15°33′47″N108°16′23″E / 15.563°N 108.273°E /15.563; 108.273
| Battle of Landing Zone Center | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theVietnam War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  North Vietnam | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| MGSamuel W. Koster | MGChu Huy Mân COLGiáp Văn Cương | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry | 31st Regiment | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | USbody count: 365 killed | ||||||
TheBattle of Landing Zone Center (also known as theBattle of Hill 352 or theBattle of Nui Hoac Ridge) took place from 5–25 May 1968 inQuảng Tín Province during theVietnam War.
During theTet Offensive of 1968, thePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN)2nd Division tried to captureĐà Nẵng but they were defeated in theBattle of Lo Giang. PAVN Major-GeneralChu Huy Mân, commander of Military Region 5 ordered Colonel Giáp Văn Cương, commander of the 2nd Division, to split the Division into two fighting arms: one regiment would tie down the Americans in theQuế Son Valley, while the rest of the Division would withdraw to their base areas near Laos, to link up with the 70th Transport Regiment and rest and refit. Then, their next target would be Khâm Đức, the last remainingSpecial Forces camp adjacent to theHo Chi Minh Trail inI Corps. Mân told his senior officers that they would attack Khâm Đức to force an American retreat from the area.[1]
In the aftermath of the battle for Đà Nẵng, U.S. military commanders inI Corps held different views on the fighting ability of the PAVN 2nd Division.Americal Division commander Major-GeneralSamuel W. Koster claimed losses sustained by the Division had "impaired its future effectiveness", after his units killed more than 1,000 enemy soldiers in the month of January alone. In contrast,1st Marine Division commander Major-GeneralDonn J. Robertson told his superiors that the 2nd Division may have several uncommitted units they could deploy for future operations.[1]: 7
Landing Zone Center (15°35′06″N108°14′56″E / 15.585°N 108.249°E /15.585; 108.249) was located on Hill 348, approximately 20km northwest of Tam Kỳ.[2]: 98 In early May 1968 it was occupied by1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment and Battery B,3rd Battalion, 82nd Artillery Regiment.[3]
On 5 May as part of theMay Offensive, the PAVN 31st Regiment attacked LZ Center with mortars and recoilless rifles. When U.S. helicopters tried to land a patrol to locate those weapons, a heavy machine gun company from the PAVN K31 Anti-Aircraft Battalion opened fire from positions around the firebase, shooting downUH-1D #66-17075 from the 176th Assault Helicopter Company which crashed killing all ten crew and passengers and shortly afterwards a helicopter gunship of the 71st Assault Helicopter Company was also shot down. Company D1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment was flown in to reinforce LZ Center. On 7 May anA–1E Skyraider was shot down while providing air support near LZ Center.[4]: 542
On 8 May Koster ordered the1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment and the1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment to sweep the hills around Landing Zone Center.[4]
The PAVN forces were concentrated on the Nui Hoac Ridge, with their main position located on Hill 352 (15°33′47″N108°16′23″E / 15.563°N 108.273°E /15.563; 108.273) approximately 2.5km south of LZ Center.[2]: 369 This position held at least two anti-aircraft guns, recoilless rifles, mortars and an unknown number of PAVN. In addition the PAVN were entrenched between Hills 434 and 479 to the east of LZ Center.[5]
On 14 May 1968 during an attack on PAVN bunkers on Hill 352Platoon sergeantFinnis D. McCleery of 1st Platoon, Company A, 1/6th Infantry single-handedly attacked and destroyed several PAVN bunkers despite being wounded twice. For his actions that day, McCleery would be awarded theMedal of Honor.
The battle was a U.S. victory with the US claiming over 365 PAVN were killed, however it diverted U.S. resources away from theBattle of Kham Duc.[4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Army Center of Military History.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.