Operation Masher

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The Operation Masher (Operation "womanizer") was a large-scale search and destroy operation ( Search and Destroy ) of the US Army , South Vietnamese and South Korean troops during the Vietnam War from January 28 to March 6, 1966 in the Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh took place.

Later, the operation with the offensive name was Masher in White Wing renamed. The area of ​​operation was in the Bong Son plateau , the Kim Son valley and An Lao valley. The 1st US Cavalry Division (airmobile) managed to track down the 3rd NVA Division and the 325th NVA B Division in the jungle area and inflict a heavy defeat on both of them.

Communist forces were combined in the so-called Sao Vang ("Gold Star") division. During Operation White Wing , a hallucinogen called 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, shot with artillery shells, was used, which, like LSD , was supposed to put the Viet Cong into a state of intoxication and thereby render them incapable of fighting. 1,352 air strikes dropped 1.5 million pounds of bombs, of which 292,000 pounds were napalm . As a result of the aggressive military operations in 1884, villagers had to flee their ancestral region. The pacification of the conquered areas was taken over by the South Korean Tiger Division , which, based on the lessons of the Korean War, did not believe in the "re-education" of communists and was feared by the rural population because of its brutality. In the area where the South Korean Tiger Infantrymen were deployed, enemy resistance fell sharply.

Skirmishes

The first skirmishes began in the thicket of elephant grass in the An Lao Valley, where two NVA regiments had expanded their bases. The bunker positions were protected by ingenious warning systems and guard dogs. Maj. Charles “Charging Charlie” Beckwith was the first to land in the infamous An Lao Valley with his Special Forces team. The An Lao Valley had been completely under the control of the Viet Minh or Viet Cong since 1958 . The fertile valley was the most important source of rice for the Viet Cong and NVA and was therefore bitterly defended. The units of the US Cavalry Division were dropped by helicopters in waves in the An Lao Valley and combed the rice fields and small villages. They got into several ambushes by NVA machine gun nests. From 28th to 31st On January 1st, 1966, a particularly tough gun battle developed with strong Viet Cong and NVA units.

Cu Nghi

The battle of Cu Nghi arose at landing zone 4, where the 7th and 12th Btl. Of the 1st US Cavalry Division were deposited, the landing zone was later referred to by the soldiers as the “graveyard” or “hornet's nest”. On the foggy morning of January 28, US troops encountered strong enemy forces between the villages of Cu Nghi and Phung Du at the southern end of the Bong Son Plain. The 1st US Cavalry Division got caught between enemy crossfire of the 22nd NVA regiment in a Vietnamese cemetery . The North Vietnamese took the US helicopters under strong defensive fire, so that it was initially impossible to fly in relief for the trapped units. Heavy rain set in and thus neither effective artillery fire nor air strikes could free the trapped Americans, who made makeshift digs under the palm trees and bamboo forests. During the night, in the pouring rain, the Viet Cong infiltrated the positions of the Americans and wreaked havoc. The siege by napalm bombing could not be ended until January 31st, 77 infantrymen were killed in the battle of Cu Nghi and 220 soldiers were seriously wounded. The participation of the Green Berets and shot down US helicopter pilots increased the number of American deaths to 140 men.

Kim Son Valley

In the Kim Son Valley, also known as “ Crow's Foot ”, another heavy battle developed as part of Operation Masher in February 1966. In the Kim Son Valley, the 18th NVA regiment had established itself and was determined to defeat the US To put up bitter resistance to paratroopers. Nature served the Viet Cong as a great advantage, because the vegetation in Kim Son was almost impenetrable, crossed by steep slopes and also known for many poisonous snakes such as kraits , bamboo vipers and cobras . On February 17, 1966, the landing B Company was caught in a fire attack by the NVA. The battle was decided in favor of the Americans on February 22nd thanks to the superior US firepower, 107 US soldiers were killed.

losses

Operation Masher killed 288 US soldiers, 990 were seriously wounded and 2,232 Viet Cong were killed.

literature

  • Harry G. Summers: Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War. Houghton Mifflin, New York.
  • The Ten Thousand Day War. Imperial War Museum Dept of Printed Books

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