Battle of Suoi Tre

Part of Operation Junction City, Vietnam War

Date	21 March 1967
Location	Suoi Tre, Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam
Result	US victory

Belligerents

United States

Viet Cong

Commanders and leaders

James A. Grimsley

Unknown

Strength

Two battalions

One regiment, ~1.500

Casualties and losses

36 killed
190 wounded

647 killed
7 captured

The Battle of Suoi Tre (Vietnamese: suối Tre) occurred during the early morning of 21 March 1967 during Operation Junction City, a search and destroy mission by American military forces in Tay Ninh Province of South Vietnam, to the west of the capital Saigon. After being challenged heavily to begin with, the Americans gained the upper hand and completed a convincing victory over the Viet Cong. They found 647 bodies and captured seven prisoners, 65 crew-served and 94 individual weapons. The Americans losses were 36 dead and 190 wounded, a fatality ratio of more than twenty to one in their favour.

On 19 March, American helicopters dropped two infantry battalions off in a clearing near Suoi Tre to build a fire support base to be used in search and destroy missions against the Communists. During the airlift, seven helicopters were damaged. On March 21, a Viet Cong attack started before dawn at 6:30 a.m., headlined by mortars, and followed by a large-scale infantry charge. They overwhelmed parts of the American perimeter at first, and forced them to withdraw inwards. After a period, American reinforcements broke through the Communist envelope to assist their besieged colleagues, and firepower and artillery helped them gain the upper hand. The Communists stubbornly fought on, with some carrying wounded compatriots forward in follow-up infantry charges, but they were eventually forced to withdraw with heavy casualties.

On 20 March, in an area surrounded by a tree line of sparse woodland that had been scarred by defoliants, American helicopters landed the 3rd Battalion of the 22d Infantry and the 2nd Battalion, 77th Artillery, led by Lieutenant Colonels John A. Bender and John W. Vessey, Jr., respectively, as part of the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division led by Colonel Marshall B. Garth. Their objective was to establish Fire Support Base Gold, which would be used to support search and destroy missions of Operation Junction City. The Americans did not anticipate heavy action.

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Wikipedia