those few U.S. Military Advisors in the Northern region of South Vietnam near the DMZ as Armored Regiments and Infantry Divisions of North Vietnamese readied themselves to cross the Cua Viet River into South Vietnam in the spring of 1972 and continue the Easter Offensive."--CDR. E.L. Hansen, Jr., USN (Ret.), Executive Officer, USS Buchanan (DDG-14) (1971-1972)
"Bob Baker has written a powerful, fact-based and highly readable account of US Army intelligence operations during the latter years of America's involvement in the Vietnam War."--Colonel, USMC (Ret.) Andrew R. Finlayson, author of 'Killer Kane' and 'Rice Paddy Recon'
"Written with the authority of an intelligence professional whose experience of the Offensive is augmented with years of intensive research, Break in the Chain delivers a stinging condemnation of the historical tendency of senior military officers to privilege intelligence supporting their preferred interpretation of the battlefield reality."--David Hanna, Veteran, British Army in Northern Ireland
"Bob Baker has done prodigious and commendable research on the intelligence failure that occurred during the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam in Easter of 1972."--W.E. Boomer, General, U.S. Marine Corps (ret)
" The book contains stories of treachery and bravery, stories that all too often are missing from the telling of this "lost war". If you think you know about the Vietnam War, this book will surprise you."--Roger Soiset, M.A., 199th Lt. Inf. Bde. 1969-70
"One hopes that the lessons in this book will help military and government leaders pay closer attention to intelligence and make the correct decisions in the future."-- "The VVA Veteran"
"...Baker's volume offers some valuable insights into the diminished role of intelligence in the closing stages of a long war."-- "International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence"
"Bob Baker provides an accurate and emotional first-person account of the significant challenges intelligence professionals faced in the dynamic crucible of combat in Vietnam."-- "The Military Intelligence Corps Association"
"...a well-documented account that sheds light on an important intelligence contribution to the Vietnam War and the role of intelligence at the tactical level."-- "Studies in Intelligence"
"...not only corrects errors presented in other widely distributed books about the Vietnam War but it also makes for an interesting case study that should be included in such studies for both military officers and intelligence professionals...This book is highly recommended to both intelligence professionals and any readers that enjoy detailed descriptions of military battle."-- "American Intelligence Journal"
"...provides the historical intelligence example that can be used today by current military leaders and educators regarding the planning staff's responsibility to help the commander's visual the battlefield."-- "Military Review"
"This book is a well-written and extensively documented account by an intelligence insider who was there during the events described. It is a much-needed corrective to the narrative of a part of the Vietnam War that has received relatively little attention by most historians of the war."--James H. Willbanks, PhD, LTC, USA (Ret) author of "Abandoning Vietnam" and "A Raid Too Far"
