The Battle of Song Be was a major action between the NLF (Viet Cong) and ARVN, the South Vietnamese army. Planned as a major show of force against the rapidly collapsing ARVN forces, the NLF attempted to capture the capital of Phuoc Long province, Song Be. Perhaps to their surprise, ARVN forces in the area rallied and re-took the town by the end of the second day of combat. Several additional days of chasing the NLF forces involved proved fruitless. Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... 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. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... 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 Viet Cong South Vietnam United States Commanders Gen. ... 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. ... Combatants United States Viet Cong Commanders Lt. ... Combatants Republic of Viet Nam United States of America Republic of Korea Commonwealth of New Zealand Commonwealth of Australia National Front for the Liberation of South Viet Nam (Viet Cong) Democratic Republic of Viet Nam Commanders William Westmoreland Võ Nguyên Giáp Strength 50,000+ (estimate) 85,000+ (estimate... Combatants United States North Vietnam Commanders William Westmoreland Vo Nguyen Giap Strength 6,000 20,000 Casualties 205 dead 443 wounded 2 missing 9,000+ {{{notes}}} The Battle of Khe Sanh was a Vietnam War battle between the United States Marine Corps and the Peoples Army of Vietnam at... Combatants South Vietnam United States North Vietnam Viet Cong Commanders William Westmoreland Vo Nguyen Giap Strength  ? 35 Battlions Casualties  ?  ? The First Battle of Saigon fought during the Tet Offensive was the coordinated attack by the NVA and VC, by which they attacked South Vietnams Capital Saigon from all sides. ... Combatants North Vietnam United States Commanders Unknown Capt. ... The Battle of Hill 881 was a battle between soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army and U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War. ... 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. ... Combatants North Vietnam United States Commanders Gen. ... Combatants United States Viet Cong Commanders Lt. ... The Eastertide Offensive was a military campaign in the Vietnam War. ... Combatants North Vietnam Viet Cong South Vietnam United States Commanders Gen. ... Combatants South Vietnam North Vietnam Commanders Col. ... Combatants Vietnam Peoples Army Army of the Republic of Vietnam 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 Army of the Republic of Vietnam Vietnam Peoples Army Commanders Maj. ... 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. ... pwtha This iconic image shows South Vietnamese civilians scrambling to board a United States military helicopter during the U.S. evacuation of Saigon. ... Operation Barrell Roll was a limited, covert US Navy/2nd Air Division, US Air Force aerial interdiction campaign in northern and southern Laos that began on 14 December 1964 and lasted for the duration of the Vietnam Conflict. ... Operation Rolling Thunder (also known as the Rolling Thunder Program, in terminology of the McNamara Department of Defense) was the code name for a U.S. military campaign during the Vietnam War, the bombing of North Vietnam by air units of the U.S. Seventh Air Force, Task Force 77... Operation Steel Tiger was a covert US Air Force aerial interdiction effort targeted against North Vietnamese infiltration through southeastern Laos during the Vietnam Conflict. ... Combatants United States, Republic of Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Operation Commando Hunt was a covert Seventh/Thirteenth United States Air Force offensive initiative that took place during the Vietnam Conflict. ... Operation Linebacker was the name of a United States military operation during the Vietnam War. ... Operation Linebacker II was a United States military operation during the Vietnam War. ... Combatants Khmer Republic North Vietnam Commanders Brig. ... Barrell Roll/Steel Tiger/Tiger Hound Areas of Operations, 1965. ... Combatants United States Thailand Hmong guerillas North Vietnam Pathet Lao Commanders Vang Pao Vo Nguyen Giap Strength 1,300+ 3,000+ Casualties 8 Americans dead 42 Thai and Hmong Unknown The Battle of Lima Site 85 was a battle of the Vietnam War. ... Operation Tailwind was a covert incursion into southeastern Laos by a company-size element (Hatchet Force) of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACSOG or SOG) on 11 September 1970, during the Vietnam Conflict. ... Combatants North Vietnam Khmer Republic Commanders Unknown Brigadier General Hou Hang Sin Strength VPA 9th Division 10 FANK Battalions Casualties Unknown Decimation of the FANK Battalions Operation Chenla II was launched on August 20, 1971 by the Cambodian military (or FANK) as an attempt to regain territories lost to the... Viet Cong (NLF) flag The Viet Cong, also known as the National Front for the Liberation of Southern Vietnam (Vietnamese Mặt Trận Dân Tá»™c Giải Phóng Miền Nam), VC, or the National Liberation Front (NLF), was an insurgent (partisan) organization fighting the Republic... 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). ...

Background

A series of political and military setbacks starting as early as 1962 had been gradually eroding the combat effectiveness of the ARVN forces. Originally more than a match for the VC with their U.S. supplied helicopters and armored personnel carriers, the NLF forces had been left to train in relative safety and had developed new tactics and been supplied with new weapons that seriously upset the balance of power. By 1964 ARVN morale was collapsing and the NLF was in nominal control of much of the countryside. It appeared the war was entering its endgame, and the NLF was planning ever-larger operations. 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, each having two or more rotor blades. ... 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. ...

On April 16 the U.S. Special Forces SF B-34 Detachment was sent to Song Be to reinforce the ARVN forces, joining an existing MACV team headquarters in the town. They set about building up a fortified area on a nearby hill, and were joined by the POW intelligence team, 120 AVN. For other uses of the term, see Special forces (disambiguation). ... The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV, pronounced as mac vee) was the United States command structure during the Vietnam War from 1962 until the wars end. ...

The Battle

At 0145 on the morning of the 10th, the NLF 761st and 763d Regiments attacked the city from multiple directions. Even though the American positions were still being constructed, the SF and 120 AVN were able to stop them from overrunning their positions, and the area of the town around them. At 0345 helicopter gunships arrived, but were unable to see the ground due to fog and low clouds. They instead attacked supporting artillery (likely 82mm mortars) west of the town. Attempts to evacuate casualties from the U.S. positions in medivacs (UH-1C's) were repeatedly driven off by .50 calibre machine guns, until these were attacked by air and the evacuation finally took place at 0800. A helicopter gunship is a military helicopter armed for attacking targets on the ground, using automatic cannon and machinegun fire, rockets, and precision guided missiles such as the Hellfire. ...

At noon the 36 ARVN Ranger battalion attacked into the town, and drove off the VC occupying the center of the town. This is surprising in some regards, as the Rangers were local irregular forces and generally had not performed well against the NLF in prior battles. They were joined a few hours later by the 34th ARVN Rangers, and by the evening the entire town was returned to southern control.

References

• Bowman S.John(1989)The Vietnam War: Day by Day. Bison Group, London.
• Battle of Song Be