Operation Apache Snow

Part of the Vietnam War

Date

May 10 – June 7, 1969

Location

A Shau Valley, Republic of Vietnam

Result

Indecisive;

U.S.-South Vietnamese forces capture Hill 937 but abandon it weeks later

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

Melvin Zais

Unknown

Strength

Two ARVN battalions

101st Airborne Division
Ten artillery batteries

29th North Vietnamese Army Regiment

Casualties and losses

102 killed, wounded unknown

unknown

977 killed and wounded
3 captured

Indecisive;

Operation Apache Snow was a joint U.S. and South Vietnamese military operation during the Vietnam War designed to keep pressure on the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) units in the A Shau Valley and prevent them from mounting any attacks on the neighboring coastal provinces.

The A Shau Valley was an important corridor for the NVA and Viet Cong (VC), who frequently used it to transport supplies from Laos into South Vietnam as well as employed it as staging area for attacks. Previous sweeps of the valley in Operation Delaware and Operation Dewey Canyon in the previous year had resulted in over 2,000 enemy casualties, but were unsuccessful at removing the NVA from the valley.

Apache Snow was planned as an operation involving ten battalions. The initial assault force consisted of troops from the 187th, 501st, and 506th Infantry Regiments of the 101st Airborne Division, the 9th Marine Regiment, and the 1st ARVN Division. The plan was to block escape routes into Laos and assault enemy formations and strongholds.

The operation began on May 10, 1969. The main objective became Hill 937, the resulting battle became known to the soldiers as "Hamburger Hill", an up-to-date reference to the Korean War Battle of Pork Chop Hill. After ten days of fighting, which involved 11 infantry assaults up Hill 937 primarily by the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry (resulting in heavy U.S. losses), U.S. forces managed to capture the hill. A few weeks later the hill was quietly abandoned by U.S. forces. Operation Apache Snow continued until June 7, with U.S. troops making limited contact with the enemy.

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Wikipedia