Operation Cedar Falls

Operation Cedar Falls

American Intervention

• Nui Thanh
• Chu Lai
• Starlite
• Plei Me
• Minh Thanh
• Hump
• Gang Toi
• 1st Bau Bang
• Ia Drang Valley
• Crimp
• Masher/White Wing
• Suoi Bong Trang
• Cu Nghi
• Kim Son Valley
• A Shau
• Birmingham
• Xa Cam My
• 1st Dong Ha
• Wahiawa
• Hastings
• Minh Thanh Road
• Prairie
• Đức Cơ
• Long Tân
• Beaver Cage
• Attleboro
• Bong Son
• Tân Sơn Nhứt airbase
• Lam Son II
• LZ Bird
• Cedar Falls
• Tuscaloosa
• Tra Binh Dong
• Bribie
• Junction City
• Ap Gu
• Suoi Tre
• 2nd Bau Bang
• Francis Marion
• Union
• Hill 881
• 2nd Ap Bac
• 1st Con Thien
• Malheur I and Malheur II
• Baker
• Nine Days in May
• Union II
• Vinh Huy
• Buffalo
• 2nd Con Thien
• July Two
• Hong Kil Dong
• Suoi Chau Pha
• Swift
• Dong Son
• Wheeler/Wallowa
• 3rd Con Thien
• Medina
• Ông Thanh
• 1st Loc Ninh
• Kentucky
• 1st Dak To
• Mekong Delta
• Tam Quan
• Thom Tham Khe
• Phoenix
• Coburg

1968 Offensives

• New Year's Day Battle of 1968
• Khe Sanh
• 1st Tet
• 1st Saigon
• Huế
• 1st Quảng Trị
• Lang Vei
• Lima Site 85
• Toan Thang I
• Delaware
• 2nd Dong Ha
• May '68
• Kham Duc
• Coral-Balmoral
• Hoa Da-Song Mao
• Duc Lap
• Speedy Express
• Dewey Canyon
• Taylor Common
• 2nd Tet
• Apache Snow
• Hamburger Hill
• Twinkletoes
• Binh Ba
• Pat To
• LZ Kate
• Bu Prang
• Kent State
• Texas Star
• Chicago Peak
• Khe Gio Bridge

Drawdown 1968-73

• FSB Ripcord
• Jefferson Glenn
• Hat Dich
• Ban Dong
• Hill 723
• FSB Mary Ann
• Long Khanh
• Nui Le

Easter Offensive

• 2nd Quảng Trị
• 3rd Quảng Trị
• 2nd Loc Ninh
• An Lộc
• 3rd Dong Ha
• 2nd Dak To
• Kontum
• Thunderhead
• End Sweep
• Iron Triangle
• Svay Rieng

'Spring '75'

• Phuoc Long
• Ban Me Thuot
• Hue-Da Nang
• Xuân Lộc
• 2nd Saigon

'Laos and Cambodia'

• Ban Houei Sane
• Kompong Speu
• Prey Veng
• Snuol
• 1st Cambodia
• 2nd Cambodia
• Son Tay Raid
• Lam Son 719
• Tailwind
• Chenla I* Laos
• Chenla II

Air operations

• Farm Gate
• Chopper
• Ranch Hand
• Pierce Arrow
• Barrel Roll
• Pony Express
• Flaming Dart
• Iron Hand
• Rolling Thunder
• Steel Tiger
• Arc Light
• Tiger Hound
• Shed Light
• Thanh Hóa
• Bolo
• Popeye
• Yen Vien
• Niagara
• Niagara II
• 1st Do Luong
• 2nd Do Luong
• Igloo White
• Giant Lance
• Commando Hunt
• Menu
• Patio
• Freedom Deal
• Linebacker I
• Enhance Plus
• Linebacker II
• Homecoming
• Tan Son Nhut Air Base
• Babylift
• New Life
• Eagle Pull
• Frequent Wind

Naval operations

• Gulf of Tonkin
• Market Time
• Vung Ro Bay
• Game Warden
• Double Eagle
• Sea Dragon
• Deckhouse Five
• Bo De River, Nha Trang, Tha Cau River
• Sealords
• Hai Phong Harbor
• Đồng Hới
• Custom Tailor
• End Sweep
• Hoang Sa
• East Sea
• Mayaguez

Operation Cedar Falls was a military operation of the Vietnam War conducted primarily by US forces. The aim of this massive search and destroy operation was to eradicate the so-called "Iron Triangle", an area located in close proximity to Saigon which had become a major stronghold of the communist National Liberation Front (NLF) or Viet Cong. The operation began on January 8, 1967 and ended on January 28, 1967.

Operation Cedar Falls was the largest American ground operation of the Vietnam war : Two Army divisions, one infantry and one paratrooper brigade, as well as one armored cavalry regiment participated in the operation; altogether, Operation Cedar Falls involved 30,000 US and South Vietnamese troops. The Vietcong, however, chose to evade this massive military force by either fleeing across the border to Cambodia or hiding in a complex system of underground tunnels. Nevertheless, the allied forces uncovered and destroyed some of the tunnel complexes as well as large stockpiles of Vietcong supplies. In the course of the operation, so-called tunnel rats were introduced to infiltrate Vietcong tunnel systems.

In an attempt to permanently destroy the Iron Triangle as a Vietcong stronghold, Operation Cedar Falls also entailed the complete deportation of the region's civilian population to so-called New Life Villages, the destruction of their homes, as well as the defoliation of whole areas.

Most senior officers involved in planning and executing the operation later evaluated it as a success. Most journalists and military historians, however, paint a bleaker picture. They argue that Cedar Falls failed to achieve its main goal since the Vietcong's setback in the Iron Triangle proved to be only temporary. Moreover, critics argue that the harsh treatment of the civilian population was both morally questionable as well as detrimental to the US effort to win Vietnamese hearts and minds driving many into the ranks of the NLF instead. Therefore, some authors cite Operation Cedar Falls as a major example for the misconceptions of the American strategy in Vietnam and for its morally troublesome consequences.