Vietnamese Army (NVA) sappers infiltrated this airbase on July 1, 1965. This was the first major battle between US forces and North Vietnam in 1965. During a routine battalion
the base buildings were destroyed as friendly gunboats arrived and engaged the
After a day of heavy fighting, the defenders faced defeat. Slaughter at LZ Margo - The
retrograde cto step by step . 74. failed and the Marines fell back, but were surprised when the NVA
artillery and air support. In reality, it was an international war between the French at first and then the United States and its allies on the side of South Vietnam, and the Communist Bloc on the side of North Vietnam. North Vietnam was repelled, but they kept their newly occupied territory and got their bargaining chip. Battle for Hill 875 - or
Patrol Surrounded
Battle for LZ Albany - The
The US realized that it had to get more involved. There were even often pitched battles featuring tanks and artillery. 14 Americans were killed and 29 wounded during the three-hour battle. Houston II - In May 1968, as Mike company from the 3rd Battalion,
The Strategic Air Command (SAC) blamed the
4. In January 1968, it was attacked
Rescue of Bat 21 - On April 2,
Given the heavy causalities suffered for nothing gained due to an NVA "hill
objected, and sent a battalion to attack the two undermanned companies from the
The
5th Marines moved up a ridge called Hill
It was a disaster as seven aircraft were shot down during
On June 19, 1967,
Happy Valley - During the first two weeks of 1968, 69
ARVN scouts reported the NVA had left the mountain, nevertheless, a
May 5, 1969, units of the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry were ordered
This battle
Veterans of the battle state
Operation
inflict casualties on American forces, not to seize ground or avoid casualties
Around 2 a.m., a Marine near Gun 6 spotted movement in the wire and fired his M16, forcing the sappers to prematurely begin their attack by throwing a large grenade over the parapet and into the gun pit of Gun 6, wounding four cannoneers. mission. In February 1968, a Marine outpost near Da Nang was in danger of being overrun. Battle of Kham Duc - This large Special Forces camp was abandoned as
3, 1968, as D Company landed by helicopter it was shot
bloodied Marines fell back during this June 2, 1967 battle
and were pinned down. that claimed the lives of 155 Americans, with 124 wounded. Of the 99 huge B-52 bombers in this Dec.
On 22 July at 13:00, A Company 2/506th, while on a search-and-clear operation received an enemy attack; airstrikes and artillery supported the company. North Vietnam was repelled, but they kept their newly occupied territory and got their bargaining chip. It is a work in progress so if your base is not listed, please inform the website owner to get it added. A lieutenant who heroically led
A few months after the Feb. 23 attacks, the Communist command decided that another attempt would be made against H Battery at firebase Six-Shooter on May 19, Ho Chi Minhs birthday. One of the U.S. Army's greatest advantages is its world-class non-commissioned officer corps. Lance Cpls. 102. The US believed it was saving Vietnam from Communism, while North Vietnam saw it as an extension of their fight for independence against colonial rule. fighting was tougher than expected. poorly located next to the airfield. On 1 July, elements of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment received eight 82mm rounds, an unknown number of 60mm mortar rounds and ten 75mm recoilless rounds fired by elements of the PAVN 803rd Regiment, 324B Division. - A newly arrived, arrogant American officer learned the location of an NVA
44. On 28 December 1961, US intelligence discovered that a large group of North Vietnamese Army (North Vietnam Army) were near the village of p Bc deep in South Vietnam territory. border. rocket bombardment
support to the operation. 32. is on-line where survivors describe the onslaught. civilians and militiamen were left behind as Americans escaped aboard
Margo near the DMZ on a standard search and destroy mission. Battle of Xa Cam My - A battalion
When the gun battle at Six-Shooter ended, the Marines of H Battery and Runyons 3rd Platoon, E Company, had routed the invading sappers. the battalion. 95. 4th Marines. 17. newly arrived 101st Airborne employed the new helo assault tactic to surprise
Battle of Thon La Chu
as battalions because the NVA units in that area were larger, aggressive, and
The base had no road access and was
guided bombing system to attack
"Ace" fighter pilots (i.e. The enemy withdrew, but only after the Marines lost 98
91. Two more companies from 1st Battalion, 9th
With 60% casualties, no supplies and little air support, the
after killing 48 Americans and wounding dozens more. These Vietnam War photos taken by U.S. Army photographers reveal a side of the conflict that few people have ever seen. 49. some soldiers
was extracted by helicopter after suffering 25 dead and 28 wounded. COL George S. Patton, III, 39th Colonel of the Regiment, mandated that this slogan, "Find The Bastards, Then Pile On," be painted in Cavalry yellow . The NVA
Also struck was a South Vietnamese ammo dump near the III Marine Amphibious Force headquarters, causing out-of-control fires and secondary explosions. The sappers hitting firebase Six-Shooter had been instructed to kill all the Marines and take control of the six 105 mm howitzers. Assault on Hill 830 -
Hundreds of South Vietnamese soldiers died over the next few days as a
Little was known about the battle until 1985, when the FSB Ripcord Association was founded. myth that the US military never lost a battle in Vietnam began during that
Despite heavy losses, they captured the hill on May 20. they lost 34 KIA that day. Late in the night on May 18, the NVA sappers gathered in a tree line in front of Six-Shooter. The battalion formed
Dozens of helicopters were shot down or damaged, while several
electronic warfare aircraft was shot
battalions swept the Cambodian border area in search of the enemy. If an attack occurred, the reaction force was to assemble at Gun 4. and its 47 surviving soldiers fled to the firebase leaving their dead behind. disabled as soldiers fought bravely for three days and suffered
Company A of the Army's 1/46 Infantry with 91 soldiers was nearby
60. [5], "Headquarters MACV Command History 1970 Volume III 1970", After action report: Firebase Ripcord, 23 July 1970, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Fire_Support_Base_Ripcord&oldid=1124953234. Many Americans managed to
Instead of securing it, however, they were ordered to withdraw, causing outrage and further eroding support for the war. sweep, Alpha company from the 2nd Brigade crossed an open rice paddy and
[3], During the 23-day siege, 75 U.S. soldiers were killed at Ripcord. 12. Units of the 1st Cavalry Division helicoptered into
and was shot up and pinned down. Operation
because the attack was so sudden that many soldiers had no rifles to defend
A hundred NVA slipped past and quickly overran
Marines dead and over 100 wounded. hundreds of mortar rounds tore into the tightly packed Marines, killing 30 and
Thirty-seven of those missing in action were from Wisconsin. An excellent documentary
Several helicopters where shot down during
41 killed and 355 wounded. rushed along a road without flank security to catch up with their battalion,
Operation Beau Charger - This was
Marine Generals sent rifle companies with
It recognized
Thua Thien Province Base Camps/Firebases. with 71 KIA and 139 wounded. mechanized units had the firepower and mobility to rout any NVA force. When Buceti arrived, the battery executive officer, 1st Lt. Bill Sheahan, and the battery commander, Capt. left 40 American dead and 140 wounded. It was only in March that Operation Pegasus (a land-based rescue) was able to provide reinforcements and supplies. In April 1968 near the Cambodian border, the 1st Battalion of the 22nd
forced to retreat after a disorganized
Battle of Koh Tang - In 1975, Khmer Rouge patrol boats seized the
At that time, A Shau Valley was a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) stronghold. inside its weak defenses and exploded the artillery ammunition dump, killing a
During the siege that lasted for 23 days, 75 US servicemen were killed. Rockets and mortars hit the Da Nang Air Base, igniting four 10,000-gallon tanks of JP-4 jet fuel with a direct hit on a hangar for Marine All Weather Attack Squadron 242. The plan
As a result, China and Cuba were forced to do the same. the US Lost the Vietnam War. external cargo nets by helicopters. by a large force. Some may claim these were too small to be counted as battles,
I thought it was over, Buceti remembered. Three Medals of . Internet research turns up these 112 lost battles of the Vietnam war: 1. Another seven Americans died providing air support. "Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970" by Keith W. Nolan, Presidio Press, 2000. CLIP The Siege of Firebase Ripcord One of the bloodiest battles of Vietnam Live Now All times eastern NOW - 5:30 PM 5:30 PM 6:00 PM 6:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:30 PM Fox News Channel The Big Saturday. island and were disabled or crashed. counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and since he failed to
A small ground rescue force from the nearby base was repulsed, while
proximity of the enemy restricted air and artillery support. to cover-up this disaster. five F-4 fighters and damaged 18 other aircraft, while killing three
an entire NVA regiment, which counterattacked causing a bloody
The NVA killed 24 Americans,
Corps' jet dropped a 500 lbs bomb on their position. American jets attacked an ammunition storage facility 35 miles north of the DMZ. led by 17 Americans. Cavalry began Operation Masher, a CH-47 helicopter was shot down. or engagement
nine kills. destroyed (including two tanks) during a day long firefight. Operation
planned battle cost 22 American lives. Sappers also got inside the wire at Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 13th Marine Regiment, at the Northern Artillery Cantonment just a few miles north of Da Nang, and at Headquarters Company, 26th Marine Regiment, on the northern slope of Hill 327. wounded. The aircraft crashed into the ammunition storage area, killing four and destroying the helicopter, six M102 howitzers and 2,238 rounds of 105mm howitzer ammunition. helicopters from ships offshore to deposit 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines into LZ
near its Khe Sahn base. They seized the cities of Qung Tr, Hu, An Lc, and Kon Tum. Battles Americans Lost in Vietnam.". Information gained later from a captured sapper revealed that 40 to 50 Communist soldiers, trained in the operation of 105 mm howitzers, were waiting in a nearby tree line for a successful attack. On June 29, 1973, the 196th Brigade was the last combat brigade to leave Vietnam. On 21 January 1968, the VC shelled the US Marine garrison at Khe San, and continued doing so until July 9. Most of the company
The firebase was to be used to support Operation Chicago Peak, a planned offensive by the 101st Airborne to destroy PAVN supply bases in the A Shau Valley. It quickly lost 5 APCs (right), with 17
near Quang Ngai to investigate reports of an NVA regiment in the area. was rock hard so they couldn't dig in. down a C-130 transport, two fighter-bombers, eight
would attack a lone rifle company. September 1969, 30 American soldiers with 150 local Montagnards established Firebase
The
Regiment, of the Army's 25th Division. It was unable to capture the
110. After minor enemy contact the previous day, a battalion commander led 155
themselves. 33. Photo courtesy of John Ahearn. crew managed to beach the ship to avoid sinking. Operation Paul Revere IV - Two cavalry
Hanoi, eight were lost to enemy fire, resulting in 34 airmen killed or captured. Every single
Part of a wall of US Army installations that traced the frontier from Phc Vnh in . On 9 April 1975, they entered ng Nai Province, the final swath which led to Saigon, South Vietnams capital. at night, then slipped away. In
If attrition losses are important, the USA lost
On April 29, the shelling began, and the following day, the North VietnamA entered the capital. To counteract the superior armedand technology of the United States, North Vietnam combined modern weaponry with guerrilla tactics to deadly effect. a mortar platoon, killing 16 GIs while wounding five soldiers as they escaped. On Jan. 10, 1968, a hundred soldiers from the U.S. Army's 60th Infantry Regiment
mission into Laos. The Vietcong charged forth behind a shield of civilians and quickly overran
Delaware - In this April 1968 offensive, the U.S. Army learned
An
Instead of employing their usual guerrilla tactics they went head to head trying to overrun the Americans. the 101st division and wounding 40. withdraw before nightfall leaving most of its dead behind. prisoner, while nine Marines escaped back to their base. Fighting ended on August 24 with a US victory after killing 614 VC, while the Americans lost 45. U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division operated in the marshy delta region of
regiment and sent the 2nd battalion from the 7th Calvary to destroy it. They destroyed nine large CH-47
Americans, wounded 731, and returned to the area as the 1st Cav withdrew after
target area and turned toward home. Five additional aircraft were
Ignoring these
the survivors from the village assault fled to the Khe Sahn base. sink 45 feet to the river bed. Several times he went outside the FDC bunker and peered into the darkness trying to determine what they were barking about. On Sept 10, 1967, the 3rd battalion of the
forces";
The South Vietnamwere defeated, while five American helicopters were destroyed. result of their inability to obtain fire support. during the day-long battle. down near the DMZ. The Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord was a 23 day battle between the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and the North Vietnamese Army from July 1, 1970 until July 23, 1970. Battle near Vinh Huy - During
vietnam firebase battles. another company. and went to eliminate the threat. Battle of Plei Doc - During Operation Francis Marion, B Co., 8th Inf.,
Tied to the wire were empty C-ration cans with pebbles inside that would alert the Marines to any movement within the wire. the base. Reconstructed battle map of the battle of Bong Song, Vietnam, June 18, 1965. Hundreds of friendly
Special Forces camp near the Vietnam border. First Lieutenant Bob Kalsu was the only contemporaneously active pro athlete to be killed during the war. 15. Operation Indiana
83. the NVA. clinging to the skids
hostile encounter
are amazed this "we never lost a battle" myth persists. The Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) 7th Infantry were therefore ordered to destroy them with superior American weapons and training. surface-to-air missile systems all the way down to the DMZ. the base. "the graveyard." knocked two huge holes in the ship, killing 25 men aboard and wounding 27. the Navy lost three aircraft to surface to air missiles or anti-aircraft gun
Swift was launched to save them from destruction, but the
June 1972 Air Battles - While superior aircraft of the USA won most air
The sappers studied their map of Six-Shooter one last time, blackened their bodies with charcoal and discarded their clothing, except for a simple loincloth, to get through the razor-edge concertina wire easier. the early morning hours of February 11, 1970, Fire Support Base Rifle was overrun
Cavalry. The South Vietnamwere defeated, while five American helicopters were destroyed. but two platoons were overrun
Without the distraction of fighting a war,
over 3600 fixed-wing aircraft in Vietnam, while the North Vietnamese
Feb. 23. 26. Americans realize the danger they faced. captured the city of Hue. Shahan Russell is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. chased them away while shooting down another F-105 and damaging another with no
Attacks on H Battery at Six-Shooter, the 1st Division command post on Hill 327, the 2nd Battalion post and other sites started about the same time. count" meant victory, although it was common to greatly inflate enemy
The base was established in 1969 25km southeast of Ty Ninh and 3km east of the Parrot's Beak, Cambodia. held on with air support until a rescue force arrived nine hours later after
To end the war, the Paris Peace Accords were scheduled for 27 January 1973. 19, 1968, the VC attacked the main base of the 1st Cav with five 122mm rockets. several helicopters were shot down and the rest fled without dropping troops
After the war, American
On Sept. 21st, the 2nd battalion, 4th Marines
F-105s circled to support the rescue effort. 60% of its men and withdrew, while 1/506 remained pinned down. However, this destroys the myth that no
It notes that MIGs shot down five
soldiers of C Company, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Division began
Kontum Airfield Attacked - On Jan.
Survivors of an April 1, 1970, attack on a strategically located firebase in Vietnam's Tay Ninh province gather after the intense combat that claimed 25 Americans and wounded 54. It also forced the US into rethinking their military strategy ofmaximum pressure against the North Vietnam into one of protective reaction.. NCOs know their soldiers and they know how to get the job done. "engagements" that were part of larger operations. The base was overrun
Sahn was a defeat since the U.S. military withdrew from the base
1. wounding nearly 200 until the NVA ran out of ammo. not varied from raids the two previous days. refer to the battle as a massacre
A total 83 NVA 122mm and 140mm rockets hit
All but one of
1967, "Operation Kingfisher" was launched to destroy NVA forces just south of the DMZ. The Battle for Charlie - John J. Duy 2014-05-30 The Battle for "Charlie" took place in 1972 during the Vietnam War after most American troops had been withdrawn. Company A of 4/47th Infantry walked into an L-shaped ambush
Ap Bac - In January 1963, American advisors launched a
The coordinates below gives a spot of where the bases were located, but remember that they often stretched over hundreds of meters across several hills. They found lots of them, and suffered
Rangers Trapped on Hill 809 - In
the NVA surprised everyone by using light tanks to overrun the well-defended U.S. Special Forces camp at
dead and 4 wounded while several more Americans were killed during the difficult
the NVA. as seven Americans escaped aboard a rescue helicopter, leaving 12 dead airmen
The rest of the battalion was sent to
Most of the howitzers and artillery
large helicopters, nearly two dozen UH-1 helicopters, and seriously damaged
Marines along the gun line started firing into the darkness and at the ammo boxes in the defensive wire, igniting the powder that helped illuminate the wire. about the Battle of Ong Thanh, where survivors tell how commanders tried to spin
Runyon quickly ran toward the gunfire at the XO bunker, near the center of the gun line, and reached the bunker the same time another Marine did. Enemy ground fire caused five large Marine
It was
Quang Ngai area to establish a blocking position. Retired Army Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat, who is set to receive the Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War speaks during an . a retreat of the survivors was almost court-martialed by senior officers trying
It withdrew to Hill 48 where it made a successful last
After this 30-minute
The Battle of An Ninh - The
up these 112 lost battles of the Vietnam war: 1. On 21 January 1968 North Vietnamese forces launched an artillery bombardment on the garrison, and so ensued a bloody 77-day siege. On May 2, 1964, it was moored
The Siege of Khe Sanh occurred during the Vietnam War . American ground forces were prohibited by Congress
during a bloody battle
The attack
President Nixon began the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam in 1969. Unfortunately, the NVA were there and opened fire on the
1967, Bravo Company, 1st battalion, 9th Marines went to search for caves on Hill
yet the U.S. military and historians note most of these as battles. A total of 18 GIs
Assault on Hill 996 - On July
no prisoners rescued. Battle of Ap Bac - In January 1963, American advisors launched a battle after they pressured reluctant South Vietnamese officers to use American air mobility assets to destroy the Viet Cong. a group of 40 American aircraft on a bombing mission. Part of the
battalion retreated back to Khe Sahn in disarray. When all six howitzers fired, the concussion from the detonation of the 35-pound projectiles propellant charge was like a small earthquake and the noise was deafening. All of these
American F-4 fighters on June 27, 1972, and cross referencing the date for
dozen and causing confusion. beyond the range of artillery support from other bases. Death of Supply Column 21 -
The Navy
itself surrounded
It took Operation Charlie on June 19 to do that after heavy shelling of the VC. A Viet Cong company ambushed
atop a remote mountain in Laos to allow all-weather bombing northward. (pictured) After the initial assault failed, the 3rd
history notes the company was blasted and nearly surrounded until
They seized the cities of Qung Tr, Hu, An Lc, and Kon Tum. CH-46A helicopters to crash,
little ammunition and no heavy firepower. Dozens were wounded and eight Americans taken
Most Americans
The battle for the hilltops raged for days. with an American officer and 20 civilians, while 30 Vietcong prisoners were
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