Battle of FSB Mary Ann
Part of Vietnam War
Date March 27-March 28, 1971 Location Quang Tin Province Result • Viet Cong Victory • Closure of FSB Mary Ann
Combatants
United States	Viet Cong
Commanders
Lt. Col.William P. Doyle	Unknown battalion commander
Strength
252	50
Casualties
30 KIA 82 wounded	15 found dead

The Battle of FSB Mary Ann was a battle fought on a remote hill in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam. Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~520,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead... March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in leap years). ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Image File history File links FNL_Flag. ... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~520,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead... Combatants Viet Cong South Vietnam United States Commanders unknown battalion commander Bui Dinh Dam John Paul Vann Strength 350 1,400 Casualties 18 dead 39 wounded 83 dead 108 wounded The Battle of Ap Bac was a small-scale action early in the Vietnam War that resulted in the first... Combatants Viet Cong South Vietnam United States Commanders Gen. ... Combatants Army of the Republic of Vietnam Vietnam Peoples Army Commanders Maj. ... Combatants Viet Cong South Vietnam United States Commanders Gen. ... Combatants Vietnam Peoples Army National Liberation Front Army of the Republic of Vietnam Commanders General Van Tien Dung President Nguyen Van Thieu (Until April 5) Strength 300,000+ (est. ... Combatants North Vietnam United States Commanders Nguyen Huu An Col. ... Combatants Australia New Zealand United States North Vietnam Commanders Maj Harry Smith Nguyen Thanh Hong Strength 108 (not including supporting personnel/reinforcements) 2,500 (Disputed) Casualties 18 dead 24 wounded At least 245 dead 750 wounded (Captured documents and prisoner interrogations suggest there were 500-800 dead and around 1... The battle of Dak To was a major battle of the Vietnam war that took place between November 3 and November 22, 1967. ... Khe Sanh was a United States Marines military base in the Republic of Vietnam (the south) constructed near the border with Laos and just south of the border with North Vietnam which became the scene of a large offensive operation by the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN, also known... Combatants Vietnam Peoples Army Army of the Republic of Vietnam Commanders Gen. ... Combatants United States, South Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia North Vietnam, National Liberation Front Commanders William Westmoreland Võ Nguyên Giáp Strength 50,000+ (estimate) 85,000+ (estimate) Casualties USA/AUS/SKOR: 1,536 dead, 7,764 wounded, 11 missing, ARVN: 2,788 dead, 8,299 wounded, 587 missing, Total... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Tet 1969 refers to the attacks mounted by principally North Vietnamese forces in February 1969 in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. ... Combatants United States North Vietnam Commanders Melvin Zais Uncertain Strength est. ... The Easter Offensive (also known as the Nguyen Hue Offensive) was a military campaign in the Vietnam War. ... Combatants Vietnam Peoples Army Army of the Republic of Vietnam Commanders General Van Tien Dung General Hieu Strength 40,000 5,000 Casualties 3 Divisions destroyed 30% of total strength The Battle of Xuan Loc was the last major battle of the Vietnam War. ... The Secret War (1962-1975) was the Laos front of the Second Indochina War. ... pwtha This iconic image shows South Vietnamese civilians scrambling to board a United States military helicopter during the U.S. evacuation of Saigon. ... 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. ...

FSB Mary Ann was set up with the purpose of providing a shield for Da Nang and the surrounding hamlets, the base was also designed as an interception point against movements of enemy troops and materiel down the Dak Rose Trail. The base was manned by 231 American and 21 South Vietnamese soldiers. Da Nang (occasionally Danang; in Vietnamese: Quốc Ngữ Đà Nẵng, Chữ Nôm 沱囊/沱曩, Chinese: 峴港) is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea. ...

On the night of March 27, 1971, 50 sappers of the Viet Cong 409th Battalion slipped through the wires of FSB Mary Ann and launched a deadly attack on the men of 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade. March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ...

The Viet Cong moved silently and slowly in small squads of three to six men, with mortar support they attacked U.S mortar and artillery positions at 0230 hours. Amidst all the explosions, American personnel were caught in the confusion as VC sappers expertly planting their charges throughout the firebase.

The Tactical Operations Center (TOC) was struck by 82mm mortar shells, it awakens Lt. Col.William P. Doyle who was knocked out several times by the explosions. Doyle then contacted Lieutenant Thomas Schmitz to informed him of the evacuation after Schmitz had ordered artillery strikes on FSB Mary Ann at 0251 hours.

Later, when Spilberg and Doyle had moved to the southern end of Mary Ann, another group of VC sappers appeared but withdrew as soon as a helicopter gunship arrived and opened fire. Survivors of the 1st Battalion were finally airlifted out when Lt. Col. Richard Martin, commander of the 3rd Battalion, arrived with the medevacs.

Due to the accuracy of the strikes conducted by the Viet Cong sappers, the South Vietnamese personnels at FSB Mary Ann were suspected of cooperating with the VC. The subsequent defeat result in the closure of FSB Mary Ann on April 24, 1971. April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

Reference

William Nolan, Kevin(1996)Sappers in the Wire: The Life and Death of Firebase Mary Ann. Publisher: Pocket Books. ISBN: 0-6710-0254-6

External Link

Deadly Sapper Attack on Fire Support Base Mary Ann During the Vietnam War