operation report information
for 5 ARVN REG
11 ARVN RNG
6 ARVN REG
HMM-161
For date 651208
5 ARVN REG was a Vietnamese Army unit
11 ARVN RNG was a Vietnamese Army unit
6 ARVN REG was a Vietnamese Army unit
HMM-161 was a US Marine Corps unit
Primary service involved, Vietnamese Army
Operation LIEN KET-18
Quang Tin Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Thang Binh
Description: The offical USMC history states that the start to LIEN KET-18 had the 1/5th ARVN Regiment and the 11th Ranger Battalion enter the Que Son Valley along the Thang Binh-Hiep Duc road from Thang Binh. The object for the day was to move 8 miles toward Que Son on the road. The rangers moved on the right side of the road. At 1330 the rangers were ambushed by the 70th VC Battalion. In the first 15 minues of the battle, the rangers lost nearly one third of their personnel and were overrun. An American advisor with the force said: "They attacked in a mass and hit use from all sides." Obviously the VC had very good intelligence of the operation. The badly mauled rangers withdraw to a position about 1,200 meters to the northwest and called in Marine air support. Jets from MAG-12 at Chu Lai attacked and Marine helicopters evacuated casualties. The 1/5th ARVN attempted to reinforce but could not cross the road because of enemy mortar fire and the American air strikes. Later in the afternoon, 10 UH-34Ds from HMM-161 moved the 1/6th ARVN Reg from Tam Ky to reinforce and then replace the rangers.
The source for this information was USMC H65 P:103+
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org
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Last updated
02/06/2000
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023