Jumping into Trieu Phong
Major Nguyen Cao Nghiem
Trieu Phong was my native district. As a child I had studied at Bo Lieu Primary School, some 500m from the French outpost of Phuong Ngan. I used to run after the French soldiers who were performing operations from Bo Lieu through to An Long and Van Hoa (or across Dau Kenh, Dai Hao or Nhu Ly) begging for cans of tinned food.
In 1971 I frequently drove the three Company Commanders: Them of the 4th Company, Bui Bon of the 1st Company, Vang Huy Lieu of the 3rd Company and also Major Tong. Sometimes it was trips to Nai Cuu to eat some sour pork (nem) a type of meat delicatessen, other times it was to Duong Loc near Gia Do in Dong Ha. Thanks to these little excursions the three Company Commanders actually became very familiar with the region. The people who lived in the surrounds of Nai Cuu were all relatives or acquaintances of my family.
Trieu Phong District Hall was built after 1960, and it was situated to the right of the village route in the middle of a rice paddy. On the building's right flank was the police station and other administrative offices as well as a school. The school had a corrugated iron roof whereas the district hall had tiled roofs. It was a two storey structure with four bunkers at each of the corners. It was surrounded by a trench, and the area around that was bare. The French outpost Phuong Ngan was 1.5km away. This outpost had very solid blockhouses made from concrete. The Bo Lieu Chapel had a very well constructed bell tower reaching up to the skies and had been built by French priests. After 1954 these French outposts were occupied by the ARVN who used the outposts as their own and dug trenches around them.
Now, the bell tower of the Chapel was occupied by the NVA. And from this vantage point it was easy for them to direct their troop movements. Two days after we had parachuted into Trieu Phong I sought permission to attack the bell tower with air support. However the tower was only slightly touched.
Progress of the Operation :
The 1st Marine Battalion was reinforced with two Long Range Patrol platoons (LRP), a local militia platoon acting as guides, and two groups of American Advisers (one from my battalion and the other from the naval fleet).
Day D-1
The Seventh Fleet shelled a number of suspected spots. B52s cleared the landing zone.
Day D
One hour before the departure time B52s swept the landing zone again. Then ground and Navy Artillery shelled the targets. At hour H, all participating units departed from a village 3km north of Huong Dien by US Marine helicopters CH46 and CH53, which were in turn escorted by gunships and Cobras.
Fifteen minutes later, while attempting to land, the fleet of helicopters was shot at. One Chinook was hit by Anti Aircraft Artillery and burst into flames. Most of the helicopters took hits from the NVA guns. A number of marines were killed or injured while still in the air, and they were directly evacuated to the 7th fleet.
Since the landing all radio contact with Battalion Headquarters had been lost. All the Companies, from one to four, were under the Command of Group B. The NVA concentrated their rockets, artillery and firearms on us. The pressure was highest on the 3rd and 2nd Companies. I ordered the 4th Company, under Captain Them, to occupy a target south east of the District Hall. I instructed them to stick to the River T-junction Ngo Xa Vinh Dinh and prepare to become an outpost for Group B. The 1st Company was to split in half and form two groups; one group was to accompany group B to occupy the Vinh Dinh River bank, 500m north of the 4th Company. From there, it was to send a collective gun platoon along Vinh Dinh River in the northerly direction to reinforce the 3rd Company with the maximum possible firepower.
Captain Them executed my Command to the letter, requesting 105mm Howitzer Company to shell at the edge of the village to his right. He also sent a platoon to block this right flank. The other two platoons were ordered to charge to the edge of the village despite the heavy enemy fire. The reckless charge smacked of bravado but the enemy did not call their bluff. The head on charge caused the communists to panic and they began to run amok: some crossed the Vinh Dinh River, other run north, while a number headed towards a pagoda in the south. After two hours of fighting, the 4th Company successfully controlled the target.
The 1st Company's target was situated in the middle. The 4th Company was located to its south, and the 3rd Company was positioned to its north. The 1st Company quickly occupied its target and advanced close to a branch of the Vinh Dinh River. Reinforced by collective guns, two of its platoons fought house to house, and tried to control the banks surrounding a pond, and advanced north to join the 3rd Company. In the meantime, the 3rd Company had breached the enemy's line and was advancing toward the edge of the Bich La village. The enemy had extremely strong firepower, moreover they had the advantage of using the bell tower as an observation post. The enemy had deployed along the edge of the village and aimed their guns on the 3rd company as it approached from a bare and uncovered rice field.
There were two big anti-aircraft guns positioned at the top of the bell tower. They were now aimed directly at the 2nd and 3rd Company and Group B, hindering our advances. The 3rd Company's forward artillery observer called in the artillery to destroy these two guns. Captain Lieu relocated his Company to the south in order to avoid the firing from the chapel. From there, they charged to the edge of Bich La village and slowly fought from house to house under the support of the 1st Company.
After two hours of fierce fighting, Artillery succeeded in destroying the two guns atop the bell tower. The 1st and 3rd Companies met up, while the 2nd Company spread out to stop the NVA troops fleeing from the west side of the District Hall. The marines moved between the tombs scattered along the edge of the rice field and called in artillery to shell the NVA infantrymen who were retreating towards the village of Phuong Ngan.
I requested my American Advisers to call in Naval Artillery to shell An Long, Bo Lieu in the north. After the 3rd Company had occupied its target, Naval Artillery was to concentrate its fire on the Dai Hao T-junction which was 6km away from us in the north, in order to eradicate any enemy gathering there as well as tank movements. At the same time, B52 were ordered to bomb Gia Do and Phu Tai in order to wipe out NVA reinforcements and logistics.
About four hours later, each of the four Companies had finished their defensive lines. The enemy continued to fire sporadically at the 2nd and 3rd Companies. The latter had used the bamboo hedges on the edge of the village as part of their defense. Although the 2nd company was in a relatively exposed position and was vulnerable to a tank attack. The Company commander and I directed the troops to set up anti-tank mines and we chose the anticipated TOT points for the 2nd Company. The area was bare and the VNAF would easily observe any movement by enemy tanks.
That same day at four in the afternoon, enemy tanks appeared at the T-junction at Phuong Ngan and Bo Lieu. Our three 105mm batteries, our two 155mm batteries and Naval Artillery shelled the position. Then four Phantom F4 flew by and performed air strikes. The enemy tanks rolled towards Dai Hao to seek shelter. One of our F4 was shot down, but the enemy suffered heavy losses.
The enemy focussed their attentions on the 2nd and 3rd companies, shelling them intensely. Despite that, enemy attacks were still repulsed. The 4th company pushed back enemy reconnaissance attacks.
At six that evening I sent a Long Range Patrol platoon and members of the Headquarters company to return to the landing zone; they were to find Battalion Headquarters and the other missing marines. One hour later the Long Range Patrol platoon escorted the Battalion Headquarters to Group B. A number of marines had been wounded or burnt when the Chinook was shot down. These injured marines heard the sounds of our M16, and using that sound were able to orientate themselves to crawl in the right direction to make it to Group B.
Results of Landing Day :
Our losses :
* A CH53 was shot and burst into flames. 47 wounded or burnt, among them the Battalion surgeon Lieutenant Hoan.
* A Cobra had to execute an emergency landing. The crew were rescued but two other Americans were missing.
* A Phantom was hit by anti-aircraft artillery. The pilot was saved.
* From the time of the landing until the target was finally occupied, 87 marines lost their lives and another 54 were wounded (including the Battalion Commander and two American Advisers). The fate of the crew aboard the CH53 which was shot down was unclear.
* The 7th fleet reported that all the helicopters had been hit by anti-aircraft artillery rounds to varying degrees of severity.
After escorting Group A to its position, the LRP platoon deployed to the west of the 2nd and 4th company to keep watch for signs of the enemy.
Enemy losses :
* 6 were taken prisoner.
* One 82mm recoilless rifle, one anti-aircraft gun, 50 collective and personal firearms were taken.
* More than 100 communists were killed; a number of bodies were carried away by their comrades.
* The VNAF reported that 4 NVA tanks had been destroyed.
* Naval and Ground Artillery destroyed 3 NVA tanks.
Day D+1
During night D, I requested my American Advisers to order B52 bombardments on the following targets: Dai Hao, Phu Tai, Dong Ha, Gia Do. Naval Artillery was requested to shell Phuong Ngan, Bo Lieu, An Long, Dau Kenh.
Early in the morning on Day D+1, the enemy attacked the 2nd and 3rd Companies. Our troops made use of the bamboo hedges and the trenches which had been dug with the help of villagers. With the support of Naval and ground artillery, the troops were able to repel the attack, and the NVA withdrew after an hour of fighting.
At 1.00pm enemy tanks moved out of Dai Hao. Naval and ground artillery shelled TOT. Phantom F4s performed air strikes. The enemy tanks sustained heavy damage. NVA infantrymen attacked the 2nd, 3rd and 4th companies simultaneously but were repulsed. They then shelled with all kinds of rockets and artillery on the 1st Battalion.
At 4.00pm I pleaded with Marine Brigade 147 for more ammunition and body bags. The brigade sent a CH46 (flanked by two Cobras) to bring over more ammunition and 100 body bags. Dr Trung Chinh was sent to replace Dr Hoan. The resupply was completed but one of the Cobras was hit by bullets and had to execute an emergency landing in a safe territory.
The enemy concentrated their shelling on the Battalion command post. The Battalion commander's bunker collapsed but he was only slightly injured and moved to a different position. About half an hour later my bunker was hit by a rocket. The roof was shattered and its parts flew in all directions. The houses and fences nearby went up in flames. Group B needed to move closer to Group A. I and some members of my staff were slightly wounded in the explosion. Meanwhile the 3rd and 4th Companies continued to resist enemy attacks, wave after wave. F4 fighters bombed frighteningly close to their defensive lines. 105mm and 155mm Howitzers shelled ceaselessly. Naval artillery assisted by shelling targets further away, behind the enemy's physical location at the time, in an attempt to control their rockets and artillery. The enemy was forced to retreat. We were running low on ammunition and getting resupplied by helicopters was risky. Consequently the Battalion Commander did not permit our troops to pursue the retreating enemy, and we were only allowed to search the area immediately around our present positions
.
Day D+2
The enemy shelled continuously throughout the day. They attacked the 2nd and 3rd companies in the late afternoon but were repelled.
The 2nd Marine Battalion (The Crazy Buffaloes) approached Ba Ben Bridge and deployed across a large area to protect the Engineering units which were constructing a pontoon bridge across Vinh Dinh River.
Day D+3
And still the enemy shelled. Continuous showers of shells. Despite rotating their troops to attack the 2nd and 3rd companies, they were still unable to pierce the defensive lines. Once the bridge was finished, M48 tanks from the 20th Tank Regiment came and provided support to the 1st Battalion. Soon after, the 2nd Battalion arrived to relieve the 1st Battalion.
After four days of fighting, 100 marines from the 1st Battalion lost their lives and approximately 200 others were injured.
Major Nguyen Cao Nghiem
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