Battle of Ong Thanh

The Battle of Ong Thanh was fought on the morning of October 17, 1967, in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam. During the first few months of 1967, the Viet Cong absorbed heavy losses as a result of large-scale search and destroy missions conducted by the United States Army, and it prompted North Vietnamese leaders to review their war strategy in South Vietnam. In light of the setbacks which North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces had experienced early in 1967, North Vietnamese General Tran Van Tra suggested that North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces could still be victorious if they inflicted as much casualties as possible on U.S. military units, until America got tired and pulled out from Vietnam. Thus, towards mid-1967, the Viet Cong 7th and 9th Divisions returned to the battlefield again, with the objective of inflicting casualties on U.S. military formations in III Corps Tactical Zone. On June 12, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division launched Operation Billings to destroy elements of the Viet Cong 9th Division, which had built-up strength around northern Phuoc Vinh.

During that operation, American soldiers made only limited contact with the Viet Cong, but they claimed to have defeated enemy troops in two separate battles. When the operation concluded on June 26, the 1st Infantry Division had lost 57 soldiers dead and 197 wounded. Then in September, following a string of attacks on allied military installations by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops, Major General John H. Hay decided to temporarily stop conducting large-scale operations until the true intentions of Communist forces were known. Towards October, the Viet Cong 271st Regiment marched into the Long Nguyen Secret Zone, to rest and refit for their next major operation. To disrupt the Viet Cong's resting period, General Hay launched Operation Shenandoah II to clear a section of National Highway 13 which stretched from Chon Thanh to Loc Ninh.

Starting from September 28, elements of the 1st Infantry Division were air-lifted into positions around Long Nguyen, but again only few contacts were made with the Viet Cong. However, on October 16, the 2nd Battalion of the U.S. 28th Infantry Regiment found a major Viet Cong bunker system located south of their night defensive position near the Ong Thanh Stream, and a short fire fight broke out. To avoid fighting a long battle, the commander of the 2nd Battalion decided to pull back, and made preparations for a frontal assault on the next day. On the morning of October 17, two rifle companies of the 2nd Battalion returned to the bunker system they had found the previous day, but they were defeated by the Viet Cong 271st Regiment which had set up an ambush in anticipation of the American attack.