Battle of Duc Lap

The Battle of Duc Lap took place during the

On the night of 23 August the 66th Regiment and the 20th Sapper Battalion gathered near Duc Lap Camp in preparation for their attack on the base while the 320th Regiment established a blocking position on Highway 14 northeast of Duc Lap to intercept allied ground units.[1]^: 658

After midnight on 24 August two squads from the 20th Sapper Battalion cut through the perimeter wire around the Duc Lap subsector headquarters, entered the compound and threw satchel charges at buildings and fighting positions while infantry provided covering fire. One of the satchel charges hit the advisory team headquarters, wounding five U.S. advisers inside. When the advisers emerged from the headquarters they were hit by heavy weapons fire which killed one adviser and forced the rest back into the building, they then radioed Dak Sek Camp for assistance but were informed that it was also under attack.^{[1]: 658–9}

At Dak Sek Camp the PAVN had penetrated the northern perimeter wire and occupied part of a hill inside the camp. An AC-47 Spooky gunship soon arrived overhead and began firing on PAVN mortar and machine-gun positions.^[1]: 659

After a meeting at ARVN

On the morning of 24 August U.S. helicopters landed a MIKE Force company outside the Duc Lap camp and they proceeded to engage the PAVN forces on the north end of the camp suffering heavy losses. When helicopters landed on the camp airfield to evacuate casualties, PAVN machine guns on the hill shot down four UH-1s.^[1]: 660 Later that afternoon the ARVN 2nd Battalion, 45th Regiment was landed near the Duc Lap subsector headquarters with two UH-1s shot down. At dusk two MIKE Force companies were landed 3 km south of Duc Lap Camp.^{[1]: 660–1}

On 25 August the PAVN renewed their attack against the subsector headquarters, but the remaining 61 troops defenders held out until rescued later that day by the ARVN 2nd Battalion, 45th Regiment which then forced the PAVN to retreat from the village. Meanwhile, at Duc Lap Camp the PAVN had forced the defenders back into the southern end of the camp. Battery A, 4th Battalion, 42nd Artillery Regiment was airlifted into the landing zone 3 km south of the camp and the two MIKE Force companies there then moved north and fought their way into Duc Lap Camp by 13:00. The MIKE Forces hit the PAVN flank as they were assaulting the southern end of the camp pushing them back to the northern hill. Following air and artillery strikes the original two companies plus a third which had been flown in from Pleiku then assaulted the hill. Three U.S. advisers and a number of the CIDG troops were killed in the assault, but by 19:00 they had cleared the PAVN from the camp.^[1]: 661

On 26 August the ARVN 2nd Battalion, 45th Regiment, continued to pursue the PAVN north in the hills north of the town and by 27 August the battle was over.^{[1]: 661 [2][3]}

Aftermath

Allied casualties for the battle of Duc Lap were 114 killed (including seven U.S. advisers) and 238 wounded. I Field Force estimated that over 700 PAVN had been killed, most from air and artillery strikes.^[1]: 662

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.