Operation Prairie

Operation Prairie
Part of the Vietnam War
American Marines from 3rd Battalion 4th Marines during Operation Prairie.
Date 3 August 1966 – 31 January 1967 Location Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone Result Indecisive
Belligerents
United States Republic of Vietnam	North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
Lew Walt Col. Alexander D. Cereghino Lt Col. Arnold E. Bench	Vo Nguyen Giap
Units involved
3rd Marine Division 4th Marine Regiment 14,228 helicopter sorties and 5,190 bomber sorties supported	324B NVA Division
Casualties and losses
226 Marines killed 1,159 Marines wounded At least 5 helicopters shot down	Confirmed: 1,329 killed Estimated: 1,713 killed 27 POW

Operation Prairie was a U.S. military operation in northern South Vietnam that sought to eliminate North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Over the course of late 1965 and early 1966 the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) intensified its military threat along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The tactical goal of these incursions across the 17th Parallel sought to draw United States Military forces away from populated cities and towns, a similar strategy would be employed during the final months of 1967 in order to maximize the impact of the upcoming Tet Offensive. In response, the Marines elected to construct and reinforce a string of firebases due south of the DMZ including installments at Con Thien, Gio Linh, Camp Carroll, and Dong Ha. To support the defense of the DMZ area, Marines were often relocated from the southern regions of I Corps. In addition to these firebases, U.S. forces also established an interconnected sequence of electronic sensors and other detection devices called the McNamara Line.

The original actions in defense of the Vietnamese DMZ, officially designated as Operation Hastings, began on 15 July 1966. Operation Hastings was a strategic success for American and South Vietnamese troops as the estimated enemy casualties reached upwards of 800 enemy soldiers. The operation, however, was only scheduled to last slightly longer than three weeks reaching its conclusion on 3 August 1966.

Due to the initial, albeit brief, successes of Operation Hastings the United States elected to essentially renew the mission and rename it Operation Prairie. Operation Prairie would cover the exact same areas along the DMZ that Operation Hastings had, as well as had the same mission. The formal objective of Prairie was to search the areas south of DMZ for NVA troops and eliminate them. Another purpose of Operation Prairie aimed to determine the extent of NVA and VC infiltration of northern I Corps, the area of South Vietnam stretching from the northern edge of the Central Highlands to the DMZ.

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