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User:Rdward1961/Battle of Suoi Da Special Forces Camp

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The Battle of Suoi Da Special Forces Camp (termed "The Battle of Bầu Cối" by Vietnamese communist forces) was a minor battle during the early stages of the Second Indochina War, but which the Vietnamese communists consider to be significant in the development of People's Liberation Armed Forces (aka Viet Cong) regular force tactics[1]. The battle began on June 19, 1964, when the Viet Cong 20th Infantry Battalion maneuvered to attack a Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) patrol led by a three-man element of U.S. Army Special Forces (USASF) Detachment A-113, 5th Special Forces Group, near the newly-formed Suoi Da Special Forces Camp in Duong Minh Chau District, Tay Ninh Province. The attack inflicted heavy damage to the patrol, killing all three Americans and causing the surviving CIDG members to break ranks and straggle back to the Suoi Da Camp. The battle continued until June 26, 1964, as U.S. and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) units pursued and engaged the Viet Cong, inflicting heavy losses[2].

Background

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By June 1964, there were 80 USASF/CIDG camps in Vietnam, including 14 in III Corps Tactical Zone, where Suoi Da was located, and three in Tay Ninh Province[3]. During Operation Switchback (1963), which transferred the CIDG program from the CIA to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), USASF and CIDG operations had changed their emphasis from village defense systems to offensive strike force operations against the Viet Cong[4]. In reaction, and pursuant to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam's (North Vietnam) December 1963 decision to expand military support to revolutionary forces in the South[5], by the summer of 1964, the frequency and effectiveness of Viet Cong attacks against ARVN and U.S. forces in South Vietnam had escalated markedly[6]. Viet Cong attacks on USASF/CIDG camps in 1963 occurred only once with a force larger than a company[7]; in 1964, battalion level assaults occurred on at least three occasions[8].

Prelude

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References

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  1. ^ Lich, Cao Van (1992). "The Maneuver and Attack Battle of Bau Coi (Tay Ninh)," A Number of Battles in the Wars Against France and America, 1945-1975 (Volume III). Vietnam Military History Institute, Hanoi, pp 147
  2. ^ Call, Raymond L. (7 July 1964). "After Action Report: Activities at Suoi Da Forward Operating Base, 19-26 June 1964," Detachment B-220, US Special forces, Vietnam
  3. ^ Department of the Army (1989). Vietnam Studies, U.S. Army Special Forces, 1961-1971, Center for Military History, pp 68-72
  4. ^ Ibid, pp 34
  5. ^ Davidson, Phillip B. (1988). Vietnam at War, The History: 1946-1975. Oxford University Press, pp 313
  6. ^ Moyar, Mark (2006). Triumph Forsaken, The Vietnam War, 1954-1965. Cambridge University Press, pp 301
  7. ^ Department of the Army (1989), pp 40
  8. ^ Ibid, pp 54
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