Battle of Dong Xoai - Battle

Battle

On the evening of June 9, 1965, the Viet Cong made final preparations for their assault on Dong Xoai. While the Viet Cong assembled their formations, U.S.-led forces inside the Special Forces Camp were suddenly placed on alert, forcing the Viet Cong to commence their attack 70 minutes earlier than scheduled. At 11:30 pm Viet Cong heavy mortar rounds began to fall on South Vietnamese and American positions around Dong Xoai, soon followed by an infantry assault led by the 272nd Regiment. During the initial assault, the Viet Cong sustained heavy casualties as they tried to navigate through the surrounding minefields and barb wire fences, which they had failed to pick up during previous reconnaissance missions. At about 1:30 am, two helicopter gunships from the U.S. Army 118th Aviation Company were dispatched to support the Special Forces Camp, they fired on Viet Congs around the compound, and returned to base only after their weapons load was emptied. At around 2:30 am, the Americans and a few of the Cambodian soldiers retreated to the district headquarters, where other local troops were holding out. Meanwhile, at Bien Hoa Air Base, all flight crews of the 118th Aviation Company were on the flightline preparing for combat assault at first light. By that time, however, the Viet Cong had captured the Special Forces compound, and they began massing for an attack on the district headquarters.

While fighting raged inside the district, all flyable aircraft from the 118th Aviation Company flew out from Bien Hoa to Phuoc Vinh, a small town about 30 kilometres from Dong Xoai. From Phuoc Vinh the first contingent of the ARVN 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, was airlifted into the battlefield. At around 8 am, the UH-1 formations of the 118th Aviation Company descend on the landing zone near the Thuan Loi rubber plantation, about 4 kilometres north of Dong Xoai; they immediately began to receive fire from bunkers and foxholes surrounding the area. The South Vietnamese command believed the landing zone near Thuan Loi would be ideal to land their troops, because it was distant enough that the Viet Cong would not find and engage them immediately. However, the Viet Cong had anticipated the South Vietnamese would land troops in the area, and had prepared for an ambush. As a result, after U.S. helicopters had departed from the landing zone, soldiers of the Viet Cong 271st Regiment immediately turned their attention on the South Vietnamese. Within 15 minutes the main body of the ARVN 1st Battalion was completely destroyed.

At around 11:55 am the last remaining soldiers of the ARVN 1st Battalion were discharged near the original landing zone in Thuan Loi, and they too were put out of action within three minutes of touching down on the field. During the afternoon, the Viet Cong had managed to destroy parts of the district headquarters building using their 57mm recoilless rifle. Second Lieutenant Williams then ordered 14 Americans inside the building, along with an equal number of Vietnamese women and children, to retreat to the artillery position located east of the town where they continued their resistance. Late in the afternoon on June 10, the U.S. 118th Aviation Company was joined by other elements of the 145th Combat Aviation Battalion in their final sorties for the day; airlifting the ARVN 52nd Ranger Battalion from Phuoc Vinh into Dong Xoai, with the objective of recapturing the road junction and the Special Forces Camp. Following their last mission, the 118th Aviation Company immediately returned to Bien Hoa. During the first day of heavy fighting, every helicopter in the unit had sustained damage, including the loss of one helicopter and its entire crew.

At 3:20 pm the ARVN 52nd Ranger Battalion were discharged on a landing zone about 3 kilometres south of Dong Xoai. As the South Vietnamese Rangers marched towards the town centre, their lead company was decimated in an ambush mounted by elements of the Viet Cong 271st Regiment. Undeterred by the strength of the Viet Cong, they continued their march towards the district. On the night of June 10, the battalion began attacking Viet Cong positions around the Special Forces Camp, and they gradually recaptured the compound and much of the town. The Viet Cong eventually launched a counter-attack in an attempt to win back the loss ground, but they failed to dislodge the soldiers of the ARVN 52nd Ranger Battalion. The next morning, on June 11, the 118th Aviation Company was back at full strength in Phuoc Vinh. Like the previous day, they flew air-support and airlifted further reinforcements from the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion. After the South Vietnamese paratroopers were dropped off on a soccer field, the 118th Aviation Company started large-scale evacuation of South Vietnamese casualties. In contrast to the previous day, the 118th Aviation Company encountered few hostilities, which was characterised by isolated rear guard actions.

Just before the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion landed on the battlefield, the Viet Cong had intercepted a radio conversation between the aforementioned unit and the 52nd Ranger Battalion in the district centre; several months earlier the 7th Airborne Battalion was involved in the battle at Binh Gia, so they vowed to avenge the loss of their comrades. Thus, from the soccer field, the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion marched up to Thuan Loi, against only light opposition. The South Vietnamese paratroopers arrived at the area where the first group of the ARVN 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, was dropped off and they collected seven survivors and 55 bodies. In the afternoon, as elements of the 7th Airborne Battalion moved through the Thuan Loi rubber plantation to search for remnants of the second group of the ARVN 1st Battalion, the Viet Cong 271st Regiment started attacking the South Vietnamese paratroopers in a manner which had characterised earlier ambushes. Taking advantage of the poor weather conditions that had limited U.S. air strikes, as well as their numerical superiority, the Viet Cong broke the South Vietnamese formation into small groups and destroyed many of them. On the next day, the strength of the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion was reduced from 470 to just 159 soldiers.

After the defeat of the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion, U.S. General William Westmoreland concluded that the Viet Cong still had the strength to continue the attacks on Dong Xoai. In contrast, South Vietnamese forces within the vicinity of Dong Xoai were severely depleted, and did not have sufficient strength to defeat the Viet Cong. Furthermore, there was only one remaining battalion in South Vietnam’s strategic reserve, and it may not be enough to drive the Communist out from the area if it was committed. However, General Westmoreland was unwilling to leave the Viet Cong with a position from which they could dominate Phuoc Long Province. So on June 13, General Westmoreland finally made the decision to insert U.S. combat forces. Subsequently, 738 men of the 1/503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, was flown out to the staging area in Phuoc Vinh. Elements of the 3rd Battalion, U.S. Army 319th Field Artillery Regiment also followed later in the day. Upon arrival at Phuoc Vinh, the U.S. Army task force waited for five days, but it soon became apparent that the Viet Cong had withdrawn from the area and had no intention of holding territory. On June 18, the 1/503rd Infantry Regiment was ordered to return to base.