Operation Hastings

Operation Hastings

Marines of Company H, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment take to the water as they move to join up with other elements of their battalion.

Date	15 July – 3 August 1966
Location	Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
Result	South Vietnamese and U.S. victory

Belligerents

United States

South Vietnam

North Vietnam

Commanders and leaders

Lew Walt
Lowell English

Nguyen Van

Strength

8,000
(2/4, 3/4, 2/1, 1/3 and 3/5 Marine Battalions)

3,000
ARVN 1st Division
Airforce support (10,000 helicopter and 1,677 bomber sorties were flown.

8,000 to 10,000
(324B NVA Division)

Casualties and losses

126 killed, 448 wounded

21 killed, 40 wounded

U.S reported: ~700 killed, 17 captured

Operation Hastings was an American military operation in the Vietnam War. The operation was a qualified success in that it pushed the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces back across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). As the NVA clearly did not feel constrained by the "demilitarized" nature of the DMZ, US military leadership ordered a steady build-up of U.S. Marines near the DMZ from 1966 to 1968.

During late June and early July 1966, Marine reconnaissance units operating south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) had observed and engaged increased numbers of uniformed regular North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops. On 6 July, troops of the ARVN 1st Division captured an NVA soldier near The Rockpile who identified himself as being from the 812th Regiment of the 324B NVA Division and advised that the other Regiments of the Division had also moved into South Vietnam. On 9 July a lieutenant from the 812th Regiment surrendered in the same area and advised that the 324B Division's mission was to liberate Quang Tri Province.

Convinced that the NVA had moved across the DMZ in force, Major-General Wood B Kyle, Commanding General of the 3rd Marine Division recommended to General Lew Walt that the US launch an operation to drive back the NVA. General Walt passed on this recommendation to COMUSMACV, General Westmoreland, who gave his approval. On 11 July Brigadier General Lowell English, Assistant Division Commander of the 3rd Marine Division met with General Truong, commanding General of the ARVN 1st Division and Colonel Sherman, commander of the 4th Marines at the 1st Division HQ in Huế to plan the operation. It was decided that a Marine task force would move into the area south of the DMZ to participate in Operation Hastings (the name given to Marine DMZ reconnaissance operations on 7 July), while ARVN forces would launch Operation Lam Son 289 south of the Marines.

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Wikipedia