Milantoni replied, "General Lm just gave it. 17 apr 1966: arab 511, an a-1h (buno 135398), lt (jg) william l. tromp, va-115, went down following a night attack on coastal targets, near approximately 1818 . Behind the Marine and Korean lines, the ARVN 51st Regiment deployed in support of the South Vietnamese Revolutionary Development program. "[1]:159, The heaviest action occurred in the 3/5 Marines and 4th Battalion, 51st ARVN sectors along Highway 1. [1]:159, While the Marines successfully thwarted this attempt, between 01:00 and 05:00 on the morning of the 6th, PAVN/VC gunners mortared or rocketed all of the command posts, fire bases and company combat bases in the 7th Marines sector. Allied intelligence officers identified members from the V-25th, R-20th, C-130th Battalions and the Q-15th and Q-16th Local Force Companies. Finally the PAVN broke contact at 20:00 and disappeared. They also mortared and rocketed MAG-13 at Chu Lai on 31 January 1968. Other units included the 402nd Sapper Battalion, the VC V-25th Battalion and other VC local forces. The first U.S. air strikes also occur against the Ho Chi Minh trail. The helicopter burned upon crashing, but the crew and most of the patrol were able to get out. To the south, in the Korean sector, the ROKMC with the assistance of the ARVN again drove PAVN/VC forces out of the Hi An environs. Two members of a VC engineering company, also in the Da Nang area, later recounted that nearly 80 percent of their unit was from North Vietnam. With the PAVN too close to call in artillery or fixed-wing air, the Marines radioed for reinforcements. During the next few days, Task Force Miracle conducted sweeps in its sector and encountered relatively little resistance . About 03:30, two more Marine tanks from the district town of Hieu Duc arrived at the northern fringes of the hamlet. mms, from May of 69 to May of 70. The PAVN/VC attacked a Marine bunker and ran through the Communications Support Company area throwing grenades and Satchel charges in the living quarters. Firing 290 105mm shells, the tractor artillery reportedly killed about 80 of the PAVN attackers caught in the open. All attacks from 02/27/67 forward were by rockets. Remains of 45-1102; sandbag detail later. I was in Danang less than a month when the Vietcong used rockets to attack the Danang Air Base for the first time in the war, on the morning of February 27. Under cover of darkness, elements of the VC R-20th and V-25th Battalions had crossed the Cu River and penetrated the Ha Vang village complex. [1]:1423, From other sources, the Marine command learned of other ominous measures taken by the PAVN/VC forces in the Da Nang sector. The rockets destroyed five aircraft, nine items of ground equipment, two vehicles, and one warehouse outright. During the Cuban missile crisis, the U.S. Marine Corps deployed a Hawk air defense missile battery from the 3d Light Antiaircraft Missile (LAAM) Battalion to Guantnamo Bay, Cuba, to protect the U.S. naval base from a surprise low-level air attack by Soviet and Cuban aircraft. The PAVN fought a delaying action as they began to withdraw. [1]:1445, At 03:30 PAVN/VC forces launched an assault against General Hong Xun Lm's I Corps headquarters. The Marines lost one helicopter and sustained damage to 29 others. CAP Q-4 there continued to hold out. At the briefing, the division G-2 or intelligence officer, told the assembled officers that "they are finally going to come out and fight. In the northeast, near the Force Logistic Command sector, villagers from Nam (160654N 1080744E / 16.115N 108.129E / 16.115; 108.129) just south of the strategic Nam Bridge, told PF troops, members of the CAP Q-4 platoon, that the VC planned to attack the CAP compound. Military Photo: Rocket Attack On The Eve Of The Tet Offensive. In a sweep of the area, the defenders found ammunition clips and bloodstains. SAIGON (UPI) - Communist troops blasted the city of Da Nang and nearby military installations with nearly 200 rockets or mortar rounds early today in their heaviest attack on the Northern coastal area in a year, spokesmen said. The 391 rockets that hit the base itself the figure was 69 in 1971killed four United States. A high number of casualties were Vietnamese civilians living in a village just east of DaNang Air Base. While the Marine battalions successfully kept these initial assaults on the night of 5/6 February in check, Robertson was not sure how much longer they could. On 11 February, Cushman observed the 2nd Division "appeared to be withdrawing from contact southward" and ordered his subordinate commanders to continue to press the attack. The RF/PF suffered 1 PF killed and 10 wounded. 1969. "[1]:158, While the PAVN/VC forces continued to harass allied positions on the night of 31 January/1 February, the intensity of combat did not match that of the previous two nights. Two attached U .S. You get your timing off and you've got problems. Later intelligence and interrogation reports of prisoners of war would indicate that the unit that Rummage had intercepted was probably a battalion of the PAVN 2nd Division. In the 7th Marines sector, the Marines described the same type of activity as well as increased enemy infiltration. 366th AMS, Mystery SP, Bob Hope. Another PAVN soldier, who infiltrated from North Vietnam after receiving a year's training as a radioman in Hanoi, was thrust into one of the attacking battalions south of Da Nang so hastily that he never learned the name of his unit let alone those of his officers. . Twenty rockets fell on Hill 10, manned by Battery G , 3/11 Marines which resulted in 23 casualties, including two dead. PAVN battalions from the 2nd Division had eluded the Korean and ARVN defenses in the southern sector and had penetrated the defensive perimeter of the 2/3 Marines and 3/5 Marines just below the Air Base. Still PAVN/VC gunners just before 01:00 launched 12 122mm rockets aimed at the Da Nang base and blew up two ammunition dumps, one for napalm and the other for flares. In the meantime, the VC harassed with sniper fire both CAP Q-4 and the nearby Nam O bridge security detachment from 2/7 Marines. The RPGs missed the apertures in the tower and fell to the ground. Milantoni. The Air Force watch officer on duty protested, "that's too close, you'll never get a clearance for it." At 18:35, Recon team Ice Bound, positioned in the mountains about 8 miles (13km) northwest of Da Nang observed an enemy rocket unit prepare a firing position for their missiles. Beginning their attack about 03:00, two companies of the V-25th Battalion used the noise of firecrackers set off and general firing by Tt celebrants to cover their approach. According to the U.S. In fact, elements of both regiments had reached jump-off points just south of the Cau Do River. Additional intelligence tended to confirm the enemy was about to initiate something big. A conglomeration of internal security forces threw back the VC force from the east that tried to use similar tactics to get inside the compound from that direction. "[1]:163, Another possible explanation was that the Da Nang attack may have been a secondary assault, to cause as much damage as possible and divert Allied forces from the almost successful effort of the PAVN/VC forces to capture Hu. . "[1]:143, Throughout the Da Nang area of operations, the PAVN/VC began to move into attack positions. [1]:1612, In the ensuing battle of Lo Giang the Marine and Army forces successfully repulsed the PAVN 2nd Division attack. Rocket attack on the Da Nang Air Base that took place, Da Nang, Vietnam, January 30, 1968. Use big bombs." (AP) AP Later that night, the 1/7 Marines reported 15 secondary explosions from Marine counter-mortar artillery fire. The attack force would consist of two groups, one to move by land and the other by water to knock out the bridge separating the city from Tiensha Peninsula and to capture the I Corps headquarters. This would be followed by a rocket barrage and an assault by the main force units on Allied military units and installations. The fighting within the compound continued until daylight. [1]:1502, On the morning of the 31st, the Marines of Company I, now reinforced by the ARVN and the AmTrac Marines, surveyed the results of the fighting and continued to mop up the remnants of the VC force. According to Murray, "from then on until Tt was over, there were just constant attacks." As the Marine platoon patrolled along the banks of the Yn, a heavy machine gun suddenly opened up. On the ground a patrol from Company A, 1/7 Marines, operating below the battalion's command post on Hill 10, saw about 10 PAVN soldiers just south of the Ty Loan River preparing positions. The first half of my year in Vietnam (1967) I was stationed at the large U. S. base in Danang. Their weapons included AK-47s and B-40 RPGs. South Vietnamese and Korean casualties probably equalled or slightly exceeded the U.S. losses. The area was around 200 square miles, and the 140mm rockets had a range of over 6 miles. From the recovery of Lam's notebook and a detailed sketch map of Hill 10, the location of the 1/7 Marines' command post, the R-20 commander was obviously on an exploration mission to discover any vulnerability in the Marine battalion's defences. Milantoni relayed the request to the air support center. According to a VC after-action report early in the offensive, the writer complained that the "commander did not know [the) situation accurately and that orders were not strictly obeyed ." Company G repulsed a number of probes throughout the night until the PAVN broke contact at dawn. The following day, the same sources indicated that both the VC 1st and the PAVN 3rd Regiments had also withdrawn to the Go Noi. This apparently broke the back of the VC resistance. The attack started at 12:25 AM and an estimated 50 rounds of 122mm rockets were fired at the installation. The mortar attacks resulted in only five wounded and none killed among the Marine defenders. The 11th Marines fired an artillery mission with unknown results. 1969. Marine losses were 14 killed, Army losses were 18 killed, while PAVN/VC losses were in excess of 286. The . Entering the town from the southwest, the VC fired about 70 RPGs at the local forces, but never penetrated the defender's perimeter. Later that afternoon, the 1st Marine Division helilifted a "Bald Eagle" reaction force from Company E, 2/3 Marines east of the river in an attempt to encircle the PAVN. In the pursuit, which amounted to a rout, the VC lost nearly 100 dead. For the most part, the PAVN/VC limited their attacks on the Marines to mortar bombardments and harassing small arms fire. Bringing up two artillery platoons , the ARVN gunners lowered their pieces and fired pointblank at the VC. 15 January 1968 U-10D Courier 66-14334 unit unknown, USAF, base unknown A mortar attack on the airfield at Luang Prabang in Laos destroyed a U-10D Courier. by Edward H. Phillips 2/1/2017. 366th Security Police K-9. In the 3/7 Marines area of operations, about 2,000 meters west of Hill 55 on the other side of a bend in the Yen River, a squad from Company L at 11:45 ran into what eventually turned out to be a fairly large-sized PAVN unit. With covering fire provided by 81mm and 82mm mortars, about a reinforced company reached the I Corps headquarters compound actually located within the city of Da Nang just outside the northern perimeter of the Air Base. *** The first time that rockets were used in the Republic of Vietnam by the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army. Instead of calling artillery fire immediately, the reconnaissance Marines arranged with Battery K, 4/11 Marines and a detachment of the 3rd 155mm Gun Battery at An Ha for an "artillery ambush." Two days later, Marine intelligence officers learned that the PAVN 21st Regiment was in the Go Noi area. * The first attack was made by both mortars and sappers. Guards beat off the . About 50 minutes later, another recon team, Air Hose, about 2,000 meters to the northeast of Saddle Bag, saw more than 50 enemy troops moving eastward. Another platoon from the Marine company also reinforced the engaged troops about an hour later. Approximately 16 rounds impacted in the Marine Aircraft Group 16 sector and another four in the Army aviation company area. Stationed with 1882n Comm Gp., 1969-1970, worked in the Base Comm Center. [1]:146, Lieutenant Colonel Twyman R. Hill's 1st MP Battalion operated directly under III MAF and was responsible for the "close-in defense" of the Da Nang Air Base, the two bridges between Tiensha Peninsula, Marble Mountain Air Facility and the Naval Hospital on the Tiensha (Tin Sa) Peninsula. 366th AMS, Rocket attack BX, Gunfighter Pilots. VMO2, where I would spend the next thirteen months, was just south of DaNang. Darkness prevented any accurate bomb assessment. Reinforced by another squad, the Company G Marines killed three and captured two. The combined force then swept the general area where they found two PAVN bodies and took three prisoners. Two other squad patrols from Company C in the vicinity quickly joined the first squad. The bulk of the attack force remained in Ha Vang Village bogged down in a firefight with local Popular Force (PF) and Regional Force (RF) troops reinforced by a USMC Combined Action Platoon (CAP), E-3. Army forces in the Da Nang area including the troops from Task Force Miracle suffered 18 dead and 59 wounded. Considering the amount of ordnance that the enemy expended, casualties were relatively small. Bldg. The Victory will be with us. One of the companies captured a German missionary hospital in the city and the other hit the rear base of the ARVN 51st Regiment, the Chi Lng Camp, garrisoned by the ARVN 102nd Engineer Battalion. [1]:163 A reluctance to cause undue damage to the historic town and avoid civilian casualties was suggested as a reason for the slow ROKMC advance. From their night positions, Company G observers saw large numbers of PAVN approaching them from the north. In the attack on the I Corps headquarters and in the defense of Ha Vang village the Allies sustained losses of nine dead and several wounded. The Marine company called in mortar and artillery fire. [1]:1601, On the morning of 7 February, Westmoreland called for a special meeting of the senior U.S. commanders in I Corps. [1]:163, The PAVN/VC offensive in the Da Nang sector had spent itself. 16. At 02:40, a squad from the 1/7 Marines, supported by two tanks from the 1st Tank Battalion, moved to assist the embattled CAP unit. They counted 34 PAVN dead. The communications bunker bore the brunt of the attack where the sappers destroyed both the bunker and the equipment inside and put the division tactical net off the air until 04:00. Army advisor attached to the ARVN unit. According to this former member of the VC 401st Regimental Security Guard, local VC cadre stated that "the war had lasted too long and the Front had to seek a good opportunity to stage a great offensive that would bring the war to an early end." This information should also include any information involving plane crashes at the Da Nang base in early 1968. According to Marine sources, the heavy action on this small island resulted in 102 VC killed, 88 prisoners of war, 13 VC suspects and 70 laborers. A high number of casualties were Vietnamese civilians living in a village just east of Da Nang Air Base. The South Vietnamese quickly rushed the newly arrived ARVN 5th Ranger Battalion into the area. According to Marine pilot reports, the PAVN/VC had approximately 250 men in the area equipped with automatic weapons, including at least one .51-caliber machine gun. *** The first time that rockets were used in RVN by the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army. 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