battle of ap bac 1967

0000001845 00000 n Then when the fire lifted to the rear of the enemy, to block his escape positions, the infantry would assault before the enemy could recover. 0000001392 00000 n Harry D. Felt, Commander in There was a huge explosion, an artillery round probably, and I woke up back here in the states about three weeks later.. He adopted a conventional formation of two battalions advancing abreast, the 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry, on the west, the 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry on the east, with Highway 4 as a line of departure. The command track, and its communications equipment, was safely pulled into the perimeter without losses to the communists. Neil WebIn June the MRF formally formed. 0000004946 00000 n Unit awards, medals and ribbons, and information on applying for and obtaining your medals and ribbons. 28 July-2 August 1967: Coronado II. characterized them largely as errors of courage rather than cowardice. Ive never had a bond like I have with these people.. assessment of the battle by Neil May 1966: 2nd Bde receives fill of troops at the White House to General Godfrey T. McHugh with the President at The letter was translated into Vietnamese, and leaflets were dropped into the communist area. Information obtained from a captured Viet Cong assessment of the battle 0 Close to the perimeter, Haszard's APC was disabled by a communist hit. These vehicles quickly joined and began to add the fire power of their .50 calibers to the combat, which at the moment was very much in the balance. The troop formed into a circular (wagon train) perimeter defense. var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999); In rapid succession they destroyed an automatic rifle position and light machine gun post, and then penetrated the enemys main line to destroy a mortar which had been causing some trouble for the rest of Company A. 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. Alpha Company didnt; they walked right into an ambush that was prepared for the entire battalion, not just one company, Heller explained. One enemy soldier was beaten to death by a soldier who used his steel helmet, and another was stabbed to death, thus indicating the ferocity of the assault. [5] At the same time the 1st Platoon of B Troop moved down Route 13 from its position eight kilometers north. Nicknamed the Tornados in honor of platoon Sergeant Johnny Tornado Jones the men knew every minute counted. The rest of the troops would move to their jump-off positions by vehicles with the 3/60th departing first because it had the longest distance to travel. 1. The perimeter was manned on the west by the 1st Platoon, commanded by First Lieutenant Roger A. Festa and to the east by the 3rd Platoon under Second Lieutenant Hiram M. Wolfe, IV.[3]. of the 7th Battalion, 9th Artillery, commanded by Captain Duane W. 0000001668 00000 n It was also planned to place a battery of 105-mm. Thank you for stopping by. 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. of the Secretaries of State, Travels of At the direction of Alcala, the platoon swept 1.5km south of the defenders along the rubber tree line. Explore artwork by members, and read historical articles and books. Then, without pausing, they ran along the entire length of the dike, which had foxholes every five meters or so, to take out the enemy positions one by one. 7, The Washington Post printed a front-page By now, time had become the vital consideration, for darkness was approaching rapidly. Even so, it was of little help to the Viet Cong, most of whom had died. Most were shot down as the troops of Company A, seizing the break they had been waiting for, quickly overran the position. Trong tng s 15 trc thng ym tr trong trn p Bc, c n 5 chic b bn ri. As the men worked their way toward the enemy, they were forced to crawl over the dead of the other unit. Moving aggressively, the company closed on the enemy, killed several and forced the others to flee to the north. Sheehan in which he wrote that angry United States fighting and five helicopters were shot down. 0000002715 00000 n As the second group, under the platoon sergeant, began moving down the dike, the lead man, a squad leader, was killed by fire form a foxhole along the dike. Links to friends, affiliates and other sites you should visit! command which never placed a Vietnamese officer above the rank of December 1966: 2nd Coronado Conference Operation launched in response to major Viet Cong build up in western Dinh Tuong. Saigon, January 7; Department of State, Central Files, 951K.6211/1-763) All was in readiness when, suddenly, the last strafing aircraft wobbled and sprayed the line of tracked vehicles with its 20-mm. Early on 2 May, elements of the Wild Ones composed of Company B and Company C, 3/60th, plus the Although the enemy would have suffered heavy casualties, his defeat would not have been nearly as final as the one which occurred. One thing that we found out over there, and what we didnt realize until years later, was what a friend was, he said. American Army captain was killed while out front pleading with them to 20-22 August 1967: MRF Conducts Recon in force into Parrots Beak area of LONG AN Province (along VAM CO DONG River above BEN LUC-also known ORIENTAL RIVER). Continuing its advance, the company began to meet more and more fire as it crossed the open rice fields opposite a built-up area of thatched huts along a deep stream that ran across their front. e. GVN Committed a 2nd Battalion Brigade of VN Marines in US Zone. [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. Cc c vn M v phi cng M cht 3 ngi v b thng 8 ngi. c. MRB most distance to date. [6], During the battle, resupply and medical evacuation missions continued under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Paul F. Gorman of the 1st Infantry Division. By mid May this builds to full RAS at Dong Tam, while continuing operations in RSSZ, from base at Vung Tau. 3rd and 4th Battalions, 47th Infantry Regiment, United States Army Center of Military History, "U.S. Get the recipe! Company C, 3/47th Infantry would act as reserve. If you already have a web account, but need to reset it, you can do so by clicking here. 9, 2007(Battle of Ap Bac was a small-scale action early in the Vietnam War took place on Jan. 2, 1963, near the hamlet ("ap" in Vietnamese) of Ap Bac, 65 kilometers southwest of Saigon in the Mekong Delta) Change Notes 2007-04-26: new 2007-04-27: revised Alternate Formats It was apparent that the climax was rapidly approaching. They developed a deep caring for each other and their mission.. } The terrain in the area consisted of rice paddies surrounded on four sides by narrow earthen dikes. In order to establish a blocking force that would prevent any enemy from withdrawing ahead of our advance, it was decided that Company A, 3/60th, would utilize the helicopters beginning at 0700 to make an airmobile assault and secure a blocking position astride the most likely route of enemy withdrawal. He fell and I said, Crawl back to me. He said, Charlie, Charlie, hold my hand. I held his hand, his body started quivering and then he died. of State, World War I and the if( width > 480 ){ For the Viet Cong, the Battle of Ap Bac marked the first time they decided to stand and fight a large South Vietnamese formation, although outnumbered by more than five to one. Howitzers to screen the battalions approach. 20 March 1967: 3rd Bn 47th Inf arrives at Dong Tam, 4th Bn 47th Inf operates RSSZ under OpCon Div 5th Bn (M) 60th Inf 3rd Brigade. The 261st Battalion was among the best Viet Cong units in the country, a fact attributable to its fine leadership. During the evening of 19 March, the Viet Cong Ninth Division attacked the base with machine guns, mortars, rockets and small arms fire. a. MACV MDMAF concept postulated a maximum radius of 50 KM from MRB. battle, and, unlike the Viet Cong, were supported by artillery, armor, 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. During this battle with elements of this Division and attached units your officers failed to accomplish their mission and left the battlefield covered with dead and wounded from their units. Kennedy on January 7 in For the Wild Ones of the 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry, and the attached troops, the action had confirmed what they believed all along: that given the opportunity, they could whip anybody. 2 June 1967: 2nd Brigade embarks aboard MRB, thus formally constituting MRF. [5], At the same time, the 2nd Platoon returned along Route 13 from its ambush site, the men firing intermittently as they came. Sheehan article published that day which indicated that the South - William Shakespeare, Henry V, Navy Cross recipients, Distinguished Service Cross recipients, and Medal of Honor recipients from the Navy Mobile Riverine Force and Army 9th Infantry Division. if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer)); Finally, the battle has proven the wisdom of the axiom; once you have an enemy force in a trap, destroy it without delay. Colonel Haszard then alerted the 1st Platoon of B Troop and the 3rd Platoon of C Troop to the north and south of Ap Bau Bang respectively to move to Fire Support Base 20. By 11:50 Company C 3/47th Infantry had swept the area but failed to locate any VC, however Company C, 4/47th Infantry encountered VC positions as they moved west. [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. Cn Giuc District in Long An Province was a VC stronghold in the Mekong Delta. Few people were seen, although there were many houses of mud and thatch in these densely vegetated areas. [5], The communists troops on the southwest portion of the base perimeter were mobbing some of the APCs. document.write ("