The Battle Of La Drang Valley

The Vietnam War had many huge battles with very high body counts. Some battles were very brutal. The first major battle of the war was the Battle of Ap Bac (January 2,1962).

The Battle of Chipyong-ni was a decisive battle during the Korean War and the first major victory following the entry of the Chinese into the war. COL Freeman employed the following principles of mission command during the battle of Chipyong-ni: build cohesive teams through mutual trust, use of mission orders, exercise disciplined initiative, and accept prudent risk. He was an outstanding leader who knew the value of good communication with his unit. He led by example, and fostered a climate that allowed his subordinates to excel.

This paper will examine the British and American Southern Loyalist defeat in the Battle of Kings Mountain and discuss the assumptions the British made including loyalist support, logistic support, and terrain advantage.

“In August of 1964, in response to the American and GVN espionage along its coast, the DRV launched a local and controlled attack against C. Turner Joy and the U.S.S. Maddox , two American ships on call in the Gulf of Tonkin” (Brigham 2). This resulted in the United States government giving Lyndon Johnson the ability to make war under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. President Johnson then gave orders to perform air raids on Northern Vietnam pushing the United States further into the war. Compared to 1962 when only 9,000 soldiers supported the South Vietnamese, by June 1965 82,000 soldiers occupied the country. The number only continued to rise exponentially, and by 1966 370,000 soldiers had been sent in to prop their South Vietnam allies. President Richard Nixon withdrew American soldiers from Vietnam and as part of the “vietnamization” of the war. Over and 60,000 American soldiers had been lost in a war to preserve the status quo, not to win.

The Battle of San Jacinto was a decisive battle that helped to secure the independence of Texas. The Battle occurred on the 21st of April, 1836 in which the Texan Army led by General Sam Houston defeated the Mexican Army led by General Santa Anna. Despite the Mexican Army having a superior number of troops and equipment, they were not able to defeat the Texan Army, and thus led to the eventual capture of General Santa Anna and the withdraw of Mexican Forces from Texas (Hardin, 1994). The one key element that aided the victory of the Texan Army was the patience and terrain knowledge that General Houston had. What if General Santa Anna had sent a scout element to recon the terrain? What if General Santa Anna

and consisted of 16,500 IX Corps Union soldiers and approximately 9,500 Confederate soldiers.1 Ambrose E. Burnside lead the IX Corps soldiers but

The Battle of San Juan Hill took place in the hills surrounding Santiago, Cuba on July 1, 1898. It was a battle between the Spanish forces commanded by General Arsenio Linares and the United States Army V Corps commanded by MG William Schafter. Although the United States won the battle, MG Shafter did not properly exercise all of the principles of mission command prior to and during the battle. MG Shafter failed to provide a clear commander’s intent and exercise prudent risk, but several of his subordinate leaders developed cohesive teams through mutual trust and exercised disciplined initiative to win the Battle of San Juan Hill.

It’s a known fact that that the Vietnam War was fought by young American soldiers that bled and died next to one another in the jungles of Vietnam. With many wins and loses throughout the war there were over 58,000 American casualties by wars end. The movie, “We Were Soldiers” focuses on the role of the United State’s 7th Calvary Regiment in the Battle of Ia Drang, which was the first large-unit battle of the Vietnam War. Lt. Col. Hal Moore commanded the 7th Calvary Regiment that landed a helicopter in an area named “X-Ray” located in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. LT. Col. Moore found himself and his men defending an area no bigger than

This paper will examine how a unwavering adversary and difficult terrain combined to negate the effects of American technology. The Battle of Hamburger Hill was a battle of the Vietnam War which was fought by the United States and South Vietnam against North Vietnamese Forces from May 10–20, 1969. The battle took place on Ap Bia Mountain in the rugged, jungle-shrouded mountains along the Laotian border of South Vietnam. Ap Bia Mountain anchors the northwest corner of South Viet Nam's A Shau Valley. The valley has been a major infiltration route for Communist Forces from the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos to the coastal cities of Northern I Corps since1966. Ap Bia Mountain dominates the northern valley, towering some 937 meters. Official

The People’s Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) carried out a massive artillery bombardment on the U.S. Marine garrison at Khe Sanh (Defending Khe Sanh). The Marines recorded an actual body count of 1,602 NVA killed, but they estimated the total NVA dead between 10,000 and 15,000. The Time magazine, in an April 12, 1968, was titled, “Victory at Khe Sanh.” They took 220 killed at Khe Sanh and about 800 wounded and evacuated them to a different area. For the next 77 days, U.S. Marines and their South Vietnamese allies fought off an intense battle of the garrison. The Battle of Khe Sanh was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and the United States. United States of America entered the Vietnam War in an attempt to prevent the spread of Communism. However, the choice of going to War dominates American politics and threating President Johnson’s political career. In 1965, an attack on American air base at Pleiku, South America, in which President immediately ordered retaliation against North Vietnam. Congress authorized the president to take “all necessary measures” to protect American soldiers and their allies from the communist Viet Cong. “Operation Rolling Thunder” was in full force, bombing North Vietnam. There were more bombs have been

The Battle of the Ia Drang Valley was the first major battle of the Vietnam War that engaged regular forces of the United States Army ushering in a new era of combat. Air Assault of Artillery and Close Air Support used together for the first time in Vietnam allowed an agile small force to be successful against a much larger enemy contingency. Operation Silver Bayonet pitted the Third Brigade of the First Cavalry Division: 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Cavalry Regiment, against a much larger Vietnamese force to include the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong guerilla fighters. The fighting lasted from 14 November to 18 November 1965.

The Battle of la Drang lasted four days while the North Vietnamese continued to push the American lines. It was the first major battle that the U.S. was involved in against the North Vietnamese. The Battle of Ia Drang had a great amount effects over the Vietnam war. The tactics used, the three major days, and what the effects were all had a major part in the war.

Khe Sanh, a plateau in the northwest corner of South Vietnam, was a U.S. Marine Corps base and airstrip. Located where North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and Laos came together, the Khe Sanh base was important for American forces, as it enabled troops to gather information about the traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. However, the Communists also admired the region around Khe Sanh, since it could act as an avenue into Southern Vietnam. General Westmoreland, who would come to play a major role in the future battles, immediately felt this “crucial importance” (Brush) of Khe Sanh when he first arrived there.

The United States Army Special Forces (U.S. SF) conducted a joint operation with the United States Air Force (U.S. Air Force), with support from the United States Navy (U.S. Navy), to rescue American Prisoners of War (PoWs) in Son Tay Prison in Northern Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The actual date of the operation took place on November 20, 1970 but the actual mission planning process occurred between May and August of the same year. The United States identified approximately 500 American Prisoners of War that the North Vietnamese Army (N.V. Army) held in captivity. More so, several intelligence reports indicated the N.V. Army tortured prisoners and kept them in terrible conditions. As a result, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, General Earle G. Wheeler authorized the creation of a working group to address the issue and develop appropriate solutions. Essentially, the