Битва при Иа Дранг: Первое крупное сражение вьетнамской войны.

1965 battle of the Vietnam War

The Battle of Ia Drang (, ; in English /'//i://@// //d//r//ae//ng/) was the first major battle between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), as part of the Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War, at the eastern foot of the Chu Pong Massif in the central highlands of Vietnam, in 1965. It is notable for being the first large scale helicopter air assault and also the first use of Boeing B 52 Stratofortress strategic bombers in a tactical support role. Ia Drang set the blueprint for the Vietnam War with the Americans relying on air mobility, artillery fire and close air support, while the PAVN neutralized that firepower by quickly engaging American forces at very close range. Ia Drang comprised two main engagements, centered on two helicopter landing zones (LZs), the first known as LZ X Ray, followed by LZ Albany, farther north in the Ia Drang Valley. LZ X Ray involved the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and supporting units under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore, and took place November 14–16, at LZ X Ray. Surrounded and under heavy fire from a numerically superior force, the American forces were able to hold back the North Vietnamese forces over three days, largely through the support of air power and heavy artillery bombardment, which the North Vietnamese lacked. The Americans claimed LZ X Ray as a tactical victory, citing a 10:1 kill ratio. The second engagement involved the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment plus supporting units under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDade, and took place on November 17 at LZ Albany. When an American battalion was ambushed in close quarters, who were unable to use air and artillery support due to the close engagement of the North Vietnamese, the Americans suffered an over 50% casualty rate before being extricated. Both sides claimed victory. The battle at LZ X Ray was documented in the CBS special report Battle of Ia Drang Valley by Morley Safer and the critically acclaimed book We Were Soldiers Once And Young by Hal Moore and Joseph L. Galloway. In 1994, Moore, Galloway and men who fought on both the American and North Vietnamese sides, traveled back to the remote jungle clearings where the battle took place. At the time the U. S. did not have diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The risky trip which took a year to arrange was part of an award winning ABC News documentary, They Were Young and Brave produced by Terence Wrong. Randall Wallace depicted the battle at LZ X Ray in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson and Barry Pepper as Moore and Galloway, respectively. Galloway later described Ia Drang as "the battle that convinced Ho Chi Minh he could win".

In pursuit of the PAVN on his right flank, Herrick's 2nd Platoon, B Company, was quickly spread out over a space of around 50 meters, and became separated from the rest of 1/7 by approximately 100 meters. Soon, Herrick radioed in to ask whether he should enter or circumvent a clearing that his platoon had come across in the bush. Herrick expressed concerns that he might become cut off from the battalion if he tried to skirt the clearing and therefore would be leading his men through it in pursuit of the enemy. An intense firefight quickly erupted in the clearing; during the first three or four minutes his platoon inflicted heavy losses on the PAVN who streamed out of the trees, while his men did not take any casualties. Herrick soon radioed in that the enemy were closing in around his left and right flanks. Capt. Herren responded by ordering Herrick to attempt to link back with Devney's 1st Platoon. Herrick replied that there was a large enemy force between his men and 1st Platoon. The situation quickly disintegrated for Herrick's 2nd Platoon, which began taking casualties as the PAVN attack persisted. Herrick ordered his men to form a defensive perimeter on a small knoll in the clearing. Within approximately 25 minutes, five men of 2nd Platoon were killed, including Herrick who, before dying, radioed Herren to report that he was hit and was passing command over to Sgt. Carl Palmer, ordered the signals codes to be destroyed and artillery support to be called in. 2nd Platoon was technically under the command of SFC Mac McHenry, but he was positioned elsewhere on the perimeter. Sgts. Palmer and Robert Stokes were also dead, leaving Sgt. Ernie Savage, 3rd Squad Leader, to assume by virtue of being close to the radio, and proceeded to call in repeated artillery support around the 2nd Platoon's position. By this point, eight men of the platoon had been killed and 13 wounded. The second push had advanced just over toward the lost platoon's position before being stopped by the PAVN. Alpha Company's 1st Platoon, leading the advance, was at risk of becoming separated from the battalion, and at one point it was being engaged by an American M60 machine gun that had been taken by the PAVN from a dead 2nd Platoon gunner. The impasse lasted between 20 and 30 minutes before Nadal (A Company) and Herren (B Company) requested permission to withdraw back to X Ray (to which Moore agreed). The American forces were placed on full alert throughout the night. Under the light of a bright moon, the PAVN probed every company on the perimeter (with the exception of D/1/7) in small squad sized units. The Americans exercised some level of restraint in their response. The M60 gun crews, tactically positioned around the perimeter to provide for multiple fields of fire, were told to hold their fire until otherwise ordered (so as to conceal their true location from the PAVN). Second Platoon of B Company (1/7) under the leadership of Sgt. Savage, suffered three sizable assaults of the night (one just before midnight, one at 03:15, and one at 04:30). The PAVN, using bugles to signal their forces, were repelled from the knoll with artillery, grenade and rifle fire. Savage's "lost platoon" survived the night without taking additional casualties.

At 06:00 J3/MACV notified 1st Air Cavalry that the time over target of the B 52 strike was set for 16:00. News reporter Joe Galloway, who helped carry one of the badly wounded men (who died two days later) to an aid station, tried to attach a name to the death occurring around him, discovering that this particular soldier's name was Pfc. Jimmy Nakayama of Rigby, Idaho who had been a 2nd Lt. in the National Guard. Galloway later shared how that same week Nakayama became a father. Galloway also noted "[a]t LZ XRay 80 men died and 124 were wounded, many of them terribly", and that the death toll for the entire battle was 234 Americans killed and perhaps as many as 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. At 08:00, the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry set out on foot from LZ Victor to reinforce LZ X Ray. He intended to establish a 3rd Air Cavalry Brigade forward command post in order to take over the command of the battlefield with the presence of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry and the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry on the ground at LZ X Ray. When Moore refused to relinquish the command of his battalion, Brown contented to notify him before leaving that the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was withdrawn the next day.

Given the tempo of combat at LZ X Ray and the losses being suffered, other units of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) planned to land nearby and then move overland to X Ray. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry (2/5), was to be flown into LZ Victor, about 3.5 kilometers east southeast of LZ X Ray. 2/5 flew in at 08:00 and quickly organized to move out, the trip taking about 4 hours. Most of this was uneventful until they were approaching X Ray. At about 10:00, some to the east of the LZ, Alpha Company (2/7) received some light fire and had to set up a combat front. At 12:05, Lt. Col Tully's 2/5 troopers had arrived at the LZ. At 10:30 General DePuy, J3/MACV called Colonel Barrow to make sure that the B 52 had been cleared with General Vĩnh Lộc, Commander General II Corps and if the elements of 1st Cavalry had received the time on target 16:00 hours restriction and would comply. Lt. Col. Nguyễn Hữu An was on his way from his forward command post to the LZ X Ray to meet with Lã Ngọc Châu, 7th Battalion interim Commander, when he first saw the waves of B 52 carpet bombings raining down. Around midnight, Moore received from Lt. Colonel Edward C. (Shy) Meyer, 3rd Brigade executive officer, a message saying that Westmoreland's headquarters wanted him to "leave X Ray early the next morning for Saigon to brief him and his staff on the battle." He vehemently objected to the order and was allowed to remain with his battalion until its withdrawal planned for the next morning. At 09:15, Knowles wanted the cavalry units on the ground to organize an exploitation of B 52 strike target operation. Moore responded that he had plans to send in 1st Cav, although at the present time all units were engaged. The battle was ostensibly over. The PAVN forces had suffered hundreds of casualties and were no longer capable of fighting. U. S. forces had suffered 79 killed and 121 wounded and had been reinforced to levels that would guarantee their safety. Given the situation, there was no reason for U. S. forces to stay in the field, their mission was complete and a success. Moreover, Colonel Brown (3rd Brigade commander), in overall command, was worried about reports that additional PAVN units were moving into the area over the border. He wanted to withdraw the units but Westmoreland demanded that the 2/7 and 2/5 stay at X Ray to avoid the appearance of a retreat. The U. S. reported the bodies of 634 PAVN soldiers were found in the vicinity and estimated that 1,215 PAVN were killed a distance away by artillery and airstrikes. Six PAVN were captured. Six PAVN crew served weapons and 135 individual weapons were captured, and an estimated 75–100 weapons were destroyed. At 12:53, Gen. Westmoreland enquired if the Cavalry had sufficient air support and if the troops were fine. With the two remaining battalions quietly abandoning the landing zone by land instead of by helicopters to make way for the B 52 strike any PAVN troops of the 7th and 9th Battalions at the vacated X Ray area were caught by surprise.

The first indication of PAVN presence was observed by the reconnaissance platoon's point squad, leading the American column. SSgt. Donald J. Slovak, the squad leader, saw "Ho Chi Minh sandal foot markings, bamboo arrows on the ground pointing north, matted grass and grains of rice." The 8th Battalion was led by Lê Xuân Phối. Alpha Company noticed the sudden absence of air cover and their commander, Capt. Joel Sugdinis, wondered where the aerial rocket artillery choppers were. He soon heard the sound of distant explosions to his rear; the B 52s were making their bombing runs on the Chu Pong massif. Lt. D. P. (Pat) Payne, the recon platoon leader, was walking around some termite hills when he suddenly came upon a PAVN soldier resting on the ground. Payne jumped on the soldier and took him prisoner. Simultaneously, about 10 yards away, his platoon sergeant captured a second PAVN soldier. Other members of the PAVN recon team may have escaped and reported to the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, 33rd Regiment. The PAVN then began to organize an assault on the American column. As word of the capture reached him, McDade ordered a halt as he went forward from the rear of the column to interrogate the prisoners personally. The two captured PAVN soldiers were policed up about 100 yards from the southwestern edge of the Albany clearing, the report of which reached division forward at Pleiku at 11:57. PAVN troops ran down the length of the column, with units peeling off to attack the outnumbered American soldiers, engaging in hand to hand combat.

Vietnam in HD (November 8–11, 2011), a six part American documentary television miniseries on The History Channel that covered the Battle of Ia Drang in its first episode. The Vietnam War (September 17–28, 2017), a ten part American documentary by Ken Burns that covered the Battle of Ia Drang in its third episode.

G3 Journal/I Field Force Vietnam, November 14–26, 1965 generalhieu. com   generalhieu Resources and Information. , generalhieu. com   generalhieu Resources and Information. , generalhieu. com   generalhieu Resources and Information. , generalhieu. com   generalhieu Resources and Information. document stored at the National Archive, College Park, Maryland. Westmoreland, William, General Westmoreland's History Notes (29 August 29 November 1965) generalhieu. com   generalhieu Resources and Information. , unpublished MACV files.