| Battle of Cửa Việt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theVietnam War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 North Vietnam |  South Vietnam United States (until 28 January) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lê Trọng Tấn Cao Van Khanh | Ngô Quang Trưởng Nguyen Thanh Tri | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| South Vietnamese claim: 1,000 casualties[1] | 26 armored vehicles destroyed (27 January) 40 killed, 20 armored vehicles destroyed (between 28–31 January) 2 aircraft shotdown[2]  3 killed2 aircraft shotdown North Vietnamese claim: 2,330 killed and wounded, 200 captured 113 tanks and APCs destroyed 12 tanks and APCs captured[3] | ||||||
Battle of Cửa Việt took place during theVietnam War between 25–31 January 1973 at theCửa Việt naval base and its vicinity, in northeastQuảng Trị Province. The battle involved a combined task force ofSouth Vietnamese Marine and armored units that tried to gain a foothold at the Cua Viet Port just as the ceasefire was about to take effect on January 28 in accordance with theParis Peace Accords. The South Vietnamese forces were finally forced to retreat by a North Vietnamese counterattack with considerable losses on both sides.[4]
In late October 1972 as part of the counteroffensive to theEaster Offensive launched by thePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), theArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) began attacks north of Quảng Trị to try to regain positions along the south bank of theCam Lộ/Cửa Việt River. The attacks were met with stiff PAVN resistance and were stopped at the Thạch Hãn River. A further attack from the coast by the Vietnamese Marines in November made limited gains. By the end of 1972 the Marines and ARVN occupied positions 5 km south of the river.[2]: 129–31 As the ongoing peace negotiations would soon lead to a ceasefire, the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff sought the most advantageous battlefield positions possible and so ordered a further effort to regain the south bank of the Cam Lộ/Cửa Việt River.[2]: 134
Since March 1972, the Cửa Việt base had been controlled by PAVN, particularly the 5th Regiment of thePeople's Navy of Vietnam.
On 15 January 1973 planning began for a final assault on Cửa Việt . A special combined unit calledTask Force Tango was organized, consisting of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Battalions and elements of the 1st Armored Brigade. The task force was put under the command of Colonel Nguyen Thanh Tri, Deputy Commander of the Republic of Vietnam Marine Division.[2]: 134 [5]
The operation began at 06:55 on 26 January with Task Force Tango advancing in two columns.[2]: 134 Besides ARVN firepower, U.S. and naval gunfire of theUnited States Seventh Fleet was used to soften the target and hinder PAVN reinforcements. The PAVN put up fierce resistance to the attack, destroying 26M-48s andM-113s withAT-3 missiles and shooting down twoRepublic of Vietnam Air Force planes withSA-7 missiles.[2]: 135
On 27 January anF-4 Phantom II ofVF-143 was shot down while attacking PAVN forces north of Cửa Việt. Both crewmen ejected, the radar intercept officer (RIO) was captured and released on 27 March duringOperation Homecoming, while the pilot Commander Harley Hall was killed. His remains were identified on 6 September 1994.[6] AnOV-10 Bronco #68-3806, call signNail 89 of the23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron acting as forward air controller for the attempted rescue of the F-4 crew was hit by an SA-7 missile, both crewmen ejected and radio contact was established with one of them who said he was about to be captured. Neither crewman was returned during Operation Homecoming and both are listed as presumptive finding of death.[7][8]
At 01:45 on 28 January the Marines made a final assault and by 07:00 had broken through the PAVN lines to recapture the base. At 07:45 theUSS Turner Joy, one of the two destroyers involved in theGulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964, fired the last U.S. naval gunfire support in the Vietnam War and pulled off the gun line. At 08:00 in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords the ceasefire came into effect and the U.S. stopped all support for Task Force Tango.[2]: 135 On the evening of 29 January, the PAVN launched a counterattack against Task Force Tango, and by the next day had succeeded in cutting off its lines of communication and began bombarding the encircled Marines.[2]: 136 ARepublic of Vietnam NavyLCM was destroyed as it tried to resupply the Marines. The Marines attempted to break out on the early morning of 31 January and the PAVN recaptured the base.[2]: 136 [5]
South Vietnamese losses were recorded as 40 killed and 20 armored vehicles destroyed in the battle between 28–31 January.[2]: 136
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