Philip Katcher provides an overview to the conflict that engulfed Vietnam following the division of the country into two along the 17th Parallel in 1954. The uniforms and insignia of the US forces, including the army, Special Forces, air force, navy and marine corps, are dealt with in detail, together with those of the ARVN, the Allied Forces (such as the Royal Thai Army and Korean troops), and also the Communist NLF (Viet Cong) and NVA forces. Mike Chappell's colourful artwork provides plenty of detail to accompany this authoritative text.

On March 8th, 1965, some 3,500 US Marines, the first US combat troops to arrive in Vietnam, landed in Da Nang to defend the US air base there. On June 8th, following further reinforcements, General Westmoreland authorized his troops to begin "offensive patrolling." Lee Russell's follow-up to Men-at-Arms 104 focuses in finer detail on the uniforms and insignia of the US Army and Marines, the ARVN and the NVA. The book is packed with superbly detailed black and white photographs of the forces active in the Vietnam War, and Mike Chappell's excellent illustrations provide key reference material for the contemporary uniforms and battledress.