Battle Of The Ia Drang Valley

     The Vietnam conflict has been known for being the most unpopular war in the history of the United States. The war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Korean conflict of the early 1950's were also opposed by large groups of the American people, but none of them generated the emotional anxiety and utter hatred that spawned Vietnam. The Vietnam war caused people to ask the question of sending our young people to die in places where they were particular wanted and for people who did not seem especial grateful.

For ten long days, American and South Vietnamese Army troops fought alongside each other to gain control of Dong Ap Bia, Hill 937. Their mission was to search and destroy the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Viet Chong (VC), believed to have grouped in the A Shau Valley area. The battle now known as Hamburger Hill begun May 10, 1969 and is recognized as one of the last major encounter between the Americans and the NVA. Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Weldon Honeycutt, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment

This paper will examine how a unwavering adversary and difficult terrain combined to negate the effects of American technology. The Battle of Hamburger Hill was a battle of the Vietnam War which was fought by the United States and South Vietnam against North Vietnamese Forces from May 10–20, 1969. The battle took place on Ap Bia Mountain in the rugged, jungle-shrouded mountains along the Laotian border of South Vietnam. Ap Bia Mountain anchors the northwest corner of South Viet Nam's A Shau Valley. The valley has been a major infiltration route for Communist Forces from the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos to the coastal cities of Northern I Corps since1966. Ap Bia Mountain dominates the northern valley, towering some 937 meters. Official

The Battle of Ia Drang comprised of two main engagement by the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment that took place on November 14th-15th, 1965 at Landing Zone X-Ray, at the eastern foot of the Chu Pong massif and by the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment on November 17 at Landing Zone Albany further north in the Ia Drang Valley. They were the first group of combat troops that set foot into the Ia Drang Valley. The Ia Drang Valley is 32 miles southwest of Pleiku in Vietnam. West Pointer by the name of Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore was in command of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry of the 3rd Brigade, , which was an Airmobile unit. Moore was tasked with training soldiers to be battle ready to go to Vietnam and specifically the Ia Drang Valley. On

“When the U.S. began its military involvement in Vietnam in 1964, not many Americans opposed it. The States had been in the Cold War with the

Many people felt that this was a war of money that the U.S. didn’t need to interfere in and was being fought by North and South Vietnam, therefore we had no business getting in the middle of it. The United States should've thought of themselves and done what was best for them as a country. When Dwight D. Eisenhower left office, a new President came in with the name John F. Kennedy. JFK warns the American public about “Military Industrial Complex”. This affected Americans because we didn’t want all of Vietnam to become communist. From the beginning, the United States was not aware of what they were getting themselves into. Furthermore, they didn’t understand the nature of the war on who and why they were fighting.

The Battle of An Loc Vietnam also regarded as the Easter offensive as it started the Thursday before Easter weekend and lasted 96 days. It preceded the TET offensive of 1968 and may have been one of the most prolific battles of the era. The Battle of An Loc showed the will and fortitude of the enemy as well as tested the perseverance of the defending forces of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Along with all this it showed a more modern form of battle using ground as well as air power, and set the stage for the superiority of the air power used today.1

Was the Vietnam War an unpopular war? The soviet union winning a war caused a greater separation between communism and democracy or capitalism. The Americans joined the Vietnam war to support southern Vietnam in fighting against the communism in northern Vietnam. The Vietnam war was a very unpopular war because of economic, political, and social reasons.

Battle of Ia Drang: was the first major battle between regular U.S. troops and north vietnamese PAVN troops. The 2-part battle occurred from November 14 to November 18, 1965 at Landing Zone X-Ray and Albany in La Drang Valley. As a matter of fact, Ia Drang Valley battle was considered essential, as it set the foundation for tactics for both sides during the conflict. American troops continued to reply on air mobility and artillery fire to achieve their battlefield objectives or the so called “body count”. On the flip side the Viet Cong learned that by quickly engaging their combat forces to fighting the US troops at close range they could neutralize American advantages.

”Forty-five years ago this fall, in November of 1965, a lone, under strength battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) ventured where no force—not the French, not the South Vietnamese army, not the newly arrived American combat troops—had ever gone”(Galloway 1). The battle of la Drang was the first major battle fought in the Vietnam War between the soldiers (Cav Scouts) of the US Army and the enemy (the People’s Army of Vietnam) aka the PAVN / NVA of North Vietnam. This battle took place between the dates of 14November1865 and 18November1865 at two separate LZs. These landing zones (X-Ray and Albany) were located adjacent to each other to the west of the village of Plei Me in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. The landing zones were precisely at the footstep of the Chu Pong massif. Before the battle started, close to 1,100 Americans in total had died in the United States’ involvement in the fight between South Vietnam and North Vietnam. This U.S. airmobile (1st Calvary Division) offensive operation was codenamed Operation Silver Bayonet I aka the battle of la Drang.

The first major battle in the Vietnam War, Ia Drang saw the U.S suffer 79 killed and 121 wounded. Estimates North Vietnamese losses are around 634 killed and an estimated 1215 wounded, as well as 6 captured. The fighting at Ia Drang set the tone for the upcoming conflict as U.S forces continued to rely on air mobility and heavy fire support to achieve victory. On the other hand, the North Vietnamese learned that the latter could be neutralized by quickly closing with the enemy and fighting at close range.

1)"Although the some Americans still supported their government policy in Vietnam in 1965, as the war went on, more and more Americans turned against it. The Vietnam War had been described to the US public as one where the richest and most powerful country would have a lot of problems defeating one of the smallest and poorest countries in the world. The protests against the war started

American Public Opinion of the Vietnam War At the beginning of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, in 1965, the American Public favored the idea of war because they feared the threat of communism. Polls conducted in 1965, showed 80 percent of the population agreed with President Johnson and were for the war (Rousseau 11). The U.S. got involved with the war to stop communism from spreading throughout South Asia. Americans were afraid if one country on South Asia turned to communism, it would extend to other countries, which is known as the "Domino Theory".

The United States entered the Vietnam War as the superpower of the World following its great victory in World War II. The United States was the greatest country to live in at this time as we were the wealthiest and strongest as the only ones with an atom bomb and we definitely were not afraid of anyone. Founded on good values and principles that helped men prosper, it seemed as if nothing could affect America. As time went on though this would all change as racial tensions grew and the United States entered Vietnam. People quickly began to realize how many problems the United States really had is it was fighting wars across the world and in its own backyard. As tensions grew from the wars being fought people began to change their views on social

“The American people were pro war due to Cold War propaganda against the US; however, due to conscription of young men the support decreased” (Bottaro, 2012:52). Americans supported the involvement of the US in the Vietnam War because of the propaganda which was against the US due to the Soviet Union. Also, they supported the fact their country was preventing communism take over in Vietnam. However, things changed after conscription of young men to fight and media coverage of the war. “The Vietnam War was complicated by factors that had never before occurred in America of a war, because the American media had come to dominate domestic opinion about its purpose and conduct” (Hallin, 1986:3). Since the Vietnam War was the first ever televised war, Americans and the world were able to see the destruction caused by the US soldiers on Vietnamese land and people. Americans did not understand why the US government allowed soldiers to continue a war America was clearly losing. “Along with the Civil Rights movement campaigns of the 1960s, the anti-war movement was one of the most diverse forces in the 20th- century in US history” (Halstead, 1973:22). Despite the increase in anti-war protest, poverty decline in the economy and the Civil Rights movement situation were happening in the US during this period in America, the government still did not