Hell in An Loc: The 1972 Easter Invasion and the Battle That Saved South Viet Nam by Thi Lam Quang

Author:Thi, Lam Quang [Thi, Lam Quang]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Published: 2012-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

Eight

The Third Attack on An Loc

In early May, intelligence reports confirmed that two regiments of the NVA 5th Division, the E6 and the 174th, had moved from their location south of Loc Ninh to the Doi Gio-Hill 169 area southeast of An Loc. This area was abandoned by the 1st Airborne Brigade after the 6th Battalion was overrun by superior NVA forces on April 20. There were also reports that elements of the 9th Division were occupying new positions southwest of the city and the 141st and 165th Regiments of the 7th Division had moved from their blocking positions in the vicinity of Tau O on Route 13 to an area just three kilometers south of An Loc.

During the night of May 5, the enemy launched a probing attack on the 81st Commando Group positions. The fighting lasted until dawn. The enemy left many dead on the barbed wire on the defense perimeter. In the pocket of each dead body the commandos found a small piece of paper inscribed with the following words: “At all costs, capture the 5th Division commander alive, raise the flag of victory.”1

The night of May 6, the 212th Binh Long RF Company captured a North Vietnamese warrant officer during an ambush near Quan Loi Gate on the eastern perimeter of An Loc. His name was Nguyen The Hoa. His unit was the 228th Sapper Battalion of the NVA 5th Division. Hoa’s mission was to reconnoiter the above area in preparation for the upcoming attack. He didn’t know the exact date of the new attack, but guessed it would be within a week. The prisoner also disclosed that on April 20 and 21, COSVN officials had made an assessment of their failure to take An Loc. During the above critique session, the NVA leaders had castigated the 9th Division for its poor showing. They also decided that the leading role for the next attack would be assigned to the 5th Division, which would be reinforced by elements of the 9th Division and tank units.2 The NVA 5th Division commander promised he would replicate what he did in Loc Ninh and take An Loc in two days.3

Based on these new indicators, General Minh and his advisor, General Hollingsworth, agreed that a new NVA assault was in the making and that increased Arc Light missions were needed to thwart the enemy plan. At General Hollingsworth’s request, General Abrams agreed to allocate to III Corps a full twenty-four hours of B-52 strikes. Since a total of twenty-five B-52 strikes had been made available to him on April 10, General Hollingsworth called General Abrams and told him he wanted one B-52 strike every fifty-five minutes for the next twenty-five hours, effective 5:30 A.M. on May 11, the expected date of the new NVA offensive.4

During the battle of An Loc, General Hollingsworth frequently flew over the besieged city to boost the morale of the defenders by talking to the American advisors and also to senior ARVN commanders and assuring them of the full support of U.

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