Operation Truong Cong Dinh
Operation Truong Cong Dinh | |
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Part of Tiền Giang Province, Vietnam ) | |
Result | Allied operational success |
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![Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/FNL_Flag.svg/23px-FNL_Flag.svg.png)
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![United States](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png)
Mobile Riverine Force
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Operation
The operation started on 7 March 1968 and lasted until August 1968, involving the 1st and 2nd brigades of the US
Background
During the Tet Offensive, ARVN and
The 1st Brigade, 9th Infantry Division was reconfigured as light infantry for closer operations with the MRF and the
The objective of Operation Truong Cong Dinh was to destroy communist forces in
Operation
The operation started on 7 March 1968, and involved elements of the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division and the ARVN 7th Division, backed by Regional Forces. This was the first time that the commanding general of the 9th Infantry Division was able to use the 2nd Brigade in a continuing co-ordinated role with another brigade. The Mobile Riverine Force conducted a series of combined riverine and airmobile operations, beginning east of Mỹ Tho.
During initial airmobile assaults on 7 March, VC resistance was light and no major firefight resulted. During the afternoon, the two battalions shifted their area of operations west-northwest of Mỹ Tho in response to intelligence reports. At 19:20 the U.S.
: 161On March 10 the MRF shifted operations to near the towns of
On 22 March the MRF floating base, still located in the Mỹ Tho River south of Dong Tam, was attacked at 03:20 by communist forces using mortars and recoilless rifles. The USS Benewah received two 75-mm recoilless rifle hits that caused minor damage,[4]: 161 and near misses were registered by VC mortars on a landing ship tank, the USS Washtenaw County.[4]: 162
For the rest of March the MRF continued operations in Dinh Tuong Province with occasional light to moderate firefights. On 1 April the U.S. 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment left and assumed the Dong Tam security mission and was replaced in the MRF by the 3/47th Infantry.[4]: 162
In late March and early April the 4/47th Infantry and 3/60th Infantry ranged across the northern Delta locating and destroying numerous bunkers but killing only small numbers of VC who appeared to have withdrawn into base areas in western Dinh Tuong Province. By 2 April VC losses in the operation were 150 killed and 14 captured.[3]: 470
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/NARA_photo_111-CCV-591-SC661666.jpg/220px-NARA_photo_111-CCV-591-SC661666.jpg)
In mid-April, the 3rd and 4th Battalions, 47th Infantry Regiment moved into northern
During the operation, the MRF used extensively a riverine assault reconnaissance element, a small unit first employed in December 1967 that consisted of three or four monitors and several assault support patrol boats. The riverine assault reconnaissance element led ATC convoys and employed reconnaissance by fire against likely VC ambush positions. According to the U.S. military, the technique reduced casualties because of the firepower and mobility of the craft in the riverine assault reconnaissance element and the placement of ATCs carrying infantry in the rear of the column. Airmobility was used during the operation to increase the flexibility of the MRF by providing increased intelligence, firepower, and escort coverage for convoys during troop movement.[4]: 162
Aftermath
The operation was regarded as a success because the VC no longer threatened the towns and cities and had been pushed back into their sanctuaries allowing the South Vietnamese to re-establish control over the countryside and begin pacification and reconstruction.[3]: 472–3
The operation continued until August when it was succeeded by Operation Quyet Chien.[3]: 634
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
- S2CID 159512539.
- ISBN 0-520-01813-3.
- ^ .
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