What happened when the VC attacked a Special Forces base

We Are The Mighty ^ | October 10, 2019 | Logan Nye

[Twotone]

It was a small airbase on the border with Cambodia. It bordered a town of 6,000 that survived on the proceeds of local rubber plantations. The airbase was guarded by a few hundred South Vietnamese regulars supported by 11 U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret) soldiers. But it would host a 10-day battle that would see hundreds of North Vietnamese forces killed while that tiny force held its ground.

The small town and airbase were important for two reasons. First, the airbase was a logistical hub for military and espionage operations conducted by the U.S.; something communist forces were keen to excise. But the town was also the district capital. With a new president awaiting inauguration in Vietnam, the North Vietnamese wanted to embarrass him before he took office.

And North Vietnam was looking for a tasty target. A new commander and staff needed to try out the 9th Division in the field and build up its combat proficiency ahead of larger, corps-level offensives. So, in late 1967, North Vietnamese Senior Col. Hoang Cam, gave orders to get his regiments in position and supplied for an attack on the base at Loc Ninh.

One of his key units ran into an immediate problem, though. U.S. forces were working to secure a hey highway and clear out communist forces that could threaten it, and they swept through an area where Cam's top regiment was hiding. That regiment was able to set an ambush just in time and killed 56 Americans, but they also suffered heavy losses and fled to Cambodia.

[2banana]

What happened?

The SF were saved by AF and Army air power and flying in several battalions of American infantry.

So how did we lose with men like this?

“...impatient South Vietnamese soldier grabbed a U.S. officer’s pistol from him and used it to attack a North Vietnamese machine gunner. When he couldn’t chamber a round in the pistol, he used it to pistol-whip the machine gunner instead.”

[Rummyfan]

Betrayed by politicians.... an old coworker and friend of mine, had been ARVN (he got out in the boat lift). He always said that if he had been in charge the Republic of Viet Nam would still be in existence.

[dsc]

“So how did we lose with men like this?”

We didn’t lose.

The war was won when the demonrats and fake news took Nixon down. That opened the way for the US Senate to betray our allies and hand them over to the enemy.

[Equine1952]

You’re right. “We didn’t lose”. The assholes in DC capitulated. Given the brakes off orders and support it would have been over before it hardly got started.

[LS]

This sounds a lot like “Siege of Firebase Gloria.”