Battle of Ba Gia
Battle of Ba Gia | |
---|---|
Part of the Quảng Ngãi Province, South Vietnam | |
Result | Viet Cong victory |
Nguyễn Thọ Lập[1]
Lê Hữu Trữ[2]
- 51st Infantry Regiment
- 3rd Marine Battalion
- 37th Ranger Battalion
- 39th Ranger Battalion
- Two Artillery Battalions
45th Independent Battalion
Quảng Ngãi Province Command
- 48th Local Force Battalion[2]
- 83rd Local Force Battalion
360 captured
467 surrender
18 helicopters destroyed[5]
14 trucks destroyed
370 weapons captured (28 - 31 May)[6]
20 weapons recovered
The Battle of Ba Gia was a major battle that marked the beginning of the
Following the victory of VC forces in the
Background
During the first half of 1965, the war in South Vietnam sharply escalated. In January 1965, while on a visit to China, a North Vietnamese military delegation met with Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai to discuss the situation. In the meeting the North Vietnamese were advised by Zhou Enlai to step up military operations in South Vietnam, in order to destroy the ARVN whenever they came out to fight.[8] In March, in response to the VC's appeal for support from socialist troops, Leonid Brezhnev announced that Soviet citizens were volunteering to fight on the side of North Vietnam and the VC. However, Hanoi privately informed Moscow that the VC only wanted to gain international support, and they did not need actual volunteers.[9]
In April, the Soviet Union's political support for North Vietnam materialised with the delivery of
Buoyed by the recent victory in the Battle of Bình Giã and the support of their major allies, North Vietnamese leaders began preparing a strategy to defeat South Vietnamese and United States military forces. Lê Duẩn, Secretary of the Communist Party, believed that the South Vietnamese regime was able to survive because they still had a strong army to rely upon. Therefore, to win the war and reunite the country, the South Vietnamese military had to be destroyed completely.[13] Lê Duẩn believed the Communist forces must destroy three or four of South Vietnam's nine regular army divisions in a series of large battles, and pin down the eleven elite battalions of the South Vietnamese strategic reserve. Thus, North Vietnamese leaders decided to launch a summer offensive with the objective of defeating the ARVN by drawing them into battle repeatedly with numerous, geographically dispersed attacks.[13]
Prelude
At the beginning of the summer season in 1965, VC Commanders in
Prior to the Summer Offensive of 1965, Quảng Ngãi and the surrounding provinces had witnessed a substantial increase in VC military activities. On February 6, 1965, the VC 409th Sapper Battalion
In May 1965, the VC 1st Regiment (part of the Viet Cong 2nd Division) moved into northern Quảng Ngãi from the neighbouring province of
Battle
On the night of May 28, 1965, the VC marched into their designated positions around Ba Gia; the 90th Battalion took up their position at Minh Thành, the 60th Battalion at Vĩnh Lộc, the 40th Battalion at Duyên Phước, and the 45th Battalion at Vĩnh Khánh. The 1st Regimental Headquarters set up camp at Mount Hốc Khoai
At 9.50 am, as the ARVN 1st Battalion marched through Lộc Thọ village they were encircled by the VC 90th Battalion, who had set up ambush positions in Mount Khỉ and were waiting for the ARVN to arrive.
On the afternoon of May 29, ARVN Major General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, commander of South Vietnam's I Corps Tactical Zone, responded to the VC assault by forming a Task Force with the objective of recapturing Ba Gia. The Task Force consisted of the 2nd Battalion, 51st Infantry Regiment, the 3rd Marine Battalion, the 39th Ranger Battalion and one squadron of M113 armored personnel carriers.[16] According to Major General Nguyễn Chánh Thi's plan, the Task Force would achieve the following objectives: the 3rd Marine Battalion would advance along Route 5 toward the objective of Ba Gia; the 39th Ranger Battalion through An Thuyết, Vĩnh Lộc and Vĩnh Khánh and then capture Mount Chóp Nón; and the 2nd Battalion, 51st Infantry Regiment towards Phước Lộc and capture Mount Mả Tổ. On the morning of May 30 the South Vietnamese Task Force assembled in Quảng Ngãi town and waited for further orders, while ARVN artillery and U.S. Air Force fighter-bombers pounded VC positions around Ba Gia.[16]
At around 12 noon on May 30, with extensive air support from U.S. fighter-bombers and
Meanwhile, the ARVN 39th Ranger Battalion secured their objective on Mount Chóp Nón, with the main formation of the VC 45th Battalion lining their troops on the rear positions of the ARVN Rangers. At 2:05 pm, the VC unleashed their ambush on the ARVN 2nd Battalion, forcing the ARVN infantrymen to fight for their lives.[20] As fighting erupted on Mount Mả Tổ, the ARVN 3rd Marine Battalion inside the village of Phước Lộc was ordered to relieve the 2nd Battalion. However, by 3:30 pm the 3rd Marine Battalion was also surrounded by the VC 60th Battalion on Hill 47, which had moved out from Vĩnh Lộc village to engage the Marines.[20] At the same time, VC mortar fire began slamming into South Vietnamese positions in the village of Phước Lộc, and fighting continued until 5 pm. When it concluded that evening both sides had suffered heavy casualties and the South Vietnamese 2nd Battalion and the 3rd Marine Battalion were forced to retreat back to Phước Lộc with four M-113 APCs providing fire support.[22]
During the night of May 30, VC formations on the battlefield were ordered to wipe out what was left of the South Vietnamese Task Force in Phước Lộc village, as local villagers in Ba Gia helped the VC round up South Vietnamese prisoners.[23] On Mount Chóp Nón, the VC 45th Battalion were able to advance within 100 metres of the ARVN 39th Ranger Battalion's line of defence without being noticed. In the early hours of May 31, the VC 40th Battalion resumed its attack on South Vietnamese positions in Phước Lộc, but the ARVN 2nd Battalion and 3rd Marine Battalion put up stiff resistance. After several hours of fierce fighting, the VC recaptured Phước Lộc where they found the bodies of 94 dead South Vietnamese soldiers.[24] At the same time, the VC 45th Battalion attacked the ARVN 39th Ranger Battalion on Mount Chóp Nón. The VC bombarded the South Vietnamese with heavy mortars, which were followed by infantry assaults. By 4 am the VC 45th Battalion had successfully recaptured their final objective of Mount Chóp Nón, leaving the 39th Ranger Battalion decimated with 108 soldiers killed.[25]
Aftermath
The battle at Ba Gia, which marked the beginning of the VC's Summer Offensive of 1965, had dealt a severe blow to South Vietnam's armed forces. For the first time in the VC's history, their forces at Ba Gia successfully decimated a regimental-sized ARVN Task Force in battle.
Even though the fighting at Ba Gia was minor in scale, it convinced President
Legacy
In May 2000, the Veterans Affairs Committee of Ba Gia regiment coordinated with the Veterans Association of Quảng Ngãi province to release the memoir "Ba Gia Victory - recall and reflect".[2]
Notes
- ^ "ARVN Airborne Division - Battle of Ba Gia". nhaydu.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ba Gia victory - recall and reflect" (PDF). thuvienquangngai.vn. Sở VHTT Quảng Ngãi. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Ba Gia victory- A glorious victory". baoquangngai.vn. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ The 1st regiment got its honored name Ba Gia regiment after this battle, and was the base to form the 2nd Infantry Division in October 1965.
- ^ Ba Gia victory, P.12
- ^ a b Anonymous (1988), p. 74
- ^ a b c d Tucker (1999), p. 116
- ^ Guan (2002), p. 85
- ^ Moyer (2006), p. 360
- ^ a b Guan (2002), p. 86
- ^ Moyer (2006), pp. 359–360
- ^ a b Moyer (2006), p. 363
- ^ a b Moyer (2006), p. 359
- ^ Dinh Uoc & Van Minh (1997), p. 117
- ^ Guan (2002), p. 92
- ^ a b c d e f Dinh Uoc & Van Minh (1997), p. 118
- ^ "Steel Division which has 4 division commanders who were martyrs". sknc.qdnd.vn. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ Comrade T.N. (1965), pp. 5–6
- ^ Comrade T.N. (1965), pp. 7–8
- ^ a b c d Comrade T.N. (1997), pp. 14–15
- ^ Comrade T.N. (1965), pp. 12–13
- ^ Comrade T.N. (1997), p. 15
- ^ Comrade T.N. (1997), pp. 15–16
- ^ Comrade T.N. (1997), p. 16
- ^ Comrade T.N. (1997), p. 17
- ^ Toan & Dinh (1990), p. 28
- ^ Dinh Uoc & Van Minh (1997), p. 119
- Bibliography
- Ang Cheng Guan. (2002). The Vietnam War from the other side: The Vietnamese Communists' Perspective. London: Routledge. ISBN 0700716157
- Anonymous. (1988). The Great Anti-U.S. War of Resistance for National Salvation: Military Events. Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House.
- Comrade T.N. (1965). A Diary on the Battle of Ba Gia. Saigon-Gia Dinh: Office of Information, Culture and Education.
- Mark Moyar. (2006). Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War 1954–1975. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521869110
- Nguyen Huy Toan & Pham Quang Dinh. (1990). History of the 304th Division: March–December 1965 (2nd edn). Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House.
- Nguyen Dinh Uoc & Nguyen Van Minh. (1997). History of the War of Resistance Against America (3rd edn). Hanoi: National Politics Publishing.
- Spencer Tucker. (1999). Warfare and History: Vietnam. Abingdon: Routledge.