Operation Dragnet was a security operation conducted by the 1st Cavalry Division in Bình Định Province, lasting from 26 May 1967 to 27 January 1968.

Background

In May 1967,

I Field Force I Field Force, Vietnam was a corps-level command of the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it was the successor to Task Force Alpha, a provisional corps command created 1 August 1965 (renamed Field Force Vietnam ...

expanded the mission of the 1st Cavalry Division to include the destruction of the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

(VC) infrastructure in Bình Định Province. The South Vietnamese 816th National Police Field Force Battalion was assigned to assist the 1st Cavalry and was stationed at the 1st Cavalry's headquarters at Landing Zone Two Bits.

Operation

The operation commenced on 26 May, comprising numerous small security sweeps by combined 1st Cavalry/Police units. The 1st Cavalry troops would secure an area and the National Police would interrogate, identify and arrest suspected VC. The National Police progressively built up detailed intelligence of suspected VC and repeated sweeps and interrogations led to the arrest of more and more suspected VC. The operation used many of the tactics of what would later become known as the

Phoenix Program The Phoenix Program ( vi, Chiến dịch Phụng Hoàng) was designed and initially coordinated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Vietnam War, involving the American, Australian, and South Vietnamese militaries ...

. In September 1967 the 222nd National Police Field Force Battalion replaced the 816th Battalion. By the conclusion of the operation the 1st Cavalry/National Police had conducted over 900 security sweeps and conducted over 323,261 interrogations leading to the capture of 944 suspected VC.

Aftermath

Operation Dragnet officially concluded on 27 January 1968, U.S. losses were 12 killed with VC losses claimed as 223 killed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragnet, Operation Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1967 Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1968 Battles and operations of the Vietnam War History of Bình Định province