Operation Quyet Thang
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Operation Quyet Thang (), was a United States Army and
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 Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...
(ARVN) security operation to reestablish South Vietnamese control over the areas immediately around
Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...
in the aftermath of the
Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...
. The operation started on 11 March 1968 and ended on 7 April 1968.


Background

While their Tet Offensive attacks on Saigon had been quickly repulsed, in early March, more than 20
Vietcong , , 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) battalions remained near
Gia Định Province ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizabeth M ...
, threatening the city. The 101st Regiment, the ''Đồng Nai'' Regiment and elements of the 165th Regiment were in southern Bình Dương Province, north of Saigon. Several battalions were in Thủ Đức District northeast of Saigon. Five or 6 unidentified battalions were in Long An Province southwest of Saigon. The 271st and 272nd Regiments of the 9th Division, the D16, 267th, and 269th Main Force Battalions were in eastern Hậu Nghĩa Province northwest of Saigon. While most of these units had suffered heavy losses in the Tet Offensive, their continued presence applied pressure on Saigon and prevented the reestablishment of South Vietnamese Government control.
COMUSMACV U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense. MACV was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV ...
General
William Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from ...
instructed
II Field Force II Field Force, Vietnam was a United States Army Corps-level command during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it became the largest corps command in Vietnam and one of the largest in Army history. II Field Force was assigned the lineag ...
commander LTG Frederick C. Weyand and ARVN III Corps commander LTG
Lê Nguyên Khang Lieutenant General Lê Nguyên Khang (11June 193112November 1996) was a Marine Commander of the South Vietnamese Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps. Commander of III Corps 9 June 1966. He was awarded the Silver Star for valor June 27 - 29, 1967 ...
to sweep the districts surrounding Saigon. The 1st,
9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
and 25th Infantry Divisions supported by the
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi ...
(11th ACR) would provide most of the maneuver battalions, with subordinate units in many cases pairing up with ARVN units. The 199th Light Infantry Brigade, worked with the elite South Vietnamese Marine Brigade and the Airborne Division in Gia Định Province. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades, 1st Infantry Division partnered with the ARVN 7th and 8th Regiments, 5th Infantry Division in Bình Dương Province. The 3rd Brigade, 9th Infantry Division partnered with the ARVN 50th Regiment in Long An Province. The 3rd Squadron, 11th ACR moved into southeastern Hậu Nghĩa Province to support the ARVN 49th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades, 25th Infantry Division worked with a cavalry squadron from the ARVN 25th Infantry Division and territorial units in northern and western Hậu Nghĩa Province.


Operation

The operation commenced on 11 March. On 12 March, Troop M, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry and an ARVN Regional Force company engaged more than 100 VC from the 267th and 269th Battalions in forest 6 km north of
Đức Hòa Because of Germany's long history before 1871 as a non-united region of distinct tribes and states, there are many widely varying names of Germany in different languages, more so than for any other European nation. For example, in the German ...
in eastern Hậu Nghĩa Province. The Allied force killed 36 VC and captured 10. From 15–17 March the 3rd Squadron, 11th ACR and ARVN forces engaged the 272nd Regiment between Đức Hòa and
Củ Chi Củ Chi is a township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to t ...
, killing 273 VC before losing contact. On 20 March Troops L and M and an ARVN Battalion regained contact with the 272nd Regiment killing 142 VC that day and 57 more in the same area 6 days later. Following these losses the 272nd Regiment withdrew into
War zone C War Zone C was the area in South Vietnam centered around the abandoned town of Katum near the Cambodian border where there was a strong concentration of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) activity during the Vietnam War. This ar ...
. On 24 March the 1st Brigade, 25th Division engaged the 7th ''Cu Chi'' Battalion near Trảng Bàng in northern Hậu Nghĩa Province killing 243 VC for the loss of 10 U.S. killed. In late March, Allied intelligence detected VC troop movements south from War Zone C to camps along the
Saigon River The Saigon River ( vi, Sông Sài Gòn) is a river located in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung in southeastern Cambodia, flows south and south-southeast for about and empties into the Soài Rạp, which in its turn empties into th ...
. On the morning of 25 March, a VC unit attacked two Regional Forces outposts near Trảng Bàng. The ARVN 43rd Ranger Battalion and a U.S. mechanized force from the 4th Battalion, 25th Infantry Division and the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment rushed to the area killing at least 287 VC in the ten-hour battle for the loss of 23 ARVN/U.S. killed. On 26 March, east of
Hóc Môn Hóc Môn is a township () and capital of Hóc Môn District, Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , b ...
ARVN Airborne forces found 128 dead VC who had apparently been killed by air and artillery strikes while moving south towards Saigon. On 27 March the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor, and two companies from the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, killed some 97 VC 5 km northeast of Trảng Bàng. On 28 March LTG Weyand moved the 199th Light Infantry Brigade from Biên Hòa Province to Tây Ninh Province to help the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division patrol the area between
Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in south-eastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is approximately to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's lar ...
and
Dầu Tiếng Dầu Tiếng is a Commune-level town (Vietnam), township and capital of Dầu Tiếng District, Bình Dương Province. To find information at reference, go to row 74, then row 720, and it is listed on row 25777. References

Populated pl ...
to close the communist infiltration routes from Cambodia into central III Corps. This new operation was named Operation Wilderness. The first week of April saw a sharp drop in enemy contact in the Quyet Thang operational area. Allied intelligence indicated that the VC had withdrawn to more remote areas. Rocket attacks on Saigon had become less frequent as the VC had been pushed back and ARVN forces were now able to reestablish control of the areas around the capital.


Aftermath

The operation was considered a success and the U.S. claimed 2,658 VC killed. It was followed immediately by
Operation Toan Thang I Operation Toan Thang I ("Complete Victory") was a U.S. Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), 1st Australian Task Force and Royal Thai Volunteer Regiment operation conducted between 8 April and 31 May 1968 in the Vietnam War. The operatio ...
which expanded the security operation across III Corps. The official PAVN history described the operation and Operation Toan Thang I as "causing a great many difficulties for our units trying to approach their targets" for the
May Offensive Phase Two of the Tet Offensive of 1968 (also known as the May Offensive, Little Tet, and Mini-Tet) was launched by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) against targets throughout South Vietnam, including Saigon from 29 April ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:QuyetThang, Operation 1968 in Vietnam Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1968 Battles and operations of the Vietnam War Battles involving the United States Battles involving Vietnam History of Bình Dương province History of Đồng Nai Province History of Long An Province