The Easter Offensive, Vietnam 1972 (2) Tanks in the streets by Albert Grandolini

Author:Albert Grandolini [Grandolini, Albert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Helion and Company
Published: 2015-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

An ARVN M113 drives at full speed to pass a dangerous stretch of Route 13 north of Lai Khe. (US Army)

Indeed, it only took a day before the 3rd Airborne Brigade swung into action on 25 April as the 2nd Airborne Battalion attacked the area northeast of Tau O and another area about 1km east of Tan Khai. The battalion soon established FSB Anh Dung with a 105mm battery brought in by VNAF Chinooks which could now provide fire support for the Route 13 clearing operations and also for An Loc. However, the FSB quickly came under PAVN artillery fire and by the next day a group of North Vietnamese soldiers had broken through its fences and opened fire against the howitzers with 75mm recoilless guns. The same day, the 1st Airborne Battalion made a helicopter assault into the Duc Vinh area – about 4km north of Tan Khai – but still relying on its ‘leapfrog’ advance-tactic air assaults, Colonel Hau also inserted the 3rd Airborne Battalion on 2 May into an area east of Route 13 between Tan Khai and Tau O. Their mission was to widen the ARVN’s control area westward and to link up with the other airborne battalions to the north. From 5–7 May they engaged in heavy combat with the North Vietnamese and both sides suffered heavy losses. It was now apparent that the North Vietnamese had developed new tactics to avoid direct Paratrooper engagement, thus minimizing their casualties; they would shadow their targets stealthily and close in to open fire. With these new techniques the 3rd Airborne Battalion quickly became ‘locked down’ and suffered heavy losses between 12–14 May. They were also ambushed a mere 500m of Tau O, which had a domino effect on the 1st Battalion operating in the Duc Vinh area because without their link-support they were unable to secure their own objective north of Tau O.

Similarly, on 1 May, when the 31st Regiment attacked an area 7km north of Chon Thanh, they were immediately pinned down by the PAVN 165th Regiment and elements of the 209th Regiment. The 21st Division thus hastily ordered two battalions of the 32nd Regiment to conduct an envelopment east of the enemy on 8 May but, despite massive firepower consisting of eight B-52 strikes, 142 tactical air sorties and some 20,000 rounds of artillery, the 31st Regiment was unable to remove the enemy blocking positions south of Tau O. Both ARVN regiments suffered heavy losses, with over 400 casualties which included the two battalion commanders, whilst Colonel Nguyen Huu Kiem – commander of the 31st Regiment – was seriously wounded. With the deteriorating battle scene the JGS decided to remove the 3rd and 2nd Airborne Brigades from the Route 13 offensive and reinforce the ARVN’s last defensive line north of Hue. The 3rd Airborne Brigade was replaced by the 15th Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ho Ngoc Can of the 9th Division, which was operating in the Mekong Delta. As already indicated, President Thieu had

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