The Cost of Killing Viet Cong Fighters

The war was to be fought on an industrial scale. Westmoreland like Patton before him intended to construct a killing machine so formidable that its sheer size and power would pulverize the enemy into submission. From the beginning of American involvement it had become common practice for patrols to call for artillery or an airstrike if they received even sniper fire from a village. By the end of 1966, fighter bombers were making up to 400 such shorties a day. Added to B-52 raids in the country this meant that around 825 tons of bombs were delivered every day.