Battle of Ông Thành

Battle of Ong Thanh
Part of the Vietnam War
First Lieutenant Clark Welch (far right) described the actions of October 16 to the senior officers of the 1st Infantry Division.
Date October 17, 1967 Location Ong Thanh Stream, Bình Dương Province, South Vietnam Result Viet Cong victory
Belligerents
United States	Viet Cong
Commanders and leaders
Terry de la Mesa Allen, Jr. †	Vo Minh Triet Nguyen Van Lam
Units involved
1st Infantry Division 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment	9th Division 271st Regiment Rear Service Group 83 C1 Company
Strength
142–155 plus relief force	1,400
Casualties and losses
64 killed, 2 missing, 75 wounded.	Unknown: 22 bodies seen.

1st Infantry Division

9th Division

Rear Service Group 83

The Battle of Ong Thanh was fought at the stream of that name (Ông Thành) on the morning of October 17, 1967, in Chơn Thành District, at the time part of the old Bình Dương Province, South Vietnam, today in Bình Phước Province.

During the first few months of 1967, the Viet Cong absorbed heavy losses as a result of large-scale search and destroy missions conducted by the United States Army, and it prompted North Vietnamese leaders to review their war strategy in South Vietnam. In light of the setbacks which North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces had experienced early in 1967, North Vietnamese General Trần Văn Trà suggested that North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces could still be victorious if they inflicted as many casualties as possible on U.S. military units, hoping that the Americans would conclude that the war was too costly and withdraw from Vietnam. Thus, towards mid-1967, the Viet Cong 7th and 9th Divisions returned to the battlefield again, with the objective of inflicting casualties on U.S. military formations in III Corps Tactical Zone. On June 12, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division launched Operation Billings to destroy elements of the Viet Cong 9th Division, which had built-up strength around northern Phuoc Vinh.

During that operation, American soldiers initially made only limited contact with the Viet Cong, but defeated enemy troops in two separate battles. On June 17 the 1/16th infantry battalion, re-enforced by a company of 2/28th infantry engaged in a six-hour battle supported by airstrikes and massive artillery. The majority of the casualties suffered from that engagement alone, when the operation concluded on June 26, the 1st Infantry Division had lost 57 soldiers dead and 197 wounded. Then in September, following a string of attacks on allied military installations by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops, Major General John H. Hay decided to temporarily stop conducting large-scale operations until the true intentions of Communist forces were known. Towards October, the Viet Cong 271st Regiment marched into the Long Nguyen Secret Zone, to rest and refit for their next major operation. To disrupt the Viet Cong's resting period, General Hay launched Operation Shenandoah II to clear a section of National Highway 13 which stretched from Chon Thanh to Loc Ninh.

...
Wikipedia