Operation Lancaster was a U.S. Marine Corps operation that took place in northern Quảng Trị Province from November 1967 to January 20, 1968.

Background

In November 1967, the

Kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

Tactical Area of Operations (TAOR) was split in two creating the Lancaster TAOR and the Kentucky TAOR. The new Lancaster TAOR bordered the

Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was a demilitarized zone established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam from July 1954 to 1976 as a result of the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (1955-1975) it became important as t ...

(DMZ) to the north, the Scotland TAOR to the west and the Kentucky and Operationa Osceola to the east and contained the Marines bases of Camp Carroll,

The Rockpile The Rockpile (also known as Elliot Combat Base) and known in Vietnamese as Thon Khe Tri, is a solitary karst rock outcropping north of Route 9 and south of the former Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Its relatively inaccessible location, re ...

and

Ca Lu Combat Base Ca Lu Combat Base (Vietnamese: ''Cà Lu'') was an Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its ...

and was under the control of COL Joseph Lo Prete's

3rd Marine Regiment The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment is a regiment of the United States Marine Corps that is optimized for littoral maneuver in the Indo-Pacific Theater. Based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, the regiment falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Divi ...

. Despite the closure of Route 9 by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) west of Ca Lu, it remained the obvious route for any attempt to relieve the

Khe Sanh Combat Base Khe Sanh Combat Base (also known as Ta Con) was a United States Marine Corps outpost south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) used during the Vietnam War. History US Army Special Forces (Detachment A-101, Company C, 5th Special Forces G ...

. The terrain in the Lancaster TAOR consisted of rolling hills climbing up to jungle-covered mountains.

Operation

The Marines task was to prevent PAVN infiltration from across the DMZ and from the west and to provide artillery and logistical support to the Marines at Khe Sanh.

Aftermath

Operation Lancaster concluded on 20 January 1968, PAVN losses were 46 killed for the loss of 22 Marines killed and 140 wounded. The operation was immediately continued as

Operation Lancaster II Operation Lancaster II was a U.S. Marine Corps security operation that took place in northern Quảng Trị Province from 20 January to 23 November 1968 during the Vietnam War. The operation followed on directly from Operation Lancaster. The Mar ...

in the same tactical area of operations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Operation 1967 in Vietnam 1968 in Vietnam Battles involving the United States Battles involving Vietnam 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 United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War History of Quảng Trị province