Talk:Battle of Ap Bac

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[edit] It's just Bac, not Ap Bac

Although the battle is rightly referred to as "Ap Bac", as the name is US in origin, the name of the town/village/hamlet itself is simply "Bac". "Ap" got added in US reports in error due to language confusion.

More controversial is my suggestion that "Viet Cong" be replaced by "Viet Mihn" or NLF. "Viet Cong" was another US invention that no one else used. At this particular point in time, 1962, not even the government used this term.

Maury 22:44, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

The term "Ap Bac" is also used by Vietnamese sources too, using "Bac" only doesn't sound right. So I believe the article should stay that way. As for "Viet Cong", it was the military wing of the National Liberation Front known as the "People's Liberation Armed Forces" or PLAF. If you want accuracy then using PLAF is the way to go, Viet Minh is actually the regular Vietnam People's Army.Canpark 10:10, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you saying that Vietnamese sources like maps say this? Or Vietnamese sources on the battle itself. I agree that the Battle should contain the word "Ap", just as another famous battle contains "Il". However, neither of these words would be used in context. It would be like saying "Philadelphia city" all the time, instead of just "Philadelphia". As to the Viet Minh issue, at the time, in 1962, the NLF did not exist. In fact it started largely as a side effect of Ap Bac. Prior to that point in time the North had essentially washed their hands of the south in order to avoid inciting the US. When it became clear the US was going to get involved anyway, the success of Ap Bac convinced them the formation and support of a new revolutionary front would not be a bad thing. In fact the article does not mention this and should. Long story short, this force was referred to by everyone involved as "Viet Mihn", and the article should reflect that. Maury 14:15, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

Vietnamese and English language are different,we call it Ap Bac all the time although Ap actually means hamlet (as in the case of Dawson Creek, you would not call it Dawson alone, if you refer to a local "the hamlet named Bac", he or she wouldn't know where is it, seriously it's just your assumption so i renamed it Ap Bac. Saigon punkid 06:07, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm talking about Vietnamese sources on the battle;)I parttially agree with what you've said, that should and must be mentioned. By the way, the Communist group group is spelled "Viet Minh" not Viet Mihn".Canpark 08:29, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Ap Bac is right ( ap is hamlet ,Bac is the name of the hamlet ) Tan Nguyen.69.237.185.1 03:28, 9 December 2006 (UTC)tannguyen

The question isn't just 'which is correct'. It's also the question of what people will use in order to look it up in Wikipedia. I reckon that the current title is the one that would be most often used. --Aim Here 08:26, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Which is exactly why I object to changing Viet Cong to NLF. Most people know who "Viet Cong" refers to (not to mention that all other Vietnam War-related articles use that term). We shouldn't change things for the sake of political correctness, if it means increasing the difficulty of finding articles through the search function. - Crockspot 12:44, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Which is it?

M1 rifle or M1 carbine? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Deathbunny (talk • contribs) 08:16, 5 January 2007 (UTC).

Good question! Every source I've seen (two) states "M-1", which suggests the "full" one. This would make sense given the fact that these weapons would be much more widely available. On the other hand, the Carbine would be more appropriate to the combat in question. All in all my guess is the M-1. Maury 13:19, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Usually, referring to "M-1" means the Garand, "M-1 carbine" being the carbine. But both weapons were used early in the Vietnam conflict, as well as the Garand variant the M-14. So I guess I don't have a solid answer. - Crockspot 12:47, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Any interest in GA'ing this?

I don't know about you all, but I think this is one heck of an article. Would anyone else be willing to pitch in to respond to upgrades needed to bring it to GA? Maury 20:50, 7 September 2007 (UTC)