Landing Zone Leslie (also known as Firebase Leslie or Hill 138) was a U.S. Army and

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

(ARVN) base located in the Quế Sơn Valley southwest of

Hội An Hội An () is a city of approximately 120,000 people in Vietnam's Quảng Nam Province, registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Along with the Cù Lao Chàm archipelago, it is part of the Cù Lao Chàm-Hội An Biosphere Reserve ...

, Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam.

History

The base was located in the Quế Sơn Valley along Route 534, approximately 33 km northwest of Tam Ky. The base was occupied by D Company and a platoon from A Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry when on the early morning of 3 January 1968 the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

(PAVN) 3rd Regiment, 2nd Division attacked four U.S. firebases in the Quế Sơn Valley, launching ground attacks against Leslie and

Firebase Ross Firebase Ross (also known as Hill 51) was a U.S. Marine Corps, Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) fire support base located in the Quế Sơn Valley southwest of Hội An, Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam. History The base w ...

. At Leslie the PAVN penetrated the base, attacking bunkers with flamethrowers and satchel charges before being pushed out in the afternoon. Losses were 15 U.S and 63 PAVN. The PAVN emplaced heavy machine guns around Leslie and over a nine-day period shot down 7 1st Cavalry helicopters and damaged a further 26.{{cite book, last=Shulimson, first=Jack, title=US Marines in Vietnam: 1968 The Defining Year, publisher=History and Museums Division Headquarters United States Marine Corps, year=1997, isbn=9781494285715, page=100

References

Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military installations closed in the 1960s Buildings and structures in Quảng Nam province