Westmoreland, William Childs

Westmoreland, William Childs
▪ 2006

      general (ret.), U.S. Army (b. March 26, 1914, Spartanburg county, S.C.—d. July 18, 2005, Charleston, S.C.), commanded U.S. forces in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968, a period during which American involvement increased from several thousand troops to more than 500,000. Westmoreland graduated (1936) from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., and his career was one of rapid advancement. During World War II he saw action as a battalion commander in North Africa and Sicily. Shortly after participating in the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944, he was promoted to colonel. He served in the Korean War and in 1955 was promoted to major general, becoming at age 42 the youngest man to have achieved that rank in the U.S. Army. Westmoreland became a full general in 1964. In Vietnam he implemented a strategy of attrition, using overwhelming firepower to try to kill enemy troops at a rate faster than they could be replaced. Though he employed search-and-destroy tactics, massive aerial bombing campaigns, napalm, and the defoliant Agent Orange—all to devastating effect—the communist forces of North Vietnam and their Viet Cong allies in South Vietnam remained determined to unite their country under communist rule. Senior officials in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration and a growing number of ordinary citizens began to see the war as unwinnable, and Westmoreland was recalled to Washington and given the post of army chief of staff. He retired in 1972.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Westmoreland,William Childs — West·more·land (wĕst môrʹlənd, mōrʹ ), William Childs. Born 1914. American general who was the senior commander of American troops in Vietnam (1964 1968). * * * …   Universalium

  • Westmoreland, William Childs — ► (n. 1914) Militar estadounidense. Fue jefe del Alto Estado Mayor del Ejército …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • William Childs Westmoreland — General William C. Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland ( * 26. März 1914 in Spartanburg, South Carolina; † 18. Juli 2005 in Charleston, South Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer General der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Childs Westmoreland — William Westmoreland Pour les articles homonymes, voir Westmoreland. Général William Westmoreland alors Chief of Staff of the United States Army …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Westmoreland — Westmoreland, William Childs …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • William C. Westmoreland — General William C. Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland ( * 26. März 1914 in Spartanburg, South Carolina; † 18. Juli 2005 in Charleston, South Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer General der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Westmoreland — General William C. Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (* 26. März 1914 in Spartanburg, South Carolina; † 18. Juli 2005 in Charleston, South Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer General der US Army …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Westmoreland — William Childs Westmoreland William Westmoreland en una fotografía de estudio General Lealtad …   Wikipedia Español

  • Westmoreland —   [west mɔːlənd], William Childs, amerikanischer General, * Spartanburg County (S. C.) 26. 3. 1914; von Mai 1964 bis März 1968 Befehlshaber der amerikanischen Truppen in Vietnam, danach bis zu seiner Pensionierung 1972 Stabschef des Heeres …   Universal-Lexikon

  • William Westmoreland — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Westmoreland. Général William Westmoreland alors Chief of Staff of the United States Army William Childs Westmoreland, né le …   Wikipédia en Français

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