In the spring of 1972, North Vietnam launched a massive military offensive designed to deliver the coup de grace to South Vietnam and its rapidly disengaging American ally. But an overconfident Hanoi misjudged its opponents who, led by American military advisers and backed by American airpower, were able to hold off the North's onslaught in what became the biggest battle of a very long war.

Dale Andrade rescues this epic engagement from its previous neglect to tell a riveting tale of heroism against great odds. Originally published in cloth in 1995 as Trial by Fire and drawing upon recent Vietnamese-language sources, this new paperback edition will finally allow a true classic on the war to reach the wide readership it deserves.

“One of the best books on the Vietnam War.”

—Washington Post Book World

“A masterful account of the last great engagement of the Vietnam War in which American forces participated. Andradé does his subject proud and sets a high standard for any who follow.”

—Kirkus Reviews

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“Andradé’s book on this brutal and bloody struggle fills an important gap in the history of the Vietnam War.”

—Foreign Affairs

“Where previous accounts have focused entirely on small slices of the Easter Offensive, Andradé gives us the full panorama of this important campaign and does it in a style of classic military history. He covers actions from the battle for Quang Tri to the Central Highlands and siege of An Loc; even the Mekong Delta gets its share of attention as Andradé moves successively from one front to the next. . . . A book that well repays the reading.”

—Journal of Military History

“A highly readable work that walks us through the heavy, climactic battles sweeping across South Vietnam in the halcyon year of 1972. . . . Most interesting are the vignettes inserted throughout based on NVA soldier interviews and captured papers. They tell the battle from their side--the hard passage down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the horror of U.S. air strikes, the travail of battle, the hunger and thirst, and the wounded's cries. The NVA soldiers' war was also terrible, and Andradé's story of it is long overdue.”

—Military Review

“A fascinating read and outstanding contribution that captures the blend of the heroic, inept, banal, and brilliant that characterized the effort in the Easter Offensive as well as the entire war. ”

—Infantry Magazine

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