Great Battles IA DRANG

US Army Major Bruce Crandall, who received the Medal of Honor for bravery during the battle, departs in his UH-1D helicopter after dropping off a load of riflemen at LZ X-Ray

“MORE COMMUNISTS CLAD IN MUSTARD-COLOURED UNIFORMS ARRIVED TO JOIN THE FIREFIGHT”

PLEIKU PROVINCE, SOUTH VIETNAM 14-17 NOVEMBER 1965

Less than two hours after landing near the Cambodian border on 14 November 1965, an American ‘Air Cavalry’ battalion made contact with North Vietnamese regulars operating from a base camp in a mountain stronghold inside South Vietnam. In a sweep up a nearby mountain, an American rifle platoon spotted a squad of enemy troops that appeared to be retreating along a mountain trail and gave chase. The jungle swallowed the Americans, and they lost contact with their main force.

50 North Vietnamese came charging down the trail towards the US troops. Rounds hissed through the trees. Two American machine gun teams swung into action, and a grenadier pumped rounds from his M79 ‘Thumper’ into the enemy’s flank. More Communists clad in mustard-coloured uniforms arrived to join the firefight.

The young lieutenant leading the American platoon had committed the blunder that he had been warned minutes before not to commit. His company commander over the tactical radio had said: “Be careful, I don’t want you to get pinned down or sucked into anything.” In his desire to engage the enemy, the eager young officer had done precisely that. His platoon would have to hold on until help came – if it arrived before they were wiped out.

The war between the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the American-backed Republic of Vietnam, better known as North Vietnam and South Vietnam respectively, entered a new phase in 1965. Four years earlier, the US had ‘stood up’ its Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Among MACV’s many responsibilities was ensuring that the South Vietnamese troops had American military advisors to coach them on battle tactics.

When it became apparent that South Vietnamese forces could not defeat the Viet Cong insurgency, the Americans brought in their own ground troops. At the same time, the North Vietnamese Politburo had decided to send regular army troops into action in South Vietnam. These troops arrived in the south by way of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a vast road and trail network built by labourers from the north that ran through eastern Laos and Cambodia.

Among the elite US ground forces that arrived in 1965 was Major General Harry Kinnard’s 16,000-strong First Cavalry (Airmobile) Division, which established