Battle of Ong Thanh - Aftermath

Aftermath

At around 12:00 pm Triet had already ordered his troops to disengage from the battle in the belief that all American soldiers had been killed, and also to avoid possible air-strikes from the fearsome B-52 bombers. Although not every American soldier was killed as Triet had expected, the battle at Ong Thanh was nonetheless a costly affair for the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment. During two hours of fighting the 2nd Battalion lost 64 men killed in action, including Lieutenant Colonel Terry Allen and every member of the Battalion Command Group, as well as 75 wounded and 2 missing. For their efforts in the battle, 13 American soldiers were awarded the Silver Star, while Allen and Welch received the Distinguished Service Cross. Forward Observer Second Lieutenant Harold B. Durham, who was attached to the 2nd Battalion on the day from the 15th Field Artillery Regiment, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions. Despite the losses that had been inflicted on the 2nd Battalion by the Viet Cong, the U.S. military told the media that the fight at Ong Thanh had resulted in a major American victory.

However, American veterans who had survived from the ordeals of the battle are still adamant they were ambushed and were subsequently defeated by the Viet Cong's 271st Regiment. In addition, the figure of 103 enemy dead officially provided by the U.S. military may have been inflated, in order to emphasize the scale of the 'American victory'. For retired U.S. Army Brigadier General James E. Shelton, who was then a major and served as an Operations Officer with the 2nd Battalion, the lack of reliable intelligence and overconfidence on the part of Allen as the battalion commander, were some of the factors that led to the disastrous outcome in the Ong Thanh battle. Furthermore, the American soldiers under Allen's command lacked fighting experience, whereas the Viet Cong soldiers of the 9th Division were among some of the best light infantry in the world with years of experience. The Viet Cong 271st Regiment, after their victory at Ong Thanh, withdrew back towards their base area near the Cambodian border.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Viet Cong 9th Division was planning for a major attack on Loc Ninh, with the objective of capturing the district town and the Special Forces Camp. To accomplish their goals the Viet Cong deployed the 272nd and 273rd Regiments, reinforced with two battalions from the 165th Regiment and the Vietnam People's Army 84th Artillery Regiment. During the days before the battle, U.S. military intelligence had noticed the build-up of Viet Cong units around Loc Ninh. Hay, in response, planned to insert four battalions of the 1st Infantry Division and position them around Loc Ninh, thereby trapping the Viet Cong inside the town. On the evening of October 28, the 272nd Regiment marched into position from the northeast, and the 273rd Regiment from west. At 1:15 am on October 29, the 273rd Regiment began assaulting the Loc Ninh Special Forces Camp, but they were quickly repelled by U.S.-led Special Forces. At around 6:30 am the remaining elements of Bravo and Charlie Companies 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, were airlifted onto the Loc Ninh airfield, to set up a firebase at the field's south-western end. The soldiers of Alpha and Delta Companies were sent back to their Base Camp at Lai Khe to adjust to the losses they had suffered, and to be kept away from enemy activity.

BBC Documentary: How Vietnam Was Lost, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA49WdtlLHM The program details the battle with interviews from the participants on both sides.