Leadership Assessment of Gen Westmoreland …show more content…
American Forces were led by General Westmoreland and for 77 days, roughly six thousand American forces held off twenty thousand Northern Vietnamese. Both sides claimed victory due to many counterattacks. However, General Westmoreland’s biggest critique was his overreliance on military calculations. Understanding the nature of General Westmoreland’s decisions and leadership style at the Battle of Khe Sanh are provided in the examples below:
Knowledge. Westmoreland’s preemptive planning and utilization of intelligence gave American forces the upper hand. Westmoreland convinced the President the Khe Sanh needed to be defended not abandoned. The Khe Sanh outpost split critical supply infiltration routes for North Vietnam. General Westmoreland decided to leave six thousand elite Marines there to defend Khe Sanh. He trusted in the Intelligence provided and had all the evidence needed to show that the North Vietnamese forces were building up for a large attack on Khe Sanh; it was just a question of when it would happen. (Flitton,