Where Ca N I Get the Drang Again
Overview
In the fall of 1965 the Vietnam War was an event most Americans saw every bit a serial of smaller battles leaving lilliputian to remember. That all would change when the First Cavalry Air Mobile Division flew into the Ia Drang Valley in the central highlands of South Vietnam.
The Air Mobile Division was a new concept. Battalions would employ helicopters to be transferred in and out as arms back up came in from above. This immune troops to exist quickly brought in and out for boxing. The central highlands had few roads and challenging terrain, making air mobility the only feasible style of transportation.
The Battle of the la Drang Valley would come to be remembered every bit i of the nigh iconic battles of the Vietnam War, and subsequently would set up the scene for the film We Were Soldiers based on the novel Nosotros Were Soldiers Once……And Immature. Information technology was the first major gainsay activeness betwixt U.S. regular army and the North Vietnamese Army. And it all began early i fall day.
The Boxing of the Ia Drang Valley
On the morning of November 14th, the 1st Cavalry landed at Landing Zone X-Ray at the base of the Chu Pong mountain and by apex they were already under attack from the N Vietnamese. The fighting continued all day and into the night with the enemy relentlessly making assault after assault.
The North Vietnamese forces had succeeded in engaging the U.S. forces in very tight quarters. The cavalry regiment returned fire, simply the enemy were dug into prepared fighting positions and many of the American leaders had died or were wounded during the initial stages of the attack.
Temperatures reached 100 degrees, and by the afternoon there was a firestorm battle for survival. Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore and his men continued on, receiving support from artillery units and air strikes, helping the American troops concur themselves against the enemy.
During a 14-hour period, Major Bruce Crandall and Captain Ed Freeman, repeatedly landed their helicopter nether intense enemy fire at Landing Zone X-Ray. They resupplied armament, water, and supplies, while evacuating the wounded. They saved some 70 soldiers. Both later were awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation'southward highest award for heroism in combat.
By the end of the beginning day, the 1st BN, viith Cavalry was reduced to approximately 340 men. Due north Vietnamese forces had higher prey rates, due to the U.S. airstrike and artillery support.
On the second day, N Vietnamese forces launched a heavy assail including hand-to-hand combat. Charlie Company took the brunt of the assault. A "Cleaved Arrow" was declared over the radio by the Battalion Forrad Air Controller, which meant that an American unit was in imminent danger of existence overrun. Information technology was the betoken for all available American aircraft to converge and provide aid to the American unit.
The fighting continued for iii hours. Charlie Visitor held their position, exemplifying boggling heroism and courage. By the cease, there were no officers left and only 49 men that were not wounded.
With the inflow on foot of the 2nd Battalion, seventh Cavalry commanded by Lt. Col. Robert McDade, on the morning of November 16, at that place were now iii Cavalry battalions crammed into the immigration, including Lt. Col. Walter Tully's 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry. Past the tertiary mean solar day of the battle, the Americans had gained the upper hand.
Equally the fighting around Landing Zone X-Ray subsided, McDade's twond Battalion, viith Cavalry, was ordered to move cross-country to Landing Zone Albany, where it was to exist picked upwardly by helicopter and moved to a new location. The U.Due south. unit was moving through the jungle in a long cavalcade when the 8th battalion of the North Vietnamese 66th Regiment sprang in to a massive ambush. Of the 500 men, 150 were killed and only 84 were able to return to immediate duty. Companies C and D took the brunt of the Communist attack, and near of the men were speedily hitting. It was the most successful ambush against U.S. forces during the course of the unabridged war.
Earlier the Battle of la Drang was over, 305 Americans had been killed forth with an estimated 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. American officials declared the Battle of the la Drang Valley a victory.
The service members killed in the Battle of la Drang are remembered on Panel 3E of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Source: https://www.vvmf.org/topics/Ia-Drang/
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