Battle of Kham Duc

15°26′17.50″N 107°47′48.85″E / 15.4381944°N 107.7969028°E / 15.4381944; 107.7969028

Battle of Kham Duc
Part of the May offensive in the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War

The United States military lost twelve aircraft during the Battle of Kham Duc, including this CH-47 Chinook that was shot down while attempting to land on the airfield
Date10–12 May 1968
Location
Khâm Đức District, Quảng Tín Province (now Quảng Nam Province), South Vietnam
Result North Vietnamese victory
Belligerents
North Vietnam
Supported by:
Việt Cộng
 United States
 South Vietnam
 Australia
Commanders and leaders
MG Chu Huy Mân
COL Giáp Văn Cương[1]: 6 
United States GEN William Westmoreland
BG Burl W. McLaughlin[2]: 9 
LTC Robert B. Nelson[3]
LTC Daniel Schungel[4]
CPT Robert Henderson[5]
AustraliaCPT John White[6]: 61, 62 
Units involved

2nd Division

  • 21st Regiment
  • 1st 'Ba Gia' Regiment

23rd Infantry Division

5th Special Forces Group

A Company, 70th Combat Engineer Battalion[6]: 41 

Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 13th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division[6]: 65.66 
Strength
2,500[1]: 106 
3,000-4,000[6]: xiii 
United States 911[7]: 343 23rd Infantry Division - 791, 5th SF Group - 120
Australia 3 AATTV advisors
Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 13th Regiment, 1st Marine Division - 44
South Vietnam 266 CIDG soldiers[2]: 4 
Casualties and losses
U.S. claim: 345 killed[8]: 261  1500-2000 killed[6]: xiii  United States 46 killed
112 wounded
33 missing[9]
1 captured
12 aircraft shot down or destroyed
South Vietnam 10 killed
95 missing[10]
~183 civilians killed[6]: xiv 

The Battle of Kham Duc was a major battle of the Vietnam War. The event occurred in Khâm Đức, now district capital of Khâm Đức District, then in Quảng Tín Province (now part of Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam), from 10–12 May 1968. During the Tet Offensive of 1968, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 2nd Division tried to capture Đà Nẵng, but they were defeated in the Battle of Lo Giang by elements of the U.S. 1st Marine Division and the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal Division). PAVN General Chu Huy Mân disengaged from the fight on the outskirts of the city, and pulled the 2nd Division into the mountains to rest, rebuild, and prepare for the next major operation. The US and allied defenders of the Special Forces camp at Khâm Đức, a small district in the north of Quảng Tín, were chosen as the next target for the 2nd Division. Although the Special Forces camp had never been an obstacle to the constant infiltration of PAVN troops around it, the North Vietnamese hoped to attract major US reinforcements away from the lowland populated areas, kill or capture them and film the battle, presumably to make it look like a US Điện Biên Phủ on the eve of the 1st Paris peace conference.[citation needed]

Following their defeat at Đà Nẵng, U.S. military intelligence agencies in I Corps Tactical Zone were confused by the movements of the 2nd Division. Beginning in late February, intelligence reports confirmed the presence of large units of the 2nd Division in the Khâm Đức area. Coincidentally, General William Westmoreland sent U.S. Army engineers to upgrade the camp's airstrip for sustained use by large transport aircraft in preparation for an incursion into Laos titled Operation York. An Australian-led indigenous MIKE Force company was ordered to hold their vulnerable position at Ngok Tavak (Ngok Ta Vak), the ruins of a small, earthen French fort on a hill about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) south of Khâm Đức, to boost Special Forces intelligence-gathering capabilities in the area. More and more reports of patrol contact with elements of the 2nd Division heightened the alert status of the MIKE Force troops.

In the early hours of 10 May, the 40th Battalion attacked Ngok Tavak and overran much of the outpost. By dawn, the 11th MIKE Force company was devastated, but they later received reinforcements from the 12th MIKE Force company. The Australian MIKE Force commander then decided to evacuate his troops and move towards Khâm Đức. The survivors of the PAVN battalion had left behind a mortar squad and a recoilless rifle squad to cover their retreat and harass the remaining MIKE Force and Marine artillery platoon. Meanwhile, a reinforced infantry battalion with an attached artillery battery of the 23rd Infantry Division was airlifted into Khâm Đức as part of Operation Golden Valley, to defend the airstrip in preparation for a possible evacuation. On the morning of 12 May, the day before the Paris peace talks began, both regiments of the 2nd Division attacked Khâm Đức. It began with assaults on two of the three hilltop outposts surrounding the camp. Westmoreland then ordered his Deputy MACV CO for Air, General Momyer to make an all-out effort to extract all the people in Khâm Đức, both military and civilian. The PAVN mass attacks on the airstrip in broad daylight under clear skies were ravaged by an unprecedented concentration of some 350 sorties of almost 150 US Air Force, Marine, Navy and South Vietnamese tactical aircraft, causing an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 PAVN casualties without allowing them to penetrate, much less overrun, the airstrip or the camp. By the time the operation was completed, about 1,500 military and civilian personnel had been evacuated. For the following two days, US Air Force B-52s bombed the surrounding area intensively.

  1. ^ a b Davies, Bruce (2008). The Battle at Ngok Tavak: A Bloody Defeat in South Vietnam, 1968. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781741750645.
  2. ^ a b Gropman, Alan (1985). Airpower and Airlift Evacuation of Kham Duc (PDF). Office of Air History. ISBN 9780912799308.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Paraphrased Press Interview with B/G J.E. Glick, Lieutenant Colonel R.B. Block, Lieutenant Colonel William F. Smith, Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Nelson, and Major John G. McCabe - Support Document from Project CHECO Report #129, F031100041005. Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive. No Date, Box 0004, Folder 1005, Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=F031100041005, Accessed 19 Apr 2022.
  4. ^ After Action Report from Battle of Kham Duc - Support Document from Project CHECO Report #129, F031100040964. Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive. 31 May 1968, Box 0004, Folder 0964, Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=F031100040964, Accessed 24 Apr 2022.
  5. ^ After Action Report from Battle of Kham Duc - Support Document from Project CHECO Report #129, F031100040964. Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive. 31 May 1968, Box 0004, Folder 0964, Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=F031100040964, Accessed 19 Apr 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j McLeroy, James D.; Sanders, Gregory W. (2 December 2019). Bait: The Battle of Kham Duc. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1612008127.
  7. ^ Bowers, Ray (1983). The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia: Tactical Airlift (PDF). Air Force Historical Studies Office. ASIN B0006E9GIM.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ Willbanks, James H (2009). Vietnam War Almanac. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9780816071029.
  9. ^ Report - re: POW/MIA's From Battles of Kham Duc/Ngok Tavak, 11272107023. Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive. 16 March 1973, Box 21, Folder 07, Garnett Bell Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=11272107023, Accessed 25 Apr 2022.
  10. ^ Department of the Army (10 January 1969). 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Operational Report, Lessons Learned, Period Ending 31 July 1968. p. 13.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.