1.
Ho Chi Minh City
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Ho Chi Minh City, formerly named and still often known as Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam by population. It was once known as Prey Nokor prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century, under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent republic of South Vietnam 1955–75. On 2 July 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after revolutionary leader Hồ Chí Minh, the citys population is expected to grow to 13.9 million by 2025. Ho Chi Minh City has gone by different names during its history, reflecting settlement by different ethnic. In the 1690s, Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, a Vietnamese noble, was sent by the Nguyễn rulers of Huế to establish Vietnamese administrative structures in the Mekong Delta and its surroundings. Control of the city and the passed to the Vietnamese. Immediately after the communist takeover of South Vietnam in 1975, a provisional government renamed the city after Hồ Chí Minh, even today, however, the informal name of Sài Gòn/Saigon remains in daily speech both domestically and internationally, especially among the Vietnamese diaspora. In particular, Sài Gòn is still used to refer to District 1. This name may refer to the many plants that the Khmer people had planted around Prey Nokor. It may also refer to the dense and tall forest that existed around the city. Other proposed etymologies draw parallels from Tai-Ngon, the Cantonese name of Cholon, which means embankment, and Vietnamese Sai Côn, a translation of the Khmer Prey Nokor. Prey means forest or jungle, and nokor is a Khmer word of Sanskrit origin meaning city or kingdom, the current official name, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, adopted in 1976 and abbreviated Tp. HCM, is translated as Ho Chi Minh City, abbreviated HCMC, the name commemorates Hồ Chí Minh, the first leader of North Vietnam. This name, though not his name, was one he favored throughout his later years. It combines a common Vietnamese surname with a name meaning enlightened will, in essence. Ho Chi Minh City began as a fishing village likely known as Prey Nokor, Forest City, or perhaps Preah Reach Nokor which. The area that the city now occupies was originally swampland, and was inhabited by Khmer people for centuries before the arrival of the Vietnamese. In 1623, King Chey Chettha II of Cambodia allowed Vietnamese refugees fleeing the Trịnh–Nguyễn civil war in Vietnam to settle in the area of Prey Nokor and to set up a custom house there
2.
South Vietnam
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South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam, was a state governing the southern half of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. It received international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam, the term South Vietnam became common usage in 1954, when the Geneva Conference provisionally partitioned Vietnam into communist and non-communist parts. The Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed on 26 October 1955, with Ngô Đình Diệm as its first president and its sovereignty was recognized by the United States and eighty-seven other nations. It had membership in several committees of the United Nations. After the Second World War, the Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, in 1949, anti-communist Vietnamese politicians formed a rival government in Saigon led by former emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại was deposed by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm in 1955, after Diệm was killed in a military coup led by general Dương Văn Minh in 1963, there was a series of short-lived military governments. General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu led the country from 1967 until 1975, the Vietnam War began in 1959 with an uprising by Viet Cong forces armed and controlled by Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Fighting reached a climax during the Tet Offensive of 1968, when there were over 1.5 million South Vietnamese soldiers and 500,000 U. S. soldiers in South Vietnam. Despite a peace treaty concluded in January 1973, fighting continued until the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong armies overran Saigon on 30 April 1975, the creation of this republic, during the Indochina War, allowed France to evade a promise to recognise Vietnam as independent. This pre-Vietnam government prepared for a unified Vietnamese state, but the countrys full reunification was delayed for a year because of the problems posed by Cochinchinas legal status, Nguyễn Văn Xuân 1949–55 State of Vietnam. Roughly 60% of Vietnamese territory was controlled by the communist Việt Minh. Vietnam was partitioned at the 17th parallel in 1954, once highly lauded by America, he was ousted and assassinated in a U. S. -backed coup. In 1963–65, there were numerous coups and short-lived governments, several of which were headed by Dương Văn Minh or Nguyễn Khánh, Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ was the top leader in 1965–67. Surrendered to Communists when others abandoned their posts, 1975–76 Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. Huỳnh Tấn Phát Before World War II, the third of Vietnam was the concession of Cochinchina. Between Tonkin in the north and Cochinchina in the south was the protectorate of Annam, Cochinchina had been annexed by France in 1862 and even elected a deputy to the French National Assembly. It was more evolved, and French interests were stronger than in parts of Indochina. During World War II, Indochina was administered by Vichy France, japanese troops overthrew the French administration on 9 March 1945, Emperor Bảo Đại proclaimed Vietnam independent
3.
Vietnamese National Army
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On March 8,1949, after the Élysée Accords, the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại. The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army was the State of Vietnams military force created shortly after that and it was commanded by Vietnamese General Hinh and was loyal to Bảo Đại. The VNA fought in joint operations with the French Unions French Far East Expeditionary Corps against the communist Viet Minh forces led by Ho Chi Minh. Different units within the VNA fought in a range of campaigns including the Battle of Nà Sản, Operation Hautes Alpes, Operation Atlas. With the departure of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps from Indochina in 1956, in 1955, the State of Vietnam was dissolved and replaced by Ho Chi Minhs Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north and Ngô Đình Diệms Republic of Vietnam in the south. In early May, civil war ensued in the capital of South Vietnam when the VNA fought General Lê Văn Viễns Bình Xuyên forces in the controlled areas of Saigon. By 1956 all French Union troops withdrew from Vietnam and most of the VNA officers remained in service in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, after the fall of Saigon breaking in 1975, some joined the French Foreign Legion and others exiled to France or the United States. Benefiting with French cadres assistance and United States material support the VNA quickly became a modern army modeled after the CEFEO Expeditionary Corps. Officers and Non-commissioned officers were trained in schools of cadres known in French as Ecoles des Cadres, or at the elite National Military Academy. The Preparatory Military School of Dalat was directed by Lieutenant Savani and it was created in 1936 after the Autun EMP as the Dalat School of the Eurasian Children of Troops. Once dissolved during the Japanese occupation in 1944, General de Lattre reformed the EETED as the EETD Dalat School of the Children of Troops in 1950, in 1953, the cadres formation raised with 54 new battalion created and hundreds of new officers formed by early March. By November the Vietnamese National Army was entirely enlisted of Vietnamese recruits from the Privates to Generals, on the other hand, until 1954 some Vietnamese were trained four months in an Infantry Instruction Centers based in southern Vietnam. Once licensed these recruits would not be part of the VNA, other officer and NCO alumni were coming from all French Union including Cambodia, Overseas, metropolitan French and French citizens of French West Africa and India. On April 20,1952, the Dalat academy celebrated its first promotion with a baptism which is the Saint Cyr -French West Point- fashion. Celebrating officials included Chief of State Bảo Đại, Prime Minister Trần Văn Hữu, General Governor of French Indochina Gautier and French General Salan and his majesty Bảo Đại awarded the Hoàng Diệu promotions senior and junior classes with a Saint-Cyr offered saber. As a symbol of the handover of responsibility of the whole Vietnam to the VNA. Military ranks were organized after the French armys hierarchy, shoulder patch insignia would have three, two or one bar or star. Generals would have three stars while NCO officers with a bar were called Ong Mot and those with two straight bars were unofficially named Ong Hai
4.
Central Intelligence Agency
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As one of the principal members of the U. S. Intelligence Community, the CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is focused on providing intelligence for the President. Though it is not the only U. S. government agency specializing in HUMINT and it exerts foreign political influence through its tactical divisions, such as the Special Activities Division. Despite transferring some of its powers to the DNI, the CIA has grown in size as a result of the September 11 attacks. In 2013, The Washington Post reported that in fiscal year 2010, the CIA has increasingly expanded its roles, including covert paramilitary operations. One of its largest divisions, the Information Operations Center, has shifted focus from counter-terrorism to offensive cyber-operations, when the CIA was created, its purpose was to create a clearinghouse for foreign policy intelligence and analysis. Today its primary purpose is to collect, analyze, evaluate, and disseminate foreign intelligence, warning/informing American leaders of important overseas events, with Pakistan described as an intractable target. Counterintelligence, with China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, the Executive Office also supports the U. S. military by providing it with information it gathers, receiving information from military intelligence organizations, and cooperates on field activities. The Executive Director is in charge of the day to day operation of the CIA, each branch of the military service has its own Director. The Directorate has four regional groups, six groups for transnational issues. There is a dedicated to Iraq, regional analytical offices covering the Near East and South Asia, Russia and Europe, and the Asian Pacific, Latin American. The Directorate of Operations is responsible for collecting intelligence. The name reflects its role as the coordinator of intelligence activities between other elements of the wider U. S. intelligence community with their own HUMINT operations. This Directorate was created in an attempt to end years of rivalry over influence, philosophy, in spite of this, the Department of Defense recently organized its own global clandestine intelligence service, the Defense Clandestine Service, under the Defense Intelligence Agency. This Directorate is known to be organized by regions and issues. The Directorate of Science & Technology was established to research, create, many of its innovations were transferred to other intelligence organizations, or, as they became more overt, to the military services. For example, the development of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was done in cooperation with the United States Air Force, the U-2s original mission was clandestine imagery intelligence over denied areas such as the Soviet Union. It was subsequently provided with signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence capabilities, subsequently, NPIC was transferred to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
5.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
6.
Vietnam War
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It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
7.
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos
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North Vietnam supported the Pathet Lao to fight against the Kingdom of Laos between 1958–1959. Control over Laos allowed for the construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would serve as the main supply route for enhanced NLF. It also helped the Pathet Lao win the Kingdom of Laos, phoui, less scrupulous about preserving Laoss neutrality than his predecessor, angered Moscow and Hanoi by admitting diplomats from Taipei and Saigon. The Soviet Union and North Vietnam, already upset by the departure of the ICC, the Laos government immediately protested the flying of the North Vietnamese flag on Laotian territory. Hanoi claimed the villages had historically been part of Vietnam, phoui received extraordinary powers from the National Assembly to deal with the crisis. But the failure to regain their lost territory rankled the Laotian nationalists, one of Washingtons major preoccupations was the danger that the Royal Lao Army would integrate the Pathet Lao troops without the safeguard of screening and reindoctrinating them. The embassy was instructed to tell the government that it would be difficult to obtain approval of aid to Laos with communists in the Royal Lao Army. Before the final integration of 1,500 Pathet Lao troops into the Royal Lao Army could take place as planned in May 1959, the Pathet Lao used a quibble about officer ranks to delay the final ceremony. As monsoon rains swept over the Plain of Jars one night, the event signaled a resumption of hostilities. Fighting broke out all along the border with North Vietnam, North Vietnamese Army regular units participated in attacks on July 28–31,1959. The tactic had the advantage of concealing the North Vietnamese presence from view, rumors of North Vietnamese in the vicinity often had a terrifying effect. Among the men who heard rumors in the mountains of Houaphan Province that summer was a young Royal Lao Army captain named Kong Le. Kong Le had two companies of the Second Paratroop Battalion out on patrol almost on the North Vietnamese border, when they returned to Xam Nua without encountering the enemy, they found that the garrison had decamped, leaving the town undefended. Direct North Vietnamese involvement in Laos began taking another form wherein aggression was difficult to prove, two months after the 1954 Geneva Conference on Indochina, the North Vietnamese established a small support group known as Group 100, on the Thanh Hoa-Houaphan border at Ban Namèo. This unit provided logistical and other support to Pathet Lao forces, in view of the reversion to a fighting strategy, the North Vietnamese and Lao parties decided to establish an upgraded unit. The new unit, known as Group 959, headquartered at Na Kai, just inside the Houaphan border and its establishment coincided with a major effort to expand the hitherto small Pathet Lao forces. These actions were in violation of the obligation Ho Chi Minhs government had assumed as a participant in the 1954 Geneva Conference to refrain from any interference in the affairs of Laos. The Vietnamese partys strategy was by now decided with regard to South Vietnam, at the same time, the party outlined a role for the LPP that was supportive of North Vietnam, in addition to the LPPs role as leader of the revolution in Laos
8.
1962 South Vietnamese Independence Palace bombing
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Cử and Quốc hoped that the airstrike would expose Diệms vulnerability and trigger a general uprising, but this failed to materialise. One bomb penetrated a room in the wing where Diệm was reading but failed to detonate. With the exception of Diệms sister-in-law Madame Nhu, who suffered minor injuries, however, three palace staff died and 30 were injured. Afterwards, Cử escaped to Cambodia, but Quốc was arrested and imprisoned, in the wake of the airstrike, Diệm became hostile towards the American presence in South Vietnam. Diệm claimed that the American media was seeking to bring him down and he introduced new restrictions on press freedom and political association. The media speculated that the United States would use the incident to justify the deployment of troops to South Vietnam in the event the U. S. remained circumspect. Domestically, the incident was reported to have increased plotting against Diệm by his officers, Cử was the second son of Nguyễn Văn Lực, a leader of the VNQDD, which opposed the Diệm regime. In 1960, Diệm had jailed Lực for one month for engaging in anti-government activities, the VNQDD planned that Cử and Quốc, another pilot from the same squadron, would attack the Independence Palace on 27 February. Quốc had recently been personally commended by Diệm for his achievements in combat, Quốc had relatives who were involved with the VNQDD. Cử recruited Quốc by claiming the Vietnamese armed services and the United States were aware of the plot, Quốc had more subordinates but was not sure of their loyalty, so he did not try to recruit them for the attack on the palace. Years later, Cử blamed Diệms treatment of opposition parties as the motivation for his attack and he believed that Diệm had prioritised remaining in power over fighting the VC and that, for six years, Cử had been denied promotion because of Diệms obsession with hindering political opponents. Cử criticised the Americans for having supported Diệm, saying, the Americans had slammed the door on those of us who wanted the fight against the communists. The communists had been involved in attacks on Army of the Republic of Vietnam units 60 km south of the capital and had inflicted heavy damage, instead of proceeding south as ordered, they changed course to attack the Independence Palace, the official presidential residence. This meant that two companies of communist guerrillas were able to retreat after their attack without counter-attack, on their second run, they dropped bombs and napalm before firing rockets and strafing the presidential compound with machine-gun fire. The two continued their runs for 30 minutes before units loyal to the president arrived and launched a counter-attack. Taking advantage of weather and low cloud cover, the two pilots circled the palace at altitudes of around 150 m, periodically diving out of the clouds to re-attack before darting back into them. The airstrike caught the Saigon garrison off guard and, in the confusion, two tanks and a number of jeeps armed with 50-calibre machine guns patrolled the smoke-filled streets as a precaution. The first 500 lb bomb penetrated a room in the wing where Diệm was reading a biography of George Washington
9.
Battle of Ap Bac
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The Battle of Ấp Bắc was a major battle fought on 2 January 1963 during the Vietnam War. It was fought in Định Tường Province, South Vietnam, the infantry units would be supported by artillery, M113 armored personnel carriers, and helicopters. In addition to the intelligence he provided, An also devised the NLF battle strategy ahead of time to defeat the South Vietnamese forces, for his winning strategy, after the battle, An was decorated with North Vietnam’s highest military-exploit medal. On the morning of 2 January 1963, unaware that their plans had been leaked to the enemy. However, when reached the hamlet of Ap Bac, southeast of Ap Tan Thoi. Just before midday, further reinforcements were flown in from Tan Hiep, the 15 US helicopters ferrying the troops were riddled by NLF gunfire and five helicopters were lost as a result. Ultimately, their presence made little difference as the NLF stood its ground, under the cover of darkness the Viet Cong withdrew from the battlefield, having won their first major victory. At that time, North Vietnam was hoping for an election, promised under the Geneva Accords of 1954 and it was also worried about inciting the United States into directly supporting South Vietnam, and had recommended a policy of avoiding battle at all costs. However, Diems campaign was too successful to allow them to do nothing, North Vietnam remained worried about US involvement and refused any sort of military support, forcing the remaining Viet Minh to retreat into inaccessible areas in the hills and river estuaries. A stalemate of sorts followed, as South Vietnamese forces took so long to reach areas that the guerrilla fighters were able to retreat with little difficulty. Large-scale American support began during the Kennedy Administration in the early 1960s, the arrival of helicopters changed the nature of the battle considerably. Helicopters enabled South Vietnamese soldiers to fly to almost any point in the country. Throughout 1962, the forces were increasingly effective in routing the Viet Cong. These tactics, combined with the use of armored personnel carriers, the lightly armed Viet Cong had no weaponry capable of stopping the armored carriers and inevitably were forced to flee, taking heavy casualties. The most successful South Vietnamese force had been the 7th Infantry Division and his US adviser was Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann, who directed much of the units activity in concert with his planner, Captain Richard Ziegler. However, South Vietnamese officers were reluctant to absorb heavy casualties. This behavior initially mystified Vann, who was attempting to build Cao into an aggressive commander, unknown to Vann, Diem would reprimand or demote any officer who lost too many men, no matter how successful the operation. Diem was more interested in using the military to protect his regime than to take on the Viet Cong, after a skirmish on a highway that resulted in a small number of South Vietnamese casualties along with several trucks destroyed, Cao was called to Saigon and reprimanded by Diem
10.
Attack on Camp Holloway
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The attack on Camp Holloway occurred during the early hours of February 7,1965, in the early stages of the Vietnam War. Camp Holloway was a facility constructed by the United States Army near Pleiku in 1962. It was built to support the operations of Free World Military Forces in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, in August 1964, the United States Navy reported they were attacked by torpedo boats of the North Vietnamese Navy in what became known as the Tonkin Gulf Incident. However, the Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam were not deterred by the threat of U. S. retaliation, the Soviet Union, on the other hand, were experiencing political changes of their own as Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power. As leader of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev had begun the process of disengagement from Vietnam by reducing economic, in February 1965 Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin travelled to Hanoi to rebuild Soviet ties with North Vietnam, and the formation of a military alliance was on the agenda. Coincidentally, senior security adviser to the U. S. President McGeorge Bundy was also in Saigon to report on the chaos in South Vietnam. In the shadow of those events, the Viet Cong 409th Battalion staged an attack on Camp Holloway on 7 February 1965 and this time, with his victory in the 1964 presidential election secured, Johnson decided to launch Operation Flaming Dart which entailed strikes on North Vietnamese military targets. On 2 August 1964, while operating off the North Vietnamese coast in the Gulf of Tonkin, on 4 August 1964, the United States Navy claimed that a second attack occurred when North Vietnamese Navy vessels fired torpedoes at the USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy. Towards the end of 1964, Johnson was in the midst of a presidential election, therefore, Johnson decided to wait until after the election, when his presidency was assured, that he would decide on other military moves. However, on 20 December 1964, Khánh formed a new junta with Kỳ and Thi. Thus, the South Vietnamese Government was once again plunged into chaos, two days later on 6 February 1965, Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin arrived in Hanoi for a historic visit to North Vietnam, included in his entourage was a team of Soviet missile experts. S. Airfield at Camp Holloway near Pleiku in Gia Lai Province and the South Vietnamese Army base at Gia Huu in Bình Định Province, towards the end of 1964, about 400 members of the U. S. Army 52nd Combat Aviation Battalion—under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John C. Hughes—was deployed to Camp Holloway with the purpose of supporting South Vietnamese and other Free World Military Forces in the regions of I Corps and II Corps Tactical Zones. In February 1965, Camp Holloways outer perimeter was protected by a South Vietnamese security contingent which included one Ranger battalion, five Regional Force companies, to overcome the U. S. defenses at Camp Holloway, Tam organized the 30th Company into two sections. The first section, under Tams direct command, was to destroy U. S. aircraft on the airfield, and establish a route of retreat for the attack force. The second section, led by Nguyen Trong Dai, was ordered to attack the U. S. advisory compound and the facilities where U. S. pilots and technicians were housed. Viet Cong combat engineers were required to break through the fences which protected the U. S. facility at Camp Holloway. Meanwhile, the Gia Lai local force company had to set up positions around the U. S. facility
11.
Battle of Ba Gia
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The battle took place in Quảng Ngãi Province, South Vietnam, between May 28–31,1965. In the days followed, the National Liberation Front destroyed an entire ARVN Task Force to mark a successful start to their summer campaign. During the first half of 1965 the war in Vietnam sharply escalated, in January 1965, while on a visit to China, a North Vietnamese military delegation met with Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai to discuss the situation. However, Hanoi privately informed Moscow that the National Liberation Front only wanted to gain international support, in addition, Soviet pilots and other specialists were dispatched to North Vietnam to train North Vietnamese military personnel in the use of advanced military hardware. China, not to be outdone by its Soviet rival, increased the delivery of armaments to North Vietnam at rates which surpassed their commitments in 1964, China also offered logistical assistance to the North Vietnamese military by providing seven divisions of Chinese soldiers for road construction and other projects. Lê Duẩn, Secretary of the Communist Party, believed that the South Vietnamese regime was able to survive because they still had an army to rely upon. Therefore, to win the war and reunite the country, the South Vietnamese military had to be destroyed completely, the operation was aimed at regular South Vietnamese military units based in the provinces of Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Quảng Ngãi. Huynh Huu Anh, Deputy Chief of the NLF Chief of Staff in Military Region 5, was responsible for conducting reconnaissance missions, North Vietnamese Major General Chu Huy Man was sent to South Vietnam to take command of military operations. Prior to the NLF Summer Offensive of 1965, Quang Ngai, on February 6,1965, the Viet Cong 409th Sapper Battalion attacked the U. S airbase at Pleiku, injuring more than a hundred American personnel and damaging about 20 aircraft. The United States retaliated by launching Operation Flaming Dart, bombing selected targets in North Vietnam. On May 28, local Viet Cong units in Nui Thanh attacked a company of U. S. Marines, in May 1965, the Viet Cong 271st Regiment moved into northern Quảng Ngãi from the neighbouring province of Quảng Nam. The Viet Cong 271st Regiment had three battalions, and was placed under the command of Le Huu Tru, in northern Quảng Ngãi, the 271st Regiment joined the 45th Independent Battalion and the 83rd Local Force Battalion. On the other side, South Vietnamese military units in Quảng Ngãi Province formed part of the ARVN 1st Brigade, I Corps Tactical Zone, commanded by General Nguyễn Chánh Thi. The 271st Regimental Headquarters set up camp at Nui Thanh, while the 83rd Local Force Battalion was ordered to encircle the administrative centre at Nghia Hanh. Precisely at 5.45 am on May 29, elements of the Viet Cong 271st Regiment launched an attack on Phuoc Loc. Within 10 minutes of fighting, the two platoons of South Vietnamese Regional Force defending Phuoc Loc were subdued, and the Viet Cong quickly consolidated the battlefield around the area. Caught by the element of surprise, the South Vietnamese 1st Battalion descended into chaos and was unable to mount an effective counter-attack, in less than one hour of fighting, the battalion was completely destroyed with 270 soldiers either killed or wounded. Captain Nguyen Van Ngoc was amongst the 217 men who were captured, only 65 South Vietnamese soldiers and three American advisors managed to return to government lines
12.
Battle of Dong Xoai
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The Battle of Đồng Xoài was a major battle fought during the National Liberation Front Summer Offensive of 1965 as part of the Vietnam War. The battle took place in Phước Long Province, South Vietnam, in 1964, General Nguyễn Khánh gained control of the South Vietnamese government after General Dương Văn Minh was overthrown in a military coup. He then had a falling-out with the Catholic faction within his own government, consequently, on February 20,1965, General Khánh was ousted from power and was forced to leave South Vietnam forever. The political instability in Saigon gave North Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi an opportunity to step up their campaign in the south. They believed the South Vietnamese government was able to survive because it still had a military to combat the growing influence of the Viet Cong. With the summer campaign of 1965, North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces aimed to inflict significant losses on the South Vietnamese military, in Phước Long Province, the Communist summer offensive culminated in the Đồng Xoài campaign. The fight for Đồng Xoài began on the evening of June 9,1965, in response to the sudden Viet Cong assault, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Joint General Staff ordered the ARVN 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, to retake Đồng Xoài district. They arrived on the battlefield on June 10, but were overwhelmed by the Viet Cong 271st Regiment near Thuận Lợi. Later that day, Đồng Xoài was recaptured by the ARVN 52nd Ranger Battalion, on June 11, further South Vietnamese reinforcements arrived in the form of the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion. The South Vietnamese paratroopers, while searching for survivors of the 1st Battalion in the Thuận Lợi rubber plantation, were defeated in an ambush by the Viet Cong. By that time, however, the Viet Cong had already withdrawn from the battlefield, in January 1964, General Khánh ousted General Dương Văn Minh as the leader of South Vietnams military junta in a bloodless coup. Khánh drafted a new constitution, which would have expanded his power within the military junta, fearing that his power could be weakened by those demonstrations, General Khánh immediately repealed his constitution and new police powers. He promised to reinstate civilian rule and remove members of the Catholic-based Cần lao from power, subsequently, General Khiêm fell out with General Khánh over policy issues along religious lines, even though an alliance between both men had enabled Khánh to remove General Minh from power. As military support for his regime diminished, Khánh had to rely upon civilian Buddhist activists to maintain power, for the Americans, Khánhs increased reliance on the Buddhists was a cause for concern, because the Buddhists favoured a political resolution to the conflict with the Communists. Thus, by the end of 1964 the Americans looked for someone to overthrow Khánh, on February 20,1965, Khánh was finally removed from power, and he was forced to leave South Vietnam. From the Communist perspective, even though South Vietnam was plagued by political instability, so shortly after the Binh Gia campaign, North Vietnamese leaders reached a resolution to launch a summer offensive, to destroy the regular units of the South Vietnamese military. Following their victory at Ba Gia, the National Liberation Front turned its attention to the Mekong Delta region, to prepare for their next offensive, Major-General Le Trong Tan was given the task of directing Viet Cong military operations in the provinces of Phước Long, Bình Phước. Since May 1965, the Viet Cong offensive in Phước Long Province had been in full-swing, beginning on May 10, the Viet Cong 271st Regiment, supported by the 840th Battalion and local sapper units, attacked the district town of Phước Long, capital of the province
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Operation Starlite
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Operation Starlite was the first major offensive regimental size action conducted by a purely U. S. military unit during the Vietnam War. The operation was launched based on intelligence provided by Major General Nguyen Chanh Thi, the operation was conducted as a combined arms assault involving ground, air and naval units. Marines were deployed by helicopter insertion into the landing zone while an amphibious landing was used to deploy other Marines. The operation was originally called Satellite, but a power blackout led to a clerical error and it was launched on D-Day August 18,1965, involving 5,500 Marines. The United States Navys USS Galveston and USS Cabildo were available for naval gunfire support, Viet Cong forces comprised the 1st VC Regiment made up of the 60th and 80th VC Battalions, the 52nd VC Company, and a company of the 45th VC Weapons Battalion. The total Viet Cong strength was around 1,500 men, 3/3 Marines was designated the blocking force and deployed on August 18,1965 using LVTP-5s to the operational area. When it landed on the beach, it marched 4 miles to establish their blocking positions, 3/3 made an amphibious landing and were tasked with driving the Viet Cong towards the 2/4 Marines who were to be lifted by helicopter into three landing zones west of Van Tuong. Secrecy was paramount, and no ARVN commander or units were informed of the impending operation, the Marines met light resistance moving into the attack, using their M14 semi-automatic rifles to repulse occasional Viet Cong raiders. Echo Company, 2/4 spotted Viet Cong in the open and called in fire from 3rd Battalion 12th Marines. The artillery barrage was reported to have killed 90 Viet Cong, including crippling several of their mortar units. Hotel Company, 2/4 assaulted the 60th VC Battalion who put up a fight, only being overwhelmed when attack helicopters swooped on their position, peppering it with rocket. One prisoner was taken and 40 weapons were captured, India Company, 3/3 attacked An Cuong after receiving heavy fire from the hamlet and losing their company commander in the engagement. India Company was ordered to join Kilo and Hotel companies and clean up any opposition but was caught in a crossfire from Nam Yen Dan Hill 30, Hotel Company established a defensive perimeter and were told to await reinforcements. The expected reinforcements, were diverted to assist the supply column that was ambushed west of their position, 37mm recoilless rifle fire from the VC positions tore into the 5 LVTs and 3 flame tanks, forcing the Marines to mount a rescue. The Marines were hit by mortar and rifle fire and suffered 5 dead and 17 wounded. The developing engagement necessitated the deployment of Lima Company, 3/7 from the USS Iwo Jima to join India Company to assist the supply column. Part of Lima Company was caught in an ambush in their attempt to rescue LVT personnel,4 marines were killed and 10 wounded. Come nightfall, the Marines hunkered down into defensive positions, scout units of 3/7 Marines came ashore during the night and the battalion got ready for a morning assault on the Vietnamese positions
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Operation Piranha
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Operation Piranha was a US Marine Corps operation that took place on the Batangan Peninsula southeast of Chu Lai, lasting from 7 to 10 September 1965. Following the conclusion of Operation Starlite, on 24 August 1965, reconnaissance photos of the Peninsula showed a V of older field fortifications pointing inland with the open end to the sea and a new second V further inland under construction. 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines would remain available as a floating reserve, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 2nd Battalion, 4th Regiment and the 3rd Vietnamese Marine Battalion would be helilifted into the south of 3/7 Marines to clear and search the An Ky Peninsula. The operation was launched on 7 September 1965, the landing was unopposed. On 8 September, Company B 1/7 Marines discovered a VC field hospital in a cave near the center of the Peninsula. The Marines captured four prisoners, but then came under fire from other VC in the cave, the Marines returned the fire and attempted to convince the VC to surrender. Marine engineers then placed explosives in the cave, after the detonation, the Marines counted 66 VC dead inside. Operation Piranha concluded on 10 September,178 VC had been killed and 360 enemy, allied losses were two Marines and five South Vietnamese killed. The operation failed to wipe out the 1st VC Regiment, villagers told the Marines that Vietcong units had been in the area but had left, some less than 24 hours before Operation Piranha had commenced. Intelligence reports later indicated that the 1st VC Regiment began leaving the peninsula on 4 September and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps
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Battle of An Ninh
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The Battle of An Ninh, was fought during the Vietnam War between regulars of the United States Army and regulars of the Peoples Army of Vietnam of North Vietnam. It occurred during an operation codenamed Operation Gibraltar, developed by MACV to clear the area around the 1st Cavalry Divisions base at An Khe, South Vietnam. When the second wave arrived on the zone, the Vietnamese troops started an intense fire forcing the commander officer. Smith to call back the wave without dropping the soldiers. The lack of artillery support posed dire difficulties for the American defence perimeter, only shortly after 9,00 the requests for air support was answered with the first mission flown by F100 bombers. The continuous effort to reinforce the besieged paratroopers and evacuate the wounded, under enemy fire, after a night of fighting under the flares light, at dawn the Vietcong retreated. U. S. casualties were 13 dead and 44 wounded, for the Vietnamese side, the result of the engagement was discordantly evaluated, some greeted it as a great victory for the U. S. Army, between those, General Westmoreland. Subsequent valuation, put out how the zone was in the middle of a training camp of a Vietnamese infantry battalion. Airmobility 1961-1971 Battaglia di An Ninh, American casualities
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Siege of Plei Me
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The Siege of Plei Me was the beginning phase of the first major confrontation between soldiers of the communist North Vietnamese Army and the U. S. army during the Vietnam War. Plei Me was an isolated U. S. Army Special Forces, in 1965 the camp was manned by more than 400 CIDG soldiers—local Montagnard irregulars, mostly members of the Jarai ethnic group. Many of them had families living just outside the camp,12 American soldiers from the 5th Special Forces Group and 14 Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces assisted and advised the Montagnards. At the time of the attack on Plei Me, about 300 Montagnards, the 14 Vietnamese, and 10 Americans were inside the camp, the camp itself was under the control and command of II Corps Command. The ARVN had 9 battalions of troops stationed in Pleiku. Anticipating a PAVN offensive to capture Pleiku and Highway 19, the United States had stationed the 1st Cavalry Division at Camp Radcliff near the town of An Khe in September 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division was composed of three brigades with at total complement of eight battalions. The 1st Cavalry utilized the new tactic of relying on helicopters to transport soldiers and supplies, for medical evacuations, and aerial rocket artillery. General Man had under his command the 32nd and 33rd Regiments of the PAVN army, comprising about 4,200 men, with another regiment, the 66th, becoming available by early November. The 32nd Regiment had been operating in II Corps since January 1965, the 33rd Regiment had arrived in September, General Mans offensive was to be launched by December 1965 with all the three regiments. The staging areas were located in the Chu Pong massif on the Vietnam-Cambodian border, however, General Man decided to launch the attack earlier on October 19,1965, with only two Regiments, apparently before the 1st Cavalry troops became combat ready. The first indication of an attack was about 19,00 hours on October 19 when a Montagnard patrol was attacked near Plei Me. The American commander at Plei Me, Captain Harold M. Moore, called in airstrikes which arrived about 0400 on October 20 and continued throughout the day and the next night. The relief group, transported by helicopter, landed about 5 kilometres northeast of Plei Me on the morning of October 21, some of the air drops landed outside the camp, while two defenders were killed when a pallet of supplies fell on them. Plei Me became, up until then, the largest air operation of the Vietnam War with 696 sorties and more than 1.5 million pounds of bombs, napalm. Several U. S. planes and helicopters were damaged or shot down by ground fire. At Plei Me, the PAVN plan was not to overrun the camp, Air strikes were called in to hit the attackers only a few meters outside the defensive perimeter of the camp. This was the grab them by the belt buckle tactic that would be employed by the communist forces throughout the Vietnam War. General Vĩnh Lộc, II Corps Commander, decided to accept the PAVNs challenge, a relief task force was established in the afternoon of October 20
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Operation Hump
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Operation Hump was a search and destroy operation initiated on 8 November,1965, by the 173rd Airborne Brigade, in an area about 17.5 miles north of Bien Hoa. The objective was to drive out Vietcong fighters who had taken position in several key hills, little contact was made through 7 November, when B and C Companies settled into a night defensive position southeast of Hill 65, on a triple-canopied jungle hill. At about 06,00 on 8 November C Company began a move northwest toward Hill 65, shortly before 08,00, C Company was engaged by a sizeable enemy force, well dug in to the southern face of Hill 65, armed with machine guns and shotguns. B Company reached the foot of Hill 65 at about 09,30 and it became obvious that there was a large enemy force in place on the hill, C Company was suffering heavy casualties, and by chance, B Company was forcing the enemys right flank. The shells scorched the foliage and caught many rebel fighters ablaze, exploding the ammunition, B Company halted in place in an effort to locate and consolidate with C Companys platoons. Together they managed to establish a coherent defensive line, running around the hilltop from southeast to northwest, meanwhile, the Vietcong commander realized that his best chance was to close with the US forces so that the 173rds air and artillery fire could not be effectively employed. Vietcong troops attempted to out-flank the US position atop the hill from both the east and the southwest, moving his troops closer to the Americans. The result was shoulder-to-shoulder attacks up the hillside, hand-to-hand fighting, and isolation of parts of B and C Companies, the Americans held against two such attacks. By late afternoon it seemed that contact had been broken, allowing the two companies to prepare a defensive position and collect their dead and wounded in the center of the position. The result of the battle was heavy losses on both sides—49 Paratroopers dead, many wounded, and 403 dead Vietcong troops as an estimate by the US troops, operation Hump is memorialized in a song by Big and Rich named 8th of November. The introduction, as read by Kris Kristofferson, is, The final sentence is a reference to John 15,13 in the Christian Bible
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Battle of Gang Toi
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The Battle of Gang Toi was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. It occurred during a major joint US-Australian operation codenamed Operation Hump, involving the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, during the latter part of the operation an Australian rifle company clashed with an entrenched company-sized Viet Cong force in well-prepared defensive positions. Meanwhile, an American paratroop battalion was heavily engaged in fighting on the other side of the Song Dong Nai. The bodies of the two missing Australian soldiers were subsequently recovered more than 40 years later, and were returned to Australia for burial. Although the initial American commitment to the war in Vietnam had been limited to advice and materiel support, at first the Americans had adopted a cautious strategy, applied to the strictly limited role of base defence by US Marine units. This was abandoned in April 1965, and replaced by a new strategy of defending key coastal population centres. This strategy required the introduction of nine additional US battalions, or 14,000 troops, allied nations of the Free World Military Forces were expected to contribute another four battalions. Such areas included Di An which was intended to become the headquarters of the US 1st Infantry Division, however, large-scale military operations to clear the intended base areas had to wait until the dry season. Yet the allied enclave strategy proved only transitory and further led to additional troop increases to halt the losing trend. Australias growing involvement in Vietnam reflected the American build-up, in 1963, the Australian government had committed a small advisory team, known as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, to help train the South Vietnamese forces. However, in June 1965 the decision to ground troops was made. Although logistics and resupply were primarily provided by the Americans, a small logistic unit—1st Australian Logistics Company—was situated at Bien Hoa airbase, unlike later Australian units that served in Vietnam, which included conscripts,1 RAR was manned by regular personnel only. The battalion commenced operations in late June 1965 and initially focussed on defeating the Viet Congs wet season offensive. By late-1965 the junction of the Song Be and Song Dong Nai rivers had become a major communist staging area for men, equipment, and supplies for units based around Saigon and the Mekong Delta. Communist communications and resupply routes between War Zone C and D also met the Ho Chi Minh Trail in this area, Operation Hump marked the half-way point in the twelve-month tour of duty of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade and was named accordingly. Meanwhile, the US 173rd Airborne Brigades second battalion—2nd Battalion, US 503rd Infantry Regiment—would be left to defend Bien Hoa airbase, the area was thought to be a Viet Cong stronghold and American intelligence initially identified Q762 Main Force Regiment and D800 Main Force Battalion as being nearby. Yet having relocated to the rainforest two months earlier, its presence was unknown to the Australians and Americans. Regardless, A Company 1 RAR was scheduled to conduct a search of the plateau on the day of the operation
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Battle of Ia Drang
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It was the first major battle between the United States Army and the North Vietnamese Army-NVA during the Vietnam War as part of the U. S. airmobile offensive code-named Operation Silver Bayonet I. The battle was part of the phase of a search-and-destroy operation code-named Operation Long Reach that took place from October 23 to November 26 during the Pleiku Campaign. The battle derives its name from the Drang River which runs through the valley west of Plei Me, where the engagement took place. Representing the American forces were elements of the 3rd and 2nd Brigades, 1st Cavalry Division, the 1st and 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, representing the North Vietnam forces were elements of the B3 Front of the NVA. The battle involved close air support by U. S. Army helicopter gunships and U. S. Air Force and U. S. Navy tactical jet aircraft, and a bombing attack by Air Force B-52s. General Knowles, Forward CP Commander, 1st Cavalry Division, did not see the engagement as an ambush, the battle at LZ X-Ray was documented in the CBS special report Battle of Ia Drang Valley by Morley Safer and the critically acclaimed book We Were Soldiers Once. And Young by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, in 1994, Moore, Galloway and men who fought on both the American and North Vietnamese sides, traveled back to the remote jungle clearings where the battle took place. At the time the U. S. did not have relations with Vietnam. The risky trip which took a year to arrange was part of an award-winning ABC News documentary, They Were Young, in 2002, Randall Wallace depicted the battle at LZ X-Ray in the movie We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson and Barry Pepper as Moore and Galloway, respectively. Galloway later described this battle that he calls Ia Drang as The battle that convinced Ho Chi Minh he could win, in 1963 and 1964, a series of political and military mishaps had seriously affected the capabilities of the South Vietnamese Armys main forces in South Vietnam. After Diems overthrow in a 1963 coup, the new military leadership largely consisted of commanders put in place by Diem prior to the coup and they showed equal lack of interest in fighting the NLF, spending their time in a series of coups and counter-coups. In this unstable climate, the NLF units were able to mount increasingly larger military operations. At first these were limited to building up larger formations, but by late 1964 they had evolved into a war against ARVN units. At the end of 1964, Chairman Mao Zedong of the Peoples Republic of China turned on the light for the Viet Cong to upgrade attacking forces to division size in its conquest of South VietNam. In the meeting dated October 5,1964, Mao Zedong told Pham Van Dong, According to Comrade Le Duan, probably you have not dispatched that division yet. When should you dispatch it, the timing is important, American advisers in the field had long been pushing for South Vietnamese Army forces to be taken over by U. S. commanders. In addition to getting the men to fight, the U. S. commands better training. By early 1965, Westmoreland had secured the commitment of upward of 300,000 U. S. regulars from Lyndon B. Johnson and a build-up of forces took place in the summer of 1965
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Operation Crimp
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Heavy fighting resulted in significant casualties on both sides, but the combined American and Australian force was able to uncover an extensive tunnel network covering more than 200 kilometres. The operation was the largest allied military action mounted during the war in South Vietnam to that point, despite some success, the allied force was only able to partially clear the area and it remained a key communist transit and supply base throughout the war. Although the initial American commitment to the war in Vietnam had been limited to advice and materiel support, at first the Americans had adopted a cautious strategy, applied to the strictly limited role of base defence by US Marine units. This was abandoned in April 1965, and replaced by a new strategy of defending key coastal population centres. This strategy required the introduction of nine additional US battalions, or 14,000 troops, allied nations of the Free World Military Forces were expected to contribute another four battalions. Such areas included Di An which was intended to become the headquarters of the US 1st Infantry Division, however, large-scale military operations to clear the intended base areas had to wait until the dry season. Yet the allied enclave strategy proved only transitory and further led to additional troop increases to halt the losing trend. Australias growing involvement in Vietnam reflected the American build up, in 1963, the Australian government had committed a small advisory team, known as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, to help train the South Vietnamese forces. However, in June 1965 the decision to ground troops was made. Although logistics and resupply were primarily provided by the Americans, a small logistic unit—1st Australian Logistics Company—was situated at Bien Hoa airbase, unlike later Australian units that served in Vietnam, which included conscripts,1 RAR was manned by regular personnel only. The battalion commenced operations in late June 1965 and initially focussed on defeating the Viet Congs wet season offensive, meanwhile, Brumfield was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Alex Preece, after an old football injury forced his evacuation to Australia in mid-November. On 24 November D Company,1 RAR carried out an attack on the fortified village of Duc Hanh which had been occupied by the Viet Cong, killing 10. Operation Marauder on the Plain of Reeds in the Mekong Delta was subsequently launched on New Years Day 1966, although its precise position was unknown, it was believed to be concealed in an extensive underground bunker system. Agents reports, the interrogation of prisoners, and aerial surveillance all pointed to the presence of this vital communist facility, communist units detected in the Ho Bo Woods by allied intelligence included the C306 Local Force Company, 3rd Quyet Thang Battalion and 7th Cu Chi Battalion. The commander of the Cu Chi Battalion was later identified after the war as Captain Nguyen Thanh Linh, in total, local communist defensive strength was believed to include 1,000 men. In response, a large American search-and-destroy operation was launched in January 1966, at the time it was the largest military operation mounted in South Vietnam, being the first divisional offensive to date. 1 RARs role was to establish a position in a village beside the river on the northern flank of the brigades area of operations. In order to achieve surprise, the operation was launched immediately following Operation Marauder
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Operation Masher
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Operation Masher was in early 1966 the largest search and destroy mission that had been carried out in the Vietnam War up until that time. It was a mission of the United States Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. A CIA report in 1965 said that Binh Dinh was just about lost to the communists, the name Operation Masher was changed to Operation White Wing, because President Lyndon Johnson wanted the name changed to one that sounded more benign. Adjacent to the area of Masher/White Wing in Quang Ngai province the U. S. The 1st Cavalry Division was the principal U. S. ground force involved in Operation Masher,228 Americans of the 1st cavalry were killed and another 46 died in an airplane crash,834 were wounded. Twenty-four U. S. marines were killed and 156 wounded in Operation Double Eagle, several additional Americans from other units were killed. Eleven South Korean soldiers were reported killed, South Vietnamese casualties were not reported, the U. S claimed to have killed 1,342 enemy soldiers. The ARVN and ROKA forces reported they had killed an additional 808 enemy soldiers, six hundred communist soldiers were taken prisoner and 500 defected. 52 crew-served and more than 200 individual weapons were captured, Binh Dinh province was a traditional communist and Viet Cong stronghold. Binh Dinh consisted of a narrow, heavily cultivated coastal plain with river valleys separated by ridges, the vital artery of Highway 1 ran north and south ran through Binh Dinh. The area of Operation Masher was about 30 miles north to south, Marines Operation Double Eagle extended northward from Masher and the ROKAs Operation Flying Tiger extended southward. South Vietnamese forces participated in all three operations, the First Cavalry Division was selected by U. S. Commander William Westmoreland to carry out the operation, more than 5,000 soldiers in the division were recent arrivals in Vietnam with little combat experience. The South Vietnamese 22nd Division stationed in Binh Dinh had also suffered casualties in recent fighting and was on the defensive. The majority of the population of Binh Dinh was believed to be supportive of the communist forces, the plan of Operation Masher was for the U. S. South Vietnam, and South Korean soldiers to sweep north and for the U. S. the primary metric for judging the success of the operation would be the body count of communist soldiers killed. On January 28 three Project DELTA U. S, special Forces teams consisting of 17 personnel were inserted in the An Lao Valley for reconnaissance. The teams ran into trouble and when rescued a day later seven had been killed
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Battle of Bong Son
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The Battle of Bồng Sơn was the second major battle for the US 1st Cavalry Division, an airmobile unit of divisional strength, during the Vietnam War. The battle was part of Operation Masher, also known as Operation Whitewing, a month earlier in 1965, in the Battle of the Ia Drang, the 1st Cavalry used all the division infantry, but one brigade at a time. The NVA fought back strongly and Sang asked for reinforcements by two ARVN airborne battalions, which still were not enough. During the Battle of the Ia Drang, 1st Cavalry commander Major General Harry Kinnard had considered operations on the Binh Dinh plain and he now had time to implement those ideas. Even through the ARVN needed help, the Cavalry prepared systematically, Ia Drang demonstrated the fundamentally new capabilities, as well as the liabilities, of large, well-integrated airmobile forces, and Kinnard wanted to apply the lessons learned. It was planned as an operation, rather than as the more reactive operations at Ia Drang in September and October 1965. Some twelve million leaflets and 150 radio broadcast hours were used during Operation IRVING to help control the civilians, curfews were established, and at times villagers were requested to stay where they were until more specific instructions were given. Psychological efforts were also geared to appeal to the enemy, for example, substantial rewards were offered for surrendered weapons Binh Dinh province stretches from the mountains to the seacoast of Vietnam. It is full of contrasting terrain, and today is an important area of tourism in Vietnam and that the area had coast on the South China Sea allowed Naval fire support to be added to the three allied national forces. ARVN junks and the United States Navy sealed escape routes to the sea and provided support from the destroyers USS Hull and USS Folson. A local Viet Cong unit, the 2nd Regiment, had been reinforced by the 18th PAVN regiment, also in this area was the deep Kim Son and An Lão valleys. The Communist regiments had struck at Sangs command from the valleys, Kinnard, now commanding the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry, secured Bong Son, and then probed at the enemy, opening his serious operations on 28 January. He had established LZ Dog, on high ground along Highway 1, with as much stealth as possible, he moved part of his command into blocking positions at the north end of the plain. The plan was for Kinnards forces in the valleys, along with ARVN units to encourage the Communists to fall back into the ambushes, weather and having a howitzer-carrying helicopter shot down on 29 January, started the fight prematurely. The weather broke, however, and now that the enemy had been located by fighting with the bases, Moores three battalions attacked the 22nd Regiment from three directions. As this four-day fight wound down, Kinnard moved the 2nd Brigade into the mountains at the An Lao valley, the 3rd Brigade at the south end, United States Marines pressured the enemy force in the valley, while Sang blocked the exits. This operation was of limited effect, as the enemy had moved into the jungle, a reinforced battalion made a night air assault on the beaches east of Hoa Hoi and moved into the encirclement, with illumination from an AC-47 gunship, artillery, and the destroyer USS Uhlmann. The enemy was hit heavily by 105-millimetre artillery fire from the cavalrys helicopter-lifted howitzers, and helicopters operated at night in support, supply
23.
Battle of Suoi Bong Trang
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The Battle of Suoi Bong Trang was an engagement fought between US, Australian and New Zealand forces, and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. Repulsed by massed firepower from artillery and tanks, the Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw by morning, after the attack, the Americans and Australians made no attempt to pursue the Viet Cong, focusing on securing the battlefield and evacuating their own casualties. The Viet Cong continued to harass the American sappers with occasional sniper and mortar fire, but these proved ineffective. The US 1st Brigade under the command of Colonel Edgar N, Major General William E. DePuy had selected the Australians specifically because of their reputation for dispersed, aggressive patrolling. The brigades constituent battalions were widely dispersed carrying out search and destroy operations, nevertheless, except for the harassment faced by the engineers, contact between the Americans and the Viet Cong had been infrequent during the first weeks of the operation. On 19 February,1 RAR was inserted by helicopter, taking over from 2nd Battalion, Preece immediately instituted a program of twenty-four-hour dispersed patrolling, and within two days this had succeeded in reducing the level of Viet Cong activity against the road construction. Two platoons of American M48 Patton tanks were moved into the area, patrolling by day with the Australian armoured personnel carriers. Several contacts took place and by 22 February the Australians began to suspect that an attack on them was being planned. In the early morning of 23 February three Viet Cong soldiers were killed in an Australian ambush, while others were wounded but escaped. The dead soldiers were equipped with new AK-47 assault rifles and webbing. Also captured was a quantity of ammunition, rations and medical supplies. Later that night a North Vietnamese engineer officer was killed in a separate ambush. As dawn broke the day, two half-platoon ambushes from B Company,1 RAR—under the command of Major Ian McFarlane—engaged two squads of Viet Cong Main Force. Meanwhile, to the west three battalions of Viet Cong 9th Division were massing for a blow, preparing a regimental attack on the American and Australian positions. Units included J10 Battalion of the 761st Regiment,707 Battalion of the 763rd Regiment and D800 Independent Battalion, in total around 2,000 men. By 20,00 they had completed a 25-kilometre approach march and were in areas near the village of Ap Bo, using local women and youths as porters to carry ammunition, equipment. Small reconnaissance parties moved forward as pathfinders, easily locating the American headquarters due to the amount of noise. 1st Battalion, US 26th Infantry Regiment—under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Y. Y, phillips—returned from the field and also deployed in defence by last light, augmenting Company B, 1st Battalion, US 28th Infantry Regiment
