Robertson later compared the enemy activity that night to a "10-ring circus." The fighting during the preceding week had drawn down the strength of the ARVN and the two Marine battalions and the PAVN 2nd Division still had uncommitted units that it could throw into the fray. The Marines failed to determine whether this mixed force had a specific mission or consisted of remnants from units that had participated in the earlier attack on the I Corps headquarters. [1]:154, The ROKMC sent three companies to close the southern link and then moved forward into the attack. The USAF 620th Tactical Control Squadron established a control and reporting post (CRP) code-named Panama on the mountain in 1964 to support operations from Danang Air Base. [1]:150, By this time, General Robertson had taken measures to bolster the ARVN south of the Cau Dau. The Marines and PF troops fired at armed members of the crowd who appeared to be directing the march. The battalion's Company B, however, in an operation with a CAP in two hamlets on the Tiensha Peninsula or Da Nang East, surprised a VC force in two hamlets north of Marble Mountain. DaNang earned the nickname Rocket City during the Vietnam war, having been attacked over 900 times in 10 years. English: A damaged U.S. Marine Corps Grumman A-6A Intruderof Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 242 (VMA(AW)-242) "Bats" at Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam, 30 January 1968. According to Murray, "from then on until Tt was over, there were just constant attacks." Darkness prevented any accurate bomb assessment. The ROKMC, while not finding any sizeable forces, continued to encounter small enemy units and boobytraps which took their toll. Aircraft destroyed included F-4 Phantom II's \u0026 C-130's. Shortly after midnight on July 15, 1967, Da Nang Air Base in Quang Nam Province, RVN, came under a heavy rocket attack. In the attack on the I Corps headquarters and in the defense of Ha Vang village the Allies sustained losses of nine dead and several wounded. Rummage soon determined that the total number of PAVN approximated 500 or more men, moving in two columns. The South Vietnamese quickly rushed the newly arrived ARVN 5th Ranger Battalion into the area. After dark, both sides withdrew, the Marines to night defensive positions and the PAVN to the west. Marine losses were 14 killed, Army losses were 18 killed, while PAVN/VC losses were in excess of 286. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images) PURCHASE A LICENSE Get personalized pricing by telling us when, where, and how you want to use this asset. Rockey then directed Company G of the 3rd Marines, also attached to him, to move up along the banks of the Bau Xau River toward a blocking position southwest of the ARVN base to seal any escape route in that direction. PAVN battalions from the 2nd Division had eluded the Korean and ARVN defenses in the southern sector and had penetrated the defensive perimeter of the 2/3 Marines and 3/5 Marines just below the Air Base. Air Force rocket attacks in Vietnam Share 9 posts gleyhjr 44 Aug 30, 2010 #1 The following link is a list of all rocket attacks on Air Bases by date: Hope this helps someone needing a stressor of a rocket attack on a Air Base http://www.afhra.af.mil/timelines/index.asp George Binh Thuy AB RVN Sept 1968-Sept 1969 JimM44 683 The nickname for DaNang was "Rocket City" garnering that appellation from the frequent attacks on it by means of the "Katyusha" which is the name given the Soviet BM-21 122mm artillery rocket. Newsreel reporting on a rocket attack on the Da Nang military base being used for US Marine Corps operations. The MPs shot one of the swimmers, took the other man prisoner and drove off the boats with a fusillade of bullets. The PAVN/VC rocket troops fired in two bursts, one at 03:42, followed by a second barrage three hours later. Firing from well-concealed and dug-in firing positions, the PAVN machine gunners and infantry took a heavy toll of the Marines. Later that afternoon, the 1st Marine Division helilifted a "Bald Eagle" reaction force from Company E, 2/3 Marines east of the river in an attempt to encircle the PAVN. Shortly after 04:45, General Lm ordered the ARVN 4th Cavalry Regiment, a Ranger battalion and a detachment of National Police to augment the units in Ha Vang and the headquarters personnel forces in the compound. The Marine squad lost one killed. In the initial fighting for Ha Vang, the South Vietnamese and Americans accounted for 25 VC dead. In one contact about 16:45, Company M, 3/5 Marines met a force of 100 PAVN/VC troops. In the northeast, near the Force Logistic Command sector, villagers from Nam (160654N 1080744E / 16.115N 108.129E / 16.115; 108.129) just south of the strategic Nam Bridge, told PF troops, members of the CAP Q-4 platoon, that the VC planned to attack the CAP compound. Again, the Marines killed the VC and once more foiled an apparent enemy demolition effort. "[1]:163, Another possible explanation was that the Da Nang attack may have been a secondary assault, to cause as much damage as possible and divert Allied forces from the almost successful effort of the PAVN/VC forces to capture Hu. We don't know why, but we know they are!" According to Marine pilot reports, the PAVN/VC had approximately 250 men in the area equipped with automatic weapons, including at least one .51-caliber machine gun. Because of the location of Hill 65, just above Route 4 about 4,000 meters west of the district town of i Lc and below Charlie Ridge (155610N 1080542E / 15.936N 108.095E / 15.936; 108.095), where the VC had heavy machine gun emplacements which precluded any helicopter lift, the Marine company had to make the move on foot. Suspected excavations camouflaged with tree branches were seen on a peninsula 6 miles southwest of Da Nang. [1]:146, Lieutenant Colonel Twyman R. Hill's 1st MP Battalion operated directly under III MAF and was responsible for the "close-in defense" of the Da Nang Air Base, the two bridges between Tiensha Peninsula, Marble Mountain Air Facility and the Naval Hospital on the Tiensha (Tin Sa) Peninsula. 00:00 00:00 What the Captain Means Unless otherwise noted all videos on this site appear on, and are posted here via embedded links to, You Tube. The Da Nang airbase was a major Ranch Hand facility during the American War in Vietnam. Posted: 02/01/2018. We had played cards the night before and he was so happy he had survived his year in . The III MAF Command Center later that evening radioed MACV in Saigon: "Although the enemy has suffered heavy losses within his local and main force VC units during the past two days, he still possesses a formidable threat utilizing [PAVN] troops poised on the periphery of the Da Nang TAOR. About the same time, from their firing positions on the western fringes of the Da Nang TAOR, PAVN rocketeers launched a fusillade of 122mm rockets aimed at the Air Base. The Marine company called in mortar and artillery fire. 15 January 1968 U-10D Courier 66-14334 unit unknown, USAF, base unknown A mortar attack on the airfield at Luang Prabang in Laos destroyed a U-10D Courier. Archives. Another PAVN soldier, who infiltrated from North Vietnam after receiving a year's training as a radioman in Hanoi, was thrust into one of the attacking battalions south of Da Nang so hastily that he never learned the name of his unit let alone those of his officers. Finally there were rumors that the other two regiments of the 2nd Division, the VC 1st and the PAVN 3rd, had infiltrated even further north. The attacks on Da Nang (29 January 11 February 1968), were a series of attacks in the Tet Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong (VC) during the Vietnam War. Both Marine companies encountered heavy small-arms fire and RPGs as they approached their objectives. The Flightline, Funny Money, Rocket shrapnel. Some viewers may find some scenes or audio in this archival material to be unsettling or distressing. According to intelligence reports, on 15 January, Group 44, the forward headquarters of the PAVN/VC Military Region 5, moved from the hills in western Qung Nam Province, to an advance position on G Ni Island. The 391 rockets that hit the base itself the figure was 69 in 1971killed four United States. [1]:163, The official PAVN history records the attack as follows:[3]. In Vietnam this rocket comprised one of the primary means of inflicting standoff attacks against airfields and other . At about 07:40, a crowd of 400 Vietnamese civilians made up mostly of women and children and carrying PAVN and VC flags approached the CAP compound. The bulk of the attack force remained in Ha Vang Village bogged down in a firefight with local Popular Force (PF) and Regional Force (RF) troops reinforced by a USMC Combined Action Platoon (CAP), E-3. Given also the enemy rocket threat, he still needed to maintain extensive patrols in the so-called Rocket Belt. Additional intelligence tended to confirm the enemy was about to initiate something big. Company G repulsed a number of probes throughout the night until the PAVN broke contact at dawn. The PAVN then attacked forcing the Marine platoons to fall back to more defendable positions. At 18:35, Recon team Ice Bound, positioned in the mountains about 8 miles (13km) northwest of Da Nang observed an enemy rocket unit prepare a firing position for their missiles. The U.S Marine Corps Fighter Squadron VMF (AW) 232, also based here, lost some of its F-8E Crusader aircraft in this attack. According to a VC after-action report early in the offensive, the writer complained that the "commander did not know [the) situation accurately and that orders were not strictly obeyed ." Bringing up two artillery platoons , the ARVN gunners lowered their pieces and fired pointblank at the VC. The Marines called in artillery and mortar missions . Liked the Oriental rock bands came to the Club: They fired, killing one of the enemy underwater demolition team, while the other member surrendered to the Marines. Reinforced by the remainder of Company L and two platoons from Company M together with two tanks and an LVTP-5, the Marines engaged the PAVN. [1]:160, The fighting continued during the night and into the next day. With the PAVN too close to call in artillery or fixed-wing air, the Marines radioed for reinforcements. The PAVN/VC attacked a Marine bunker and ran through the Communications Support Company area throwing grenades and Satchel charges in the living quarters. On 14 February 1965 the Marine 1st LAAM Battalion established its anti-aircraft operations center colocated with the USAF CRP. On 29 January, Marine intelligence officers received a reliable report that the PAVN 2nd Division also had established its command post in western G Ni. Other units included the 402nd Sapper Battalion, the VC V-25th Battalion and other VC local forces. Davis, the commanding officer of the 1/7 Marines, recalled that his unit began to take fewer casualties from surprise firing devices or boobytraps and began to suspect that enemy troops unfamiliar with the terrain might be attempting to move into his sector. If we went a week without a few rockets coming we knew something was in the works. Just 19 when he arrived, the horrors he witnessed would forever shape him. [1]:160, By this time, Robertson was worried about the ability to contain the PAVN/VC offensive south of Da Nang. Mortar and rocket attacks followed by ground assaults were made all along the perimeter of the base. Missiles launched from nearby mountains have caused eight deaths, many injuries and. Battle in Vietnam involving the United States in early 1968, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tet_offensive_attacks_on_Da_Nang&oldid=1098267255, Battles of the Vietnam War involving the United States, Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1968, Battles and operations of the Vietnam War, Articles needing additional references from August 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 July 2022, at 01:30. Colonel Ross R. Miner's 7th Marine Regiment with all three of its battalions had the responsibility for the northern, western and southwestern sectors. Reinforced by another squad, the Company G Marines killed three and captured two. Americal Division artillery operating in the Qu Sn sector took the PAVN/VC forces under fire, but did not shell Duy Xuyn town because of the civilian population there. This should include information pertaining to the rocket and mortar attacks at the Da Nang Air base from April 1967 to May 1968, to include any attacks occurring on or about July 14, 1967. The Marines evacuated the survivor to the Naval Support Activity hospital where he died of his wounds. Naval Support Activity Danang operated extensive logistics facilities on the Tiensha (Tin Sa) peninsula east of the city. 14 New Guns For 2022 by B. GIL HORMAN; A First-Year Magnum: Shooting The S&W "Pre-29" by JUSTIN DYAL; Contact; Donate; Eye Candy for the Gentlemen out there Flares light up the Da Nang area to make it easier to spot infiltrating guerrillas. At 20:00 on the night of the 5th, a Marine platoon ambush from Company C, 1/7 Marines intercepted about 60 PAVN troops about 4,000 meters south of the Ty Loan River in the western sector of the area of operations moving northeast towards the river and the base with mortars and automatic weapons. 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