Operation Speedy Express

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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 Speedy Express was a US military operation in the then Mekong Delta provinces of Kiến Hòa (now Bến Tre ) and Vĩnh Bình during the Vietnam War . The operation lasted from December 1968 to May 31, 1969 and was carried out by the 9th Infantry Division under the command of General Julian J. Ewell .

The US deployed 8,000 infantry , 50 guns and 50 helicopters , supported by massive aerial bombings. During the approximately 6-month operation, the Air Force flew 3,381 tactical missions with combat bombers.

Operation Speedy Express, according to US government officials, should lead to the liberation of the Vietnamese people from political control by the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam . The statistical figures and testimony of witnesses, published in 1972 by investigative reporter Kevin Buckley, make it clear that mostly civilians were killed. Although 10,899 victims were classified as enemies , only 748 weapons were confiscated. Viet Cong fighters, on the other hand, were almost invariably well armed.

According to conservative estimates, the number of civilians killed was between 5,000 and 7,000.

literature

  • John Pilger: Heroes Jonathan Cape, Australia, 1986

swell

  1. ↑ Kevin Buckley: Pacification's Deadly Price Newsweek, June 19, 1972, pp. 42-3
  2. ↑ Bernd Greiner: War without Fronts , Hamburger Edition, Germany, 2007