Operation Attleboro

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Battles and operations of the
Vietnam War

Battle of Tua Hai  (1960) - Battle of Ap Bac  (1963) - Battle of Nam Dong  (1964) - Tonkin Incident  (1964) - Operation Flaming Dart  (1965) - Operation Rolling Thunder  (1965-68) - Battle of Dong Xoai  (1965) - Battle of the Ia Drang Valley  (1965) - Operation Crimp  (1966) - Operation Hastings (1966) - Battle of Long Tan (1966) - Operation Attleboro  (1966) - Operation Cedar Falls  (1967) - Battle around Hill 881  (1967) - Battle of Dak To  (1967) - Battle of Khe Sanh  (1968) - Tet Offensive  (1968) - Battle of Huế  (1968) - Operation Speedy Express  (1968/69) - Operation Dewey Canyon  ( 1969) - Battle of Hamburger Hill  (1969) - Operation MENU  (1969/70) - Operation Lam Son 719  (1971) - Battle of FSB Mary Ann  (1971) - Battle of Quảng Trị  (1972) - Operation Linebacker  (1972) - Operation Linebacker II  (1972) - Battle of Xuan Loc  (1975) - Operation Frequent Wind  (1975)

Operation Attleboro was the code name of the Battle of Dau Tieng and Dong Minh Chau and was conducted from September 14 to November 24, 1966 northwest of Dau Tieng. Operation Attleboro was named after the garrison town of Attleboro in Massachusetts / USA .

Operation Attleboro was divided into two phases: Phase I (September to November 1966) and Phase II (November 1966) and was one of the largest airmobile operations of the US Army against Viet Cong positions in the region around Tây Ninh near the border with Cambodia . In this region there were numerous tunnel systems and camouflaged bunkers of the Viet Cong and the Vietnamese People's Army , supplied from the bases in Cambodia . Since October 1965, the 2nd NVA Division and the 3rd NVA Brigade had set up their disposal room here . Even during the colonial war against the French, the Viet Minh had their retreat in this region.

The 196th US Light Infantry Brigade, newly arrived in Vietnam and relatively inexperienced, was mainly involved in the Search and Destroy Operation, supported by units from the 25th US Infantry Division , the 1st US Infantry Division under Major General William E. DePuy and a brigade from the 4th Infantry Division US Infantry Division . In addition, were combat support troops of the ARVN and regional drying ; forces along with "Mike Forces" ( US Special Forces involved). In Phase II, the 173rd US Airborne Brigade also had to intervene in the fighting to save the 196th US Light Infantry Brigade from destruction. The operation was under the authority of the II Field Force. The 196th US Light Infantry Brigade under the command of Major General Frederick C. Weyland was stationed in the Tây Ninh garrison and was assigned to track down and destroy enemy forces in War Zone C west of the Michelin rubber plantation . The operation area was in the wet savannah around the mountain range Nui Ba Den (also known as Black Virgin Mountain ). The advance and the connection between the individual units was made difficult by the head- high elephant grass. Numerous termite mounds made the helicopter landings a major problem. In phase I there was no significant contact with the enemy; the heavy fighting did not develop until November 1966 in phase II. Phase I had more of the character of a large-scale maneuver than a military operation under combat conditions.

Ambush

After it was only possible to confiscate the enemy's rice supplies in phase I, but the US intelligence service reported troop movements that could not be precisely localized, the aggressive phase II began. There was a battle with troops of the NVA and the Viet Cong. Brigadier General Edward H. DeSaussure was in command of Phase II, and a battalion commander sometimes had to lead 11 infantry companies over the radio in the chaotic battle. In November Major Guy S. "Sandy" Meloy carried out a hammer-and-anvil operation, which resulted in heavy fighting with the 9th Viet Cong Division . The 1st Btl. / 27th US Infantry Regiment "Wolfhounds" lost their bearings in the dense bush forest of the wet savannah and the individual companies could not maintain contact with one another. A patrol was attacked on the “Ghost Town Trail” by strong Viet Cong forces and completely wiped out. The Viet Cong fired from well camouflaged positions on the ground that were not visible from the air, and their snipers in the tall trees inflicted heavy losses on the US soldiers. At night there were several waves of attack by the Viet Cong, Meloy's soldiers were held down and 3 companies were almost completely destroyed.

During the hot phase of the fighting, over 20,000 US soldiers were deployed and fought in a losing battle against the 2nd NVA Division and the 9th Viet Cong Division.

Balance sheet

Over 1,000 Viet Cong and 155 US soldiers were killed in the fighting and 494 US infantrymen were seriously injured. Brigadier General Edward H. DeSaussure then came under severe criticism, why he sent the 196th US Light Infantry Brigade as a completely inexperienced unit into battle with the war-proven Viet Cong and was responsible for the high casualties.

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