Battle of Loc Ninh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Battle of Loc Ninh | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Vietnam War | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Combatants | |||||||
 South Vietnam, United States |
 Viet Cong, North Vietnam |
||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Mark A. Smith # | Tran Van Tra | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 15,000+ | 30,000+ | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 5,000+ | 7,000+ | ||||||
| Vietnam War |
|---|
| Ap Bac – Binh Gia –Pleiku – Song Be – Dong Xoai – Gang Toi – Ia Drang – Hastings – A Shau – Duc Co –Long Tan – Attleboro – Cedar Falls – Tra Binh Dong – Junction City – Hill 881 – Ong Thanh – Dak To – 1st Tet – Khe Sanh – 1st Saigon – Hue – Lang Vei – Lima Site 85 – Kham Duc – Dewey Canyon – 2nd Tet – Hamburger Hill – Binh Ba – Cambodia – Snuol – FSB Ripcord – Lam Son 719 – Ban Dong –FSB Mary Ann – Easter '72 – 1st Quang Tri –Loc Ninh – An Loc – Kontum – 2nd Quang Tri –Phuoc Long – Ho Chi Minh – Buon Me Thuot – Xuan Loc – Truong Sa –2nd Saigon – Rolling Thunder – Barrell Roll – Pony Express – Steel Tiger – Tiger Hound – Tailwind – Commando Hunt – Linebacker I – Linebacker II – Chenla I – Chenla II – SS Mayagüez |
The Battle of Loc Ninh was a major battle fought during North Vietnam's Nguyen Hue Campaign and lasted from April 4 to April 7, 1972.
Loc Ninh was a small district town in Binh Long Province, about 60 miles north of Saigon. Its location near the Cambodian border made it the scene of bitter fighting during the Vietnam War, in 1967 the Viet Cong 272nd and 273rd Regiments attempted to overrun the CIDG camp there but was repulsed. In 1972, the Viet Cong were better armed with armour support from the North Vietnamese Army, returned in force and were more determined than ever to take Loc Ninh.
In 1972, the ARVN force defending Loc Ninh include two battalions from the 9th Regiment, 1st Cavalry Squadron, 74th Ranger Battalion and the 1st Regional Popular Force Battalion. Those units were supported by artillery from the 48th and 54th Regiments. While the main Communist force consist of the three regiments from the Viet Cong 5th Division, supported by the North Vietnamese 69th Artillery Division and the 203rd Tank Regiment.
Contents |
[edit] Nguyen Hue Offensive
North Vietnam launched Operation Nguyen Hue on March 30 with a conventional battle plan, using multi-divisions in the open field that makes guerilla warfare a thing of the past. Regular troops of the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong launched deadly attacks throughout the northern regions of South Vietnam causing general panick as one ARVN base after another fell under Communist control. By April the North Vietnamese had taken Tay Ninh Province, from there they planned their next move targeting Loc Ninh and An Loc.
Initial contact with the enemy was made on April 4 when two VC soldiers from the 9th Division were captured. That afternoon a company of the South Vietnamese 9th Regiment was destroyed by the Viet Cong, a survivor reported that large numbers of enemy troops were moving towards Loc Ninh. As indicated by the captured enemy soldiers, the tanks were to be used against Loc Ninh, while the VC 9th Division would provide a blocking force to the south.
[edit] The Struggle for Loc Ninh
At 3:00am on April 5, the Viet Cong 5th Division launched the first attack on Loc Ninh with mortar and artillery strike. Colonel Vinh, commander of the ARVN 9th Regiment, showed his reluctance to fight the combined Viet Cong and North Vietnamese by ordering the ARVN 1st Cavalry Regiment back from Fire Support Base Alpha. Against such decision, U.S advisor Major Mark A. Smith took command of the 9th Regiment with the support of the regimental staff. Major Smith immediately order the 1st Cavalry Regiment to hold its position, but unfortunately the 1st Cavalry Regiment had surrendered and moved on with the Viet Cong. Meanwhile Major Smith was wounded after the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) received a direct hit, he requested airstrikes by establishing points with Forward Air Control and the AC-130 Spectre gunships.
On April 6 the barrage of enemy artillery barrage increases with rounds coming from the ARVN 54th Regiment at Hung Tam, Smith ordered air strikes against the 54th Regiment's position but the order was subsequently cancelled. Elements of the VC 174th Regiment attempted to overrun the nearby airfield but were wiped out by a CBU. During the night the South Vietnamese defenders under Major Smith's command managed to hold out as the number of death and wounded increase, while Viet Cong using human-wave tactics were repeatedly cut down by airstrikes.
On the morning of April 7 more airstrikes were ordered against enemy positions around Loc Ninh as everything suddenly turned quiet. At 7:00am the Communist launched another ground attack supported by T-54 tanks, during the fighting many T-54s were knocked out by U.S helicopter gunships. More than one hour later, after observing Colonel Vinh's surrender and desertion, an ARVN executive officer raised a white flag to surrender but was shot dead by Smith.
At 9:30am an order was made for airstrike on the camp as the Viet Cong launched another massed attack. Smith was wounded again when he was shot during a B-52 bombing run, he then ordered the camp to be destroyed by airstrike as the decision was made to get out. On the next day, April 8, the Major Mark A. Smith and four other advisors were captured by the 272nd Regiment of the Viet Cong 9th Division.
[edit] Aftermath
Once the battle for Loc Ninh was over both sides had suffered heavy casualties, especially the Viet Cong and the supporting North Vietnamese, who were exposed to U.S firepower during the battle.
The small district town of Loc Ninh became an important area as the Provisional Revolutionary Government made it the capital of the Communist-occupied territories in the South Vietnam. With Loc Ninh secured the North Vietnamese used the district as a launch pad for the attack on An Loc, which culminated in total defeat for North Vietnam in the Nguyen Hue Offensive (also known as the Easter Offensive). Despite the liberation of most cities by the ARVN following the ill-fated North Vietnamese campaign, Loc Ninh remained the capital of Communist forces in the south until 1975.
