| Battle of Snuol | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theVietnam War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 South Vietnam Khmer Republic |  North Vietnam Khmer Rouge | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Nguyen Van Minh Nguyễn Văn Hiếu | Bui Thanh Danh Le Nam Phong | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 5th Infantry Division |  5th Division7th Division | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 8,000 | 20,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 133 killed 130 missing 494 wounded | 1,143 killed (claimed by South Vietnam) | ||||||
TheBattle of Snuol, fought inSnuol,Cambodia, was a major battle of theVietnam War, between theArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and thePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) as part ofOperation Toan Thang 1/71. The battle lasted from 25 to 30 May 1971.
Operation Toan Thang 1/71 was launched with the purpose of destroying PAVN andKhmer Rouge bases and to help the Cambodian forces reestablish control over the area north ofHighway 7 up to theMekong River town ofKratié. Despite some engagements in late February, mid-March and early April the PAVN largely avoided contact.[2]: 47–9
In late May the PAVN learned that the South Vietnamese planned to withdraw a task force of the5th Infantry Division from Snuol. On 25 May, three PAVN regiments massed to cutHighway 13, thereby trapping the task force in Snuol. Intense antiaircraft fire prevented the allies from resupplying the town by air, and after three days of fighting the South Vietnamese position became untenable. The South Vietnamese sent a brigade-size relief column up Highway 13 from South Vietnam to link up with the beleaguered contingent as it fought its way out of Snuol. A U.S. adviser described the scene: "What had been a controlled operation was turned into a rout as units that were supposed to occupy night defensive positions continued down the road and suffered heavy personnel and equipment losses."[2]: 49
By the time the relief operation ended on 31 May the PAVN had lost 1,143 dead and 186 weapons in the fight, while the South Vietnamese had lost 133 killed, 494 wounded, 130 missing, 947 individual weapons, 83 crew-served weapons, 41 mortars and artillery pieces, 198 armored personnel carriers, 6 tanks and 41 vehicles.[2]: 49
The PAVN claim to have eliminated 14,000 ARVN and 6,000Khmer National Army troops, destroyed over 1,500 vehicles (including 369 tanks and armored vehicles) and 169 artillery pieces and shot down 200 aircraft and captured 700 prisoners, 1,800 weapons, 34 vehicles and other ammunition and supplies during the operation.[3]
The battle rendered the ARVN 5th Division combat ineffective in the estimation of its American advisers.[4]: 338–9 According toII Field Force, Vietnam commanderMichael S. Davison, the 5th Division troops were close to mutiny.[5]: 478
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