Battle of Ong Thanh - Background

Background

In the first half of 1967, United States military forces in Vietnam had inflicted heavy losses on the Viet Cong, both in terms of infrastructure and manpower, through major ground operations such as Cedar Falls, Junction City and Manhattan. For North Vietnamese military leaders such as Generals Vo Nguyen Giap and Nguyen Chi Thanh, the operations carried out by the Americans in South Vietnam had been disastrous for Communist forces. Furthermore, the military situation in North Vietnam also prompted North Vietnamese leaders to question their war strategy. In 1967 the United States expanded their Rolling Thunder bombing campaign, which enabled American airpower to destroy rather than just threaten Hanoi's limited industrial infrastructures. Consequently, North Vietnamese leaders feared that if the Red River dikes were targeted by the Americans, Hanoi and the surrounding farmlands would be flooded. At the same time, the North Vietnamese government was afraid the Viet Cong may split in order to accommodate a resolution with the Saigon government, because the U.S.-backed government in the South was showing no sign of collapse.

Despite the unfavorable developments in South Vietnam, North Vietnamese General Tran Van Tra believed North Vietnam and the Viet Cong could still win the war if they pursued a strategy of attrition. In other words, the Communist would have to fight on for as long as possible, until the United States recognized that the war was unwinnable and would disengage from the conflict in Vietnam. To achieve that objective at the tactical level, Tra argued that North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces would have to destroy American military units, and cause as many casualties as possible until they got tired and left. Indeed, towards mid-1967 General Thanh, who had the Viet Cong 7th and 9th Division at his disposal, was out to do just that. In June, U.S. military forces in III Corps Tactical Zone began to detect the build-up of Viet Cong troops in northern Phuoc Vinh located War Zone D. To stop a major enemy attack on Phuoc Vinh, Major General John H. Hay—commander of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division—launched Operation Billings with the objective of trapping three Viet Cong battalions in War Zone D.

On the first day of the operation, the 1st Infantry Division was able march about 30 kilometers (19 mi) into Phuoc Vinh virtually unopposed. On June 13, the Americans claimed to have killed about 60 Viet Cong soldiers in their first major contact. On June 17 Lieutenant Colonel Rufus C. Lazzell and the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, was air-assaulted into a clearing known as Landing Zone X-Ray to search for the Viet Cong. At about 1:00 pm Lazzell's battalion was attacked by elements of the Viet Cong 271st Regiment, and the Viet Cong quickly penetrated the 1st Battalion's perimeters. However, with the support of artillery and helicopter gunships, Lazzell's men repelled repeated Viet Cong attacks for the loss of 35 killed and 150 wounded. On June 26, Operation Billings concluded and the Americans claimed to have killed 347 enemy troops and captured one, at a cost of 57 U.S. soldiers dead and 197 wounded.

In August, the Viet Cong was back in action again; this time the 165th Regiment of the 7th Division targeted the Tong Le Chon Special Forces Camp, located southeast of the 1st Infantry Division's area of operations. Just after midnight on August 7, the 165th Regiment attacked Tong Le Chon and was able to penetrate the Special Forces Camp, but was forced to flee after an ammunition bunker exploded. That night the Viet Cong assaulted the base several times more, but on each occasion they were repelled by artillery fire and close air-support. By September, the scale of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese activities in III Corps had perplexed the U.S. commanders of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. In the meantime, however, Hay decided to put an end to large-scale operations which had proven to be unproductive, until the enemy's real intentions were known. Instead, Hay continued to commit his 2nd Brigade to pacification efforts in southern Binh Duong Province, while the 3rd Brigade provided protection for engineers clearing Highway 13.