Army Reporter information
for 3 BDE 25 INF
For date 680803
3 BDE 25 INF was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Binh Duong Province, III Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Dau Tieng
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "25th Inf Repels Pre-Dawn Attacks" dated 3 Aug 1968.
More than 400 enemy rocket and mortar rounds and a pair of pre-dawn ground attacks by two reinforced VC companies were recently repelled by 3rd Bde, 25th Inf Div soldiers. The attack, largest sustained in the two-year history of Dau Tieng basecamp, was broken by gunships and Infantry. At least 10 enemy soldiers were left dead on the perimeter of the camp. The attack began shortly before 2:30 a.m. as salvo after salvo of mortar fire struck all corners of the basecamp. Miraculously, no one was killed as an official total of 374 mortars, eight 107mm rockets, and 25 rocket grenade rounds slammed around the men who were huddled in defensive bunkers. Striking from both sides of the perimeter north of the airfield, the VC attempted a pincer movement which hit NDPs of the 2/77th Arty and the 3/22nd Inf. Several artillery bunkers were damaged as the enemy suicide squad hitting the west side of the camp struck with rocket grenades and satchel charges. At least seven VC broke inside the perimeter before the attack was halted. On the east side of the camp, a larger VC force emerged from behind tombstones in a cemetery but were cut down by machinegun and duster fire. Two VC planted themselves near the end of the runway and tossed pressure-released satchel charges onto the east end of the airstrip. As gunships entered the fight, the ground attacks were completely disrupted. By the light of flares, enemy soldiers were seen to toss their weapons to the ground and run for the protective cover of nearby woods. Before dawn, Puff the Magic Dragon gunships began circling the basecamp, dropping flares and adding more firepower to the assault on the retreating enemy. Artillery fire and more gunship raids also hit the VC. A preliminary search of the perimeter the following morning recovered, in addition to the enemy bodies, 434 home-made satchel charges, 3 bangalore torpedoes, 62 grenade rounds, both RPG-2 and RPG-7, 45 rounds for 60mm mortars, a grenade launcher, numerous hand grenades, and 6 assault rifles. Later in the day, Vietnamese and U.S. troops found a large cache of ammunition and demolitions, similar to those used in the attack, stored in a nearby village.
The source for this information was 6808AR.AVN supplied by Les Hines
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
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Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023