These included Hills 65 and 52 manned by companies of the 3/7 Marines in the southwestern part of the TAOR and Hill 41 defended by Company D, 1/7 Marines in the central western sector. Shortly after 18:00, an air observer reported seeing 25-30 enemy troops in trenchlines, bunkers and fighting holes. Material and equipment losses, however, were much more extensive. Would like to get in touch w/anyone attached to Security. The 11th Marines fired an artillery mission with unknown results. Base orientation brochure, Perimeter, Tent City. [1]:159, On the night of 5/6 February, the PAVN/VC forces began the second phase of their Da Nang offensive. Behind the Marine and Korean lines, the ARVN 51st Regiment deployed in support of the South Vietnamese Revolutionary Development program. On 29 January, Marine intelligence officers received a reliable report that the PAVN 2nd Division also had established its command post in western G Ni. One sapper was captured. 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. After the fixed-wing aircraft and evacuation helicopter cleared the area, the 11th Marines saturated the area with artillery fire. [1]:141, A conglomeration of Marine support units, ARVN, ROKMC and two Marine infantry battalions attempted to secure the remaining area. It was the worst attack on Danang since July 5,. Even at Marble Mountain the damage was relatively contained. Additional intelligence tended to confirm the enemy was about to initiate something big. Archives. He arrived with 19 other soldiers, eight of whom were embalmers. On 29 January, a local village chief told the security officer of the Naval Support Activity at Camp Tiensha that about 300 VC would attack the Marble Mountain transmitter that night. About 07:45 approximately two companies or a reinforced company from the PAVN 31st Regiment ambushed a Marine platoon from Company G, 2/3 Marines. 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. Vietnam Rocket City 1971-1972, Palm Bay, FL. The ARVN 51st Regiment operating in the southern sector of the Da Nang area of operations came across evidence including documents pointing to a buildup of PAVN/VC strength together with probes of Allied defenses. It also served to block one of the principal avenues of approach to Da Nang from the south. However, because we did not have a firm grasp on the situation, our preparations had been cursory, the movement of our forces forward to seize attack positions had not been well organized and because enemy forces were too numerous and responded fiercely when we attacked, the forces that attacked the city on the night of 29-30 January were unable to seize their assigned objectives. Because of an air observer on station, the Marine gunners checked their fire. Marine counter-rocket fire from the 11th Marines and 1st Tank Battalion resulted in five secondary explosions. As various outposts reported their sightings to the Division FSCC, the artillerymen then shifted these fires to actual sites. [1]:150, By this time, General Robertson had taken measures to bolster the ARVN south of the Cau Dau. Finally the PAVN broke contact at 20:00 and disappeared. The Marine squad lost one killed. Among the casualties were two Marines killed, including Lieutenant Manning and six wounded from the 1st MP Battalion. The attacks were repulsed by combined United States Marine Corps (USMC), United States Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) forces with the PAVN/VC suffering heavy losses. Colonel Ross R. Miner's 7th Marine Regiment with all three of its battalions had the responsibility for the northern, western and southwestern sectors. [1]:158, During the day of 1 February, the number of incidents between allied and PAVN/VC forces fell from those of the two previous days. While successfully beating back the PAVN attack, the CAP leader called for help. Countermortar fire quickly silenced the enemy tubes. Da Nang Air Base had intelligence predicting a rocket attack any day. Scheduled to last eight weeks, Rolling Thunder will instead go on for three years. Lost him to a rocket attack. The Marine staff speculated that the enemy launched the mortar attacks largely as a cover for the rocket attacks against Marble Mountain. Rocket attack on the Da Nang Air Base that took place, Da Nang, Vietnam, January 30, 1968. On 2 February, the Marines received a report that the PAVN 2nd Division had moved its headquarters 4 miles (6.4km) north, to a position above Route 4, from its previous location on Go Noi Island. With the PAVN too close to call in artillery or fixed-wing air, the Marines radioed for reinforcements. According to a Marine report, "it was evident that the enemy was prepared to masquerade as Vietnamese civilians in the process of infiltrating the TAOR and that he was attempting to infiltrate his forces in small units. Of the 13-man Recon team, codename Dublin City, one was dead, nine were injured and three escaped unscathed. Under pressure from the South Vietnamese relief forces and the Marine MP platoon, the VC retreated with the allies in pursuit. The Marines lost 12 killed and 6 wounded. CAP Q-4 there continued to hold out. Location: Da Nang Vietnam. The lead column consisted of about 100 to 150 men, followed by the main body. 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]:159, While from 15 February, the PAVN/VC ground assaults on Marine positions appeared to diminish , Marine spotters in the tower on Hill 55 reported the constant movement of small groups of enemy troops in the western portion of the ROKMC area of operations. At first light, a Marine reaction force found enemy blood trails. 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. 14 New Guns For 2022 by B. GIL HORMAN; A First-Year Magnum: Shooting The S&W "Pre-29" by JUSTIN DYAL; Contact; Donate; Eye Candy for the Gentlemen out there For example, while the R-20th attempted to maintain a full complement of 400 men through the recruitment or impressment of local villagers and infiltration of North Vietnamese "volunteers," intelligence sources rated the unit only "marginally effective. A Company E, 2/3 Marines squad patrol in its regular area of operations just east of the confluence of the Thanh Qut and Vnh in River came under attack from an estimated squad of enemy. Four ARVN M113 armored personnel carriers reinforced by a reconnaissance squad maneuvered to contain the attackers. On January 29, 1968, the night sky above the sprawling Bien Hoa Air Base, where I was on sentry patrol, appeared to be on fire. (L to R) Attack of 13 April 1972. Finally there were rumors that the other two regiments of the 2nd Division, the VC 1st and the PAVN 3rd, had infiltrated even further north. The enemy had also planned to hit the main airfield at Da Nang. According to Davis, a few hours later, Robertson called a division briefing for all battalion commanders. All attacks from 02/27/67 forward were by rockets. According to intelligence reports, on 15 January, Group 44, the forward headquarters of the PAVN/VC Military Region 5, moved from the hills in western Qung Nam Province, to an advance position on G Ni Island. WASHINGTON The White House warned that the U.S. may consider a military response to the rocket attack that hit an air base in western Iraq where American and coalition troops are . Linking up, under artillery and air cover, the two Marine companies continued their advance until forced to halt because of darkness and then took up night defensive positions. According to Washington Post correspondent Don Oberdorfer, Lm pointed with his swagger stick to the enemy's firing positions on the large map in the room and said: "Milantoni, bomb here. 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. It was decided that two battalions from the Americal Division code-named Task Force Miracle would be moved into the northern sector of the 3/5 Marines near Route 1 south of the Cau Do. At 09:15, a squad from Company G, 2/7 Marines providing road security for a Marine engineer mine-sweeping team on Route 1 just below the pass, encountered a small PAVN sapper detachment. According to U.S. advisors and to South Vietnamese sources, the fight for Hi An resulted in Allied casualties of 58 killed, 103 wounded in action, 21 missing in action and 14 weapons lost. 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. The 391 rockets that hit the base itself the figure was 69 in 1971killed four United States. The NVA launched hundreds of rocket attacks on DaNang Airbase trying to hit the bomb dump. Although the Koreans and the ARVN surrounded most of the city, the VC still were able to keep their southern flank open. At the meeting Westmoreland ordered Americal Division commander General Samuel W. Koster to reinforce Danang. Military Photo: Rocket Attack On The Eve Of The Tet Offensive. Milantoni replied, "General Lm just gave it. A high number of casualties were Vietnamese civilians living in a village just east of DaNang Air Base. A contingent of South Vietnamese Nng mercenaries from the Special Forces Thng c Camp took over the defense of Hill 52 from Company M.[1]:158, Still the Marine command believed the new positions of Company M not only covered the approaches to i Lc, but provided the division with another reserve force. 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. Apparently the forces were a mixed group from several different units interspersed together. "We carried bullet clips in our pockets, but no weapons, because the rifle boxes were nailed shut in their shipping crates. U.S. air policemen take cover and leave their jeep as they come under sniper fire near Da Nang Airbase in Vietnam on January 30, 1968, after it was hit by a rocket barrage. [1]:163 The area was around 200 square miles, and the 140mm rockets had a range of over 6 miles. Rummage reported about 50 PAVN dead with another 100 "probable." Nearly 11 million liters of Agent Orange were handled on the base. Note: Dick previously sent us some Stars and Stripes clippings mentioning rocket attacks and other "newsworthy items" of the day. VC gunners from Ha Vang, nevertheless, maintained an intermittent mortar bombardment upon the I Corps tactical operations center. 366th Security Police K-9. About 03:30, two more Marine tanks from the district town of Hieu Duc arrived at the northern fringes of the hamlet. ARVN intelligence officers speculated that the battalion from the PAVN 4th Regiment was supposed to have spearheaded the attack on the city of Da Nang the previous day, but arrived too late to influence the battle. CriticalPast offers immediate downloads of full-resolution HD and SD masters and full-resolution time-coded screeners, 24 hours a day, to serve the needs of broadcast news, TV, film, and publishing professionals worldwide. Posted: 02/01/2018. Battle in Vietnam involving the United States in early 1968, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tet_offensive_attacks_on_Da_Nang&oldid=1098267255, Battles of the Vietnam War involving the United States, Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1968, Battles and operations of the Vietnam War, Articles needing additional references from August 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 July 2022, at 01:30. I called all the regiments and battalions and the same was happening to them. He ordered the 3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion to form a blocking position on the southeastern bank of the Vien Dien River. "[1]:1578, The greatest danger to the TAOR at this juncture, however, was from the south in that area defended by the ROKMC and the ARVN 51st Regiment. The USAF 620th Tactical Control Squadron established a control and reporting post (CRP) code-named Panama on the mountain in 1964 to support operations from Danang Air Base. . Miner attached two additional companies to the 3/7 Marines, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and Company H, 2/7 Marines to cover its extended area. 1969. In Da Nang City itself, about 10:50 in the morning, approximately 500 people gathered at a Buddhist pagoda and attempted to hold a march. You comrades should act as heroes of Vietnam and with the spirit and pride of combatants of the Liberation Army. By 11:00, Marine helicopters evacuated the most seriously wounded and brought in the rest of Company G into blocking positions on the western bank of the Yn. The RPGs missed the apertures in the tower and fell to the ground. The Koreans kept one company at the MACV compound for security and prepared for a sweep to clear out the city in the morning. The nickname for DaNang was "Rocket City" garnering that appellation from the frequent attacks on it by means of the "Katyusha" which is the name given the Soviet BM-21 122mm artillery rocket. The artillerymen sustained two wounded and some equipment damage, but escaped relatively unscathed. The Communists carried out 26 rocket attacks on the Da Nang air base during 1972. With both fixed-wing and helicopter gunships and more than 120 artillery pieces ranging from 4.2-inch mortars to 175mm guns, Robertson was confident that he could counter any threat that the enemy posed to Da Nang despite the thinness of his manned defenses. 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. Army advisor attached to the ARVN unit. [1]:142, While activity in the Army's 23rd Infantry (Americal) Divisions areas of operations in Qung Ngi and Qung Tn Provinces was somewhat diminished, there was enough enemy in northern and central I Corps to cause concern for both the American and South Vietnamese commands. According to III MAF figures, from 29 January through 14 February at Da Nang, Marines sustained 124 killed and more than 480 wounded. A total of 49 mortar and rocket rounds were counted landing on the airfield during this attack. Use big bombs." Later that night, the 1/7 Marines reported 15 secondary explosions from Marine counter-mortar artillery fire. They collected some 200 people that they detained for further questioning. The 3/5 Marines together with Companies F and G, 2/3 Marines then began methodically to eliminate pockets of resistance in the general area. [1]:153, South of the Hi Vn Pass, in the northern portion of the Da Nang TAOR, in the 2/7 Marines sector, the PAVN were able to close Highway 1 temporarily, but failed to penetrate Allied defenses. During the day's fighting, the Marines killed 107 PAVN and took two prisoners for losses of 11 killed and 53 wounded. Army personnel were wounded. It was a helicopter facility that was constructed in August 1965 and served as home to Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16), the 5th Special Forces Group and an assortment of other squadrons until May 1971. Marble Mountain Air Facility supported USMC helicopter operations throughout southern I Corps. From firing positions southwest of the base, 28 122mm missiles fell on the airfield, destroying one aircraft and damaging six others. Another sapper squad, about the same size as the one that carried out the earlier attack, penetrated the 1st Marine Division Subsector Bravo combat operations center and communications facility on Hill 200, less than 1,000 meters from the main command post on Hill 327. PAVN/VC gunners then replied with a mortar barrage, which resulted in two Marine dead and two wounded. The C-123's ability to land on short, unimproved fields proved invaluable and the four units served in Vietnam until the end of the war. Rummage soon determined that the total number of PAVN approximated 500 or more men, moving in two columns. At 20:00 on the night of the 5th, a Marine platoon ambush from Company C, 1/7 Marines intercepted about 60 PAVN troops about 4,000 meters south of the Ty Loan River in the western sector of the area of operations moving northeast towards the river and the base with mortars and automatic weapons. During one attack I was writing a letter home and thought my guys were injured because of the rocket attack and I remember the no smoking sigh flapping in the wind because of the scrapnel. While the 1st MP Battalion supported by the 1st Tank Battalion established blocking positions north of the Cu River, the ARVN 3rd Battalion, 51st Regiment swept the sector south of the river. [1]:1612, In the ensuing battle of Lo Giang the Marine and Army forces successfully repulsed the PAVN 2nd Division attack. It didn't take long to get out of bed when the first rocket struck nearby. 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. [Peter Halferty photo]. The battalion was alerted and airlifted from Twentynine Palms, California, to Cherry Point, North Carolina, with its . 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