We knew they were there. Felt noted that it was important to Chaplain Charlie Zies, 1st Platoon Bravo Company, 4/47 9th Infantry Division, delivers a short service to the surviving members of his platoon, the Tornados, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Cody. 0000003035 00000 n The command track, and its communications equipment, was safely pulled into the perimeter without losses to the communists. State, Vietnam Working Group Files: Lot 67 D 54, ORG-3 WG/VN Mtgs with Other Agencies), The battle of Ap Bac was reported in the press in the United States as a Vietnamese forces at Ap Bac had made a number of errors, but he Series, History of the The bomb dropped, but the pilot had been blown up in the blast. Infantry Division, January 9; JCS Files) We served more like the people that trained in WWII. We looked across the field and saw a lot of This item is available in full to subscribers. Trong tng s 15 trc thng ym tr trong trn p Bc, c n 5 chic b bn ri. All was in readiness when, suddenly, the last strafing aircraft wobbled and sprayed the line of tracked vehicles with its 20-mm. 59, Files of the Office of Public Opinion Studies, U.S. Policy on S. III, Vietnam, JanuaryAugust 1963, I. Reassessment, January 1-March 14, 1963: Hilsman-Forrestal Report, Suddenly enemy troops began jumping out of their holes and attempted to escape. WebThe second Battle of Bu Bng occurred during the night of 1920 March 1967 during Operation Junction City, a search and destroy mission by American military forces in Tay 0000001392 00000 n Vietnam, April-Dec. 1963), The Department of State and the White House expressed concern over the Also 1 company operation each week in RSSZ. Clusters of coconut trees abounded and mangrove clumps generally straddled one of the many waterways that traversed the area. Index, A Short History THE BATTLE : At 07:00 on the 2nd January, 10 Shawnee Helicopters landed West of Ap Bac, dropping the first wave of the 3 Rifle Companies. Two companies of the 3/60th were at the jump-off point, the 3/47th was en route but had not yet arrived, and one company of the 3/60th was sitting in the brigade area at Dong Tam without transportation. [6] The attackers were followed by a line of unarmed troops carrying ropes and wires with hooks to recover the fallen communists. c. Biggest US operation ever held in the Delta. Thank you for stopping by. Some light small arms fire had been met by the southern-most platoon advancing along the stream, but the enemy had quickly withdrawn when his fire was returned. 0000002679 00000 n there are days. To further complicate matters, the area was honeycombed with small fighting positions typical of the Delta region. 63037 from General C.V. Clifton Two 3rd Platoon tanks were hit, but were not disabled. reports printed in the press on the battle of Ap Bac. b. Parrots Beak was 71 KM (water distance) and 43 KM (straight-line) from ammunition were expended. 28-31 January 1967: 2nd Bde arrives at Vung Tau, Close Bearcat. One thing that we found out over there, and what we didnt realize until years later, was what a friend was, he said. 209 18 A unit of the 1st Brigade, 9th Infantry, attached to the 1st Infantry Division, A Troop had 129 men, six M48 tanks, twenty M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs), and three 4.2-inch mortar carriers. It was the first time at the reunion for both. Initially the artillery covered the northwest, west, and southwest sides of the perimeter while aircraft attacked on a north-south axis east of Route 13. other military operations being undertaken successfully by South Squad leader and event organizer Dave Persson talked of the significance of the date, calling it the very worst battle any of us saw in Vietnam., We lost one person from our platoon that day, Persson recalled. at the White House to General Godfrey T. McHugh with the President at go of it. Haszard noted the growing size of the communist offensive and decided to move with his command element to A Troop's position. mistakes at Ap Bac based upon faulty intelligence and inexperience, but Learning that elements of the 3/47th were in contact, and anticipating that his battalion would become involved, the commanding officer of the 3/60th ordered company B to move toward the area of contact, followed by Company A. The first true battle of the Vietnam War was Ap Bac. Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. Now the brigade commander faced a serious problem. Military Assistance Command in Vietnam, was forwarded to President indicated that the Viet Cong attributed their success at Ap Bac to S. Vietnam war and noted that the battle will provide enemy with Battle of p Bc Trn p Bc; Part of the Vietnam War: A map of the battlefield. Even so, it was of little help to the Viet Cong, most of whom had died. The Powell Tribune has expanded its online content. 7-8 September 1967: Operations in NHON TRACH against elements of 54th Viet Cong rear service group. concluded that the operation was a failure. Unit awards, medals and ribbons, and information on applying for and obtaining your medals and ribbons. The Americans reported their battle losses at 3 killed and 63 wounded. In front of the platoon was the small pasture where the lead squad of Company A, 3/47th, had been destroyed earlier. In front of it stretched some 1,500 meters of open rice fields that were cut at 500-meter intervals by two irrigation ditches, the last of which was some 500 to 600 meters from the enemys position. morale-building victory. Cn Giuc District in Long An Province was a VC stronghold in the Mekong Delta. Many of their large haystacks concealed bunkers. In half an hour they had advanced to within 100 meters of the main enemy line, but were held up by intense fire from small arms and mortars. zoneId = '3'; Because of a shortage of transportation, the 3/47th was delayed, and did not move until later. In the zone of the 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry, the attached mechanized company (Company C, 5th Battalion, 60th Infantry) was given the deeper objectives because its mobility and speed would allow it to quickly search out those objectives. This attack broke the back of the enemys defense. In addition, farmhouses were scattered throughout the rice paddy terrain. He gave Alcala permission to recall his 2nd Platoon from the ambush site to the perimeter. A full archive of past and present "River Currents" newsletters from your friends at MRFA. Following this operation the aircraft would pass to the 3/47th for a similar operation. he added along with the bad news of damage to helicopters and three (Telegram CAP General Harkins noted that the South This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. Memorials and museums dedicated to the Mobile Riverine Force. The Viet Cong machine gun fired five separate bursts before it was destroyed by the Americans. captain on the battlefield, a reluctance to incur casualties, an Initially, they swarmed over the American armored vehicles, but were dispersed by the vehicles shooting on one another, although some of the vehicles were destroyed. [5], The perimeter now contained the artillery battery, all of A Troop, and the two relief platoons, which provided a large quantity of armor. 18 June 1967: Relocate to SOIRAP/VAMCO, Commence Operation CONCORDIA. This last wave of firepower ended the offensive. The gunship immediately attacked this group, killing an estimated 40. [1] The mortars fired from afar while a large number of infantrymen dressed in black charged from the foliage. if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer)); direct orders to advance during Wednesdays battle at Ap Bac and that an His Company B still occupied the blocking position to the north, and was relatively fresh. At least they got most of it. Harkins assessment closely paralleled that of Admiral press reaction across the country to the battle of Ap Bac noted that 15 May 1967: 1st CAM SON riverine operation, using TF-117 boats. This was prompted in part by the need to get as close to the enemy as possible before assaulting, plus the necessity of crossing the tracked vehicles over the two tracked vehicles, would continue to advance by using fire and maneuver within the platoons to destroy individual enemy positions as they were discovered. Marion. and helicopters. [5], At the same time, the 2nd Platoon returned along Route 13 from its ambush site, the men firing intermittently as they came. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. States helicopters carrying Vietnamese troops into battle. The Battle of p Bc was a major battle fought on 2 January 1963 during the Vietnam War, in nh Tng Province (now part of Tin Giang Province), South Vietnam. [5] Several Viet Cong who attempted to remove the .50-caliber machine gun from one of the burning tracks of Festa's unit were killed, as were others trying to storm the foxholes containing the wounded. Shortly after it moved into position, a six-man Viet Cong force was engaged. Encapsulating the great terrors, mistakes, ironies, and courageous acts of the Vietnam War, The Battle of Ap Bac recounts the clash in which the Viet Cong first won their spurs. [5], Meanwhile, Haszard travelled in an APC followed by another M-113 bearing his command group as they tried to move into the perimeter. Several personnel carriers were hit and several troops killed and wounded. Report. Company C, 3/47th Infantry would act as reserve. 16 February thru mid May 1967: 2nd brigade maintains forces operating in RSSZ in conjunction with TF-117, normally keeping one battalion committed. A relatively small engagement that had major media, political, and policy implications, the Battle of Ap Bac took place between Viet Cong (VC) and Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) forces on January 2, 1963. [3], Fire Support Base 20 was located in relatively flat terrain 1.5km north of the village of Ap Bau Bang and immediately west of Route 13. [5], Captain Alcala advised his superiors at 00:50 that he felt able to repel the attack, but he asked for a ready reaction force to be put in place. Ammunition was rapidly dwindling, for the effort to maintain fire superiority caused huge expenditures. September 1966: 2nd Bde designated Army Component of (MDAF- Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Base). Neil 3-10 June 1967: MRF shakedown. 17 September 1967: 3rd-47th Op TF Funston 4th-47th Inf comes afloat. if (document.mmm_fo) document.write ("&mmm_fo=1"); [5], The communists troops on the southwest portion of the base perimeter were mobbing some of the APCs. It was the day after Fathers Day, June 19, 1967. L. Harkins, General Paul Quickly dividing his platoon, the platoon leader directed his men to start crawling along the sides of the two dikes under cover of the supporting fire of Company A, 3/47th, from the southern side of the stream. VC casualties were limited to 18 soldiers killed and 39 wounded, even though their positions had been hit by more than 600 rounds of artillery, napalm, and other ordnance released by 13 warplanes and five UH-1 gunships. Ap Bac had far-reaching consequences for the South Vietnamese government and the American involvement in Vietnam. Two men had died, another 15 had been wounded, but none of these men died and only six were classed as seriously wounded. Learn about the battle, including the cause, the tactics and its impact on the Vietnam War in this lesson. Ap Bau Bang II was the heaviest clash of Operation Junction City. At 11:50 on March 19, 1967, A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Captain Raoul H. Alcala deployed within the perimeter of Fire Support Base 20. 10 January 1967: 2nd Bde departed Oakland, CA. This time, darkness would provide no convenient cover for their escape. Whereas a company might be made up of 80-250 soldiers, an Army battalion can consist of between 300 to 1,200 soldiers. newsmen spread the word to American public that GVN forces wont fight and, on the other hand, do not if( width > 480 ){ Get the recipe! Were all so close; these are brothers. Then a helicopter came in to pick up the wounded; the second helicopter came in and was shot down.. Memorials and museums dedicated to the Mobile Riverine Force. preparation, motivation, and [Page 2] The ambush was to be in position by 18:00. Operation Concordia was an operation conducted by the U.S. The Battle at Ap Bac Changed Americas View of the Vietnam War by dnewbold 7/25/2006 On January 3,1963, several American war correspondents approached General Paul D. Harkins to ask what he thought about the battle the 7th Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Division had just fought at a village named Bac. We have buried your dead and taken care of your wounded from this battle.[7]. A hundred Viet Cong died in the area. A reinforced company, and possibly more, had been lost for the time being to the Viet Cong 514th Battalion. Viet Cong prisoners confessed that they were from the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 273rd Regiment of the 9th Viet Cong Division. of the 7th Battalion, 9th Artillery, commanded by Captain Duane W. Who was the American commander at Ap Bac? on the battle prepared on January 4 by General Paul D. Harkins, Commander of the U.S. There was some delay caused by problems of coordination between the two battalions, so not until after 1700 did the battalion reach and deploy on the eastern side of the final irrigation ditch. 11-12 June 1967: Relocate to NHA Be. The terrain in the area consisted of rice paddies surrounded on four sides by narrow earthen dikes. With the help of artillery and air strikes, as well as flares and aerial searchlights to spot their enemies, the Americans repelled the communists with ease. Men spoke in high-pitched, excited voices as though still trying to make themselves heard over the roar of gunfire. 27 July 1967: Relocate to Dong Tam. [1]:104 The operation plan called for the deployment of five Companies of the 3rd and 4th Battalions, 47th Infantry Regiment into the operations area by assault craft and sweep south towards the ARVN 2nd Battalion, 46th Infantry blocking positions near the town of Ap Bac in Tien Giang Province. Later a switch was made and the aircraft attack runs were made from east to west on the south and southwest sides of the perimeter. WebThe battle of Ap Bac, Vietnam, 2007. found : Wikipedia, viewed Apr. Concurrently, the other companies of the battalion where dispersed to the east and north of the stream, with the mission of blocking any escaping enemy. 0000007973 00000 n Nicknamed the Tornados in honor of platoon Sergeant Johnny Tornado Jones the men knew every minute counted. Links to friends, affiliates and other sites you should visit! Learn about the association, Board Members, Officers, and download a membership application form! By 1600, everything was ready for the coordinated attack. [4] Throughout the mortar and antitank bombardment, Alcala maintained radio contact with his squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sidney S. Haszard, who was located to the south. [2]:39 Due to its location east of a town called Ap Bac, the 19 June ambush is sometimes referred to as Second Ap Bac after the disastrous Battle of Ap Bac on 2 January 1963, however that battle took place approximately 40km further west. [2] It was the first major U.S. battle of the Vietnam War using armored vehicles. D. Kennedy, John
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