Download the VNDBA Vietnam attack incident dataset

Downloads and caches the Vietnam Database of Attacks (VNDBA) covering enemy-initiated incidents against allied and civilian targets in South Vietnam from 1963 to 1969. VNDBA was part of the OPSANAL system and is one of the four source files combined in get_comb_inc_dta.

Usage

get_vndba(cache = TRUE, force = FALSE)

Format

A data frame with 365,015 rows and 108 variables. Key variables include:

sitrep_number: Situation report number.
initiating_side: Side that initiated the incident.
corp: Corps tactical zone.
corp_zone_division: Corps zone or division area.
arvn_divisional_area: ARVN divisional area.

Source

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, MD. Electronic records collected by the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). Source file: Vietnam Database of Attacks (VNDBA), OPSANAL system. See Smith (2025) and its Online Appendix for full archival accession details.

Arguments

cache: Logical. If TRUE (default), the downloaded file is saved locally and reused on subsequent calls without re-downloading.
force: Logical. If TRUE, re-downloads the file even if a cached copy already exists. Default is FALSE.

Value

A data frame with 365,015 rows and 108 variables.

Details

Each row is a discrete incident report.

References

Smith, Gregory L. (2025). "Beyond body counts: Vietnam war ground combat data." Conflict Management and Peace Science. doi:10.1177/07388942251391081

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
  vndba <- get_vndba()
  head(vndba)
} # }