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The Battle of Ap Bac was a small-scale action early in the Vietnam War that resulted in the first major combat victory by Viet Cong guerrillas against regular South Vietnamese forces. The battle took place on January 2, 1963, near the hamlet ("ap" in Vietnamese) of Bac, 65 kilometers southwest of Saigon in the Mekong Delta. Forces of the 7th Division of the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN), equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) and artillery and supported by helicopters, faced off against an entrenched battalion of Viet Cong. Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead...
Image File history File links Chopper_wreck_at_Ap_Bac. ...
January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...
Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area - Total - % water 173,809 km² N/A Population - Total - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ...
A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ...
Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area - Total - % water 173,809 km² N/A Population - Total - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ...
John Paul Vann (July 2, 1924 – June 9, 1972) was a Colonel in the United States Army, later retired, who became well-known for his role in the Vietnam War. ...
The Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler. ...
Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead...
A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ...
Guerrilla War redirects here. ...
Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area - Total - % water 173,809 km² N/A Population - Total - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ...
January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...
A hamlet is (usually — see below) a small settlement, too small or unimportant to be considered a village. ...
A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μÎÏ„Ïο (metro) = count/measure). ...
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thà nh Chà Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ...
Mekong River Delta from space, February 1996 Mekong Delta, February 2005. ...
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was a military component of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as South Vietnam). ...
East German BRDMs on parade during celebrations of the 40th anniversary of East Germany in 1989 Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are light armoured fighting vehicles for the transport of infantry. ...
Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...
The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors. ...
Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO code In military terminology, a battalion consists of two to six companies typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. ...
Background For some time, South Vietnamese forces, aided by American advisors, had been conducting anti-Viet Cong operations throughout the country. In 1962 they had gained the use of U.S. helicopters (with American crews) for air support and troop transport. These tactics, combined with the use of APCs, took a heavy toll on Viet Cong forces. The lightly-armed guerrillas had no weaponry capable of stopping the armored carriers, and inevitably were forced to flee, taking heavy casualties. 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ...
Close air support (often abbreviated CAS) is the use of military aircraft in a ground attack role against targets in close proximity to friendly troops, in support of ground combat operations. ...
This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
The most successful South Vietnamese force had been the 7th Division, commanded by Col. Huynh Van Cao. His advisor was Lt. Col. John Paul Vann, who orchestrated much of the unit's activity. They had scored the biggest successes of the pacification campaign thus far, killing thousands of Viet Cong and leaving the guerrillas in their part of the country on the brink. However, the ARVN officers were chronically reluctant to take any casualties -- in operation after operation, South Vietnamese forces would be in excellent position to wipe out bands of Viet Cong, but would fail to close the trap and allow remaining enemy forces to escape. In fact, South Vietnamese commanders knew that Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem was allergic to military casualties, and would reprimand or demote any officer who lost too many men, no matter how successful the operation. Diem believed that an earlier coup attempt had been initiated due to casualties on offensive operations, and was more interested in using the military to protect his regime than take on the Viet Cong. Colonel (Ger: Oberst) is a military rank, usually the highest below general grades, and just above Lieutenant Colonel. ...
Major General Huynh Van Cao was the commander of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 7th Division. ...
In the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. ...
John Paul Vann (July 2, 1924 – June 9, 1972) was a Colonel in the United States Army, later retired, who became well-known for his role in the Vietnam War. ...
«ngoh dihn zih-ehm» (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of the Republic of Vietnam (1955–63). ...
After Cao earned a promotion to general, his chief of staff, Col. Bui Dinh Dam, gained command of 7th Division. Vann remained advisor. Despite the change in leadership, the same problems continued to manifest themselves in 7th Division. The force's timidity, coupled with the infantry's relatively poor training, would prove disastrous. A General is an officer of high military rank. ...
Prelude Shortly after Christmas in 1962, intelligence located a Viet Cong radio transmitter near Ap Tan Thoi, 1.5 kilometers northwest of Ap Bac. It was believed that a single company, about 120 Viet Cong, were in the area. Dam and Vann quickly planned an operation to destroy the guerrillas. The South Vietnamese plans called for a three-pronged pincer attack, carried out by 7th Division forces aided by regional units commanded by the province chief, Major Lam Quang Tho. An infantry battalion of 330 men would land just north of Tan Thoi in helicopters, two of Tho's battalions would approach Ap Bac in parallel columns from the south, and 13 M113 APCs carrying an infantry company would approach from the west. These forces would be supported by artillery, air bombing, and two infantry companies held in reserve at base. The fields to the right of the village would be left open, to allow the guerrilla forces an escape route where they could be engaged by artillery. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x628, 107 KB)Diagram from Mounted Combat in Vietnam, by General Donn A. Starry, published in 1978 by the Department of the Army. ...
Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a traditional Christian holiday meant to celebrate the birth of Jesus with both religious and secular aspects, commonly observed on 25 December. ...
Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. ...
Antenna tower of Crystal Palace transmitter, London A transmitter (sometimes abbreviated XMTR) is an electronic device which with the aid of an antenna propagates an electromagnetic signal such as radio, television, or other telecommunications. ...
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...
Major is a military rank denoting an officer of mid-level command status. ...
Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. An infantry is a body of soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other...
The M113 is an armored personnel carrier family of vehicles in use with the US military and many other nations. ...
The Viet Cong forces actually consisted of a full battalion of 320 men, assisted by 30 local guerrillas. The unit was well-equipped with captured U.S. weaponry. Most of the soldiers were armed with M-1 rifles. Additionally, each of the three companies in the battalion had a .30 caliber machine gun, and each of the battalion's dozen platoons had a pair of BAR light machine guns. Nevertheless, the Viet Cong would be outnumbered more than ten to one by the 7th Division and its attached units. The M1 Carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber . ...
The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod, also common for handguns. ...
A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ...
Platoon is a term from military science. ...
The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR, properly pronounced bee ay are) is a family of automatic rifles (or machine rifles) and light machine guns used by the United States and other countries during the 20th century. ...
Vann advised Col. Dam to move as quickly as possible, but Dam delayed the operation until January 2 so that the American chopper pilots could recover from New Year's Eve celebrations. However, the Viet Cong learned of plans for an operation, and began preparing defensive positions and digging fox holes. They placed themselves in Tan Thoi to the north, southeast along a tree-lined creek to Ap Bac, and in short spurs running to the west and south of Ap Bac. The Viet Cong positions, concealed by trees and shrubs, made them difficult to see from both the ground and the air, and afforded them a clear field of fire across the surrounding rice fields. New Years Eve is a celebration held the day before New Years Day, on December 31, the final day of the Gregorian year. ...
A running stream. ...
Battle At 0700 on January 2, 10 CH-21 Shawnee "flying banana" helicopters began airlifting the 7th Division infantry battalion to the area north of Tan Thoi. Due to the onset of heavy fog, the choppers were only able to make one trip, dropping off one company. The lifts to transport the two remaining companies were delayed till 0930. In the meantime the single company on location had to hold position. The H-21 Shawnee was the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki (later Boeing Vertol). ...
Sunlight filters through a thin layer of fog on a crisp winter morning in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ...
This delay left the two regional battalions marching up from the south to make first contact with the enemy. At 0745, one battalion reached the west-east tree line south of Ap Bac. The Viet Cong allowed them to get close before opening fire from the tree line and the creek running south to the right. One company commander was killed within a few seconds. The rest of the battalion hunkered down into a dike and spent two hours unsuccessfully trying to flank the guerrillas. Artillery support was misdirected, and the shells landed on the far side of the enemy positions. At 1000 the battalion commander was wounded and the maneuvering stopped.
Maj. Tho, the province chief in charge of the battalions, failed to send the second one in aid of the first. Finally, giving up, he requested that Col. Dam chopper in the two reserve companies north of the tree line, behind the enemy position. By this time the choppers were done landing the 7th Division battalion to the north. Lt. Col. Vann, observing in a plane circling above, directed the choppers to carry a reserve company in north of the tree line, in the rice field west of Ap Bac.
 Two downed CH-21 "flying bananas" The CH-21s approached from the north, escorted by 5 UH-1 Hueys. Knowing only the enemy positions in the southern tree line, the choppers recklessly flew south directly over Tan Thoi and along the creek to Ap Bac, where they curved and landed 200 yards west of the village. All along this flight path the CH-21s received enemy fire, each chopper taking multiple hits. The Hueys began strafing runs along the enemy positions but the trees overhead and the deep holes the Viet Cong had dug shielded them from the attacks. Image File history File links Downed_choppers_at_Ap_Bac. ...
Image File history File links Downed_choppers_at_Ap_Bac. ...
Australian Army Iroquois The Bell UH-1 Iroquois, commonly (or officially in the USMC) known as the Huey, was a multipurpose military helicopter, famous for its use in the Vietnam war. ...
After unloading the infantry company, the choppers took off, but one CH-21 was too damaged to get off the ground. Unwilling to leave the crew with the ARVN forces on the ground, the helicopter pilots sent another CH-21 down to rescue them. This chopper too was damaged as soon as it landed. Finally one of the Hueys came in to pick up the two downed crews. While hovering, about to land, enemy fire struck its main rotor and the helicopter flipped over and crashed. Further away, a third CH-21 had been damaged and forced to land. The infantry company had found itself under heavy fire and had taken cover in a shallow irrigation ditch. Unwilling to maneuver, the South Vietnamese were pinned down. It was 1030.
Vann then directed the APC squadron, several kilometers to the west of the village, to head to Ap Bac immediately to rescue the infantry company and chopper crews. Steep-banked canals blocking the way, and confusion over getting the proper order through the chain of command, resulted in the APCs making poor time. In the meantime another CH-21 attempting a rescue managed to land near the downed choppers, but due to heavy fire had to take off immediately. Damaged, it barely flew out of the combat zone before having to land. The Viet Cong had destroyed or disabled 5 helicopters, a new record for the war.
At 1345 the APCs finally reached the rice field west of the village. Approaching the guerrillas in the tree line to the east, they had difficulty seeing the enemy positions due to the heavy foliage. The Viet Cong poured heavy fire onto the vehicles, focusing on the machine gunner on top of each carrier. At this point the captain in charge of the squadron was knocked unconscious inside his carrier. While the squadron stopped moving for the half hour until he recovered, the machine gunners on top continued to become casualties. As the job typically went to the sergeants who were leaders in the infantry, the ability of the company to function was crippled. Finally the squadron resumed the attack, but just when they were nearing their objective and it seemed the enemy might break and run, a Viet Cong squad leader and his men jumped up and heaved grenades at the nearest APCs. Most of the attackers were killed, but the grenades hit their targets and at 1430 the APCs discontinued the attack and withdrew. This article is about the rank of sergeant. ...
 Downed CH-21s and Huey in a rice field After much delay, a paratrooper battalion was called in at 1800. They were intended to land safely behind the infantry and APCs already in the field west of Ap Bac, but they missed their drop. The paratroopers landed instead a third of a kilometer north, near the Viet Cong positions around Tan Thoi. They took fire in the air and on the ground, and took heavy casualties. Soon afterward, nightfall ended the fighting. As was standard practice, the guerrillas took the opportunity to safely withdraw from the area. Image File history File links Battlefield_at_Ap_Bac. ...
An American Paratrooper using a MC1-B series parachute Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. ...
Aftermath The Viet Cong suffered 18 killed and 39 wounded. ARVN losses were 80 dead and 100 wounded, with 3 U.S. advisors killed in action and 8 wounded. 5 helicopters were lost.
Ap Bac represented a significant milestone in the war. The Viet Cong had their first big success of the war, fully exploiting their victory for propaganda purposes. More importantly, they had developed tactics to counter the technology advantage the U.S. provided the South Vietnamese.
The battle was also an indicator that the United States would eventually be compelled to escalate their presence and actively replace the insufficiently aggressive and poorly performing ARVN troops with their own ground combat forces.
References - Armored Combat in Vietnam, General Donn A. Starry, Blandford Books Ltd., 1981, ISBN 0-7137-1166-3
- A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam, Neil Sheehan. New York: Random House, 1988.
- Vietnam: A History, Stanley Karnow. New York: Viking Press, 1983.
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