Tomalin wrote "The General Goes Zapping Charlie Cong" for the weekly London paper The Sunday Times, which ran the story on 5 June 1966.
A decorated and battle-hardened World War II veteran, Hollingsworth was a 48-year-old Brigadier General when Tomalin wrote this Sunday Times article.
This escalation was carried out in an attempt to halt the U.S. and South Vietnamese "losing trend" that had prevailed in prior months.
The divisional office at Ki-Na (where Tomalin begins the narrative) is situated twenty miles north of Saigon, meaning that it was just to the south (or on the southern edge) of the Iron Triangle.
The Iron Triangle was an insurgent stronghold during this period, where the Viet Minh maintained an elaborate tunnel system and logistic outposts.
These missions employed typical counterinsurgency tactics that were being fine- tuned in many countries engaged in civil and revolutionary wars during this era.
The civilian casualties that could result was one factor contributing to international dissent and protest regarding the conflict, and also proved to be a significant obstacle to the pacification of the region.
The General uses an M16 rifle, flies in a Bell Iroquois UH-1B helicopter, which carries two M60 7.62×51mm calibre machine guns; all of these items were typical standard- issue equipment.
On the whole, it seems that Tomalin witnessed a fairly representative Search and Destroy mission, a quotidian undertaking for General Hollingsworth.
Once in his helicopter, he tells the pilots that it hasn’t been a very productive day for his unit; Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Companies were unsuccessful in killing any enemies after finding a possible Viet Cong headquarters.
Back in the helicopter, Hollingsworth sees the white smoke and then witnesses the air strike that is supposedly going to eliminate all enemy targets.
After the pilot points out two VC running in the bushes, General Hollingsworth grabs his M16 off of the rack and leans out of the helicopter, ready to shoot the two soldiers.
These statements set the scene and establish the dual objective of the piece: first, to provide a brief, action- packed profile of a particularly martial general (the first sentence), and second, to investigate the causes of the tremendous civilian casualties resulting from the war.
(Wolfe, 197) This initially raises the running theme of the tremendous civilian casualties that are a consequence of the indiscriminate violence resulting from helicopter- based search and destroy missions.
Tomalin's tone conveys a sense of action and adventure, but does not give the impression that the primary focus of the piece is the issue of civilian casualties.
This section is particularly relevant to the theme because, in this instance, the General captures, rather than kills the enemy—although it is a close call for the young Viet Cong.
The denouement is the final section of the work, after medics treat the injured Viet Cong, when Tomalin is debriefing with the General.
Hollingsworth relates his justification for his "shoot first, ask questions later" approach, and expresses his delight at having a journalist witness the events of the day.
The setting, aside from the broader historical context discussed earlier (see History and Background) is the interior of the General's personal helicopter.
The English saw how the Congs were being murdered and "zapped" across the board and felt a sense of sorrow for the Vietnamese civilians that were being mistaken for soldiers.
"The General Goes Zapping Charlie Cong" spiked British people's interest and encouraged Sunday Times readers to follow the proceeding of the war.