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Operation Thayer

Operation Thayer, Irving and Thayer II
Part of Vietnam War

1st Cavalry Division soldiers with Vietcong prisoners
Date13 September 1966 – 12 February 1967
Location14°07′44″N 108°49′52″E / 14.129°N 108.831°E / 14.129; 108.831
Result Allied operational success
Belligerents
 United States
 South Vietnam
 South Korea
Viet Cong
Vietnam North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
United States MG John Norton Col Le Truc
Units involved
United States1st Cavalry Division
South Vietnam 22nd Division
South Korea Capital Division
3rd Division
Casualties and losses
U.S figure:
Operation Thayer:
United States 35 killed and missing
Operation Irving:
52 killed [1]
Operation Thayer II:
United States 242 killed
947 wounded
 South Vietnam unknown
 South Korea unknown
PAVN claim: 1,800+ killed or wounded[2]:chapter 4
U.S body counts: 2,669 killed
Operation Thayer:
231 killed
Operation Irving:
681 killed and 1,409 captured
Operation Thayer II:
1,757 killed

Operation Thayer (13 September 1966 – 1 October 1966), Operation Irving (2 October 1966 – 24 October 1966) and Operation Thayer II (24 October 1966 – 11 February 1967) were related operations with the objective of eliminating People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) influence in Bình Định Province on the central coast of South Vietnam. The operations were carried out primarily by the United States (US) 1st Cavalry Division against PAVN and VC regiments believed to be in Bình Định. South Korean and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces also took part in the operation.

The sustained operations were deemed a success by the US, which claimed that more than 2,500 PAVN/VC killed at a loss of about 329 American dead. Many areas under PAVN/VC influence were abandoned by the rural population as non-combatants fled the fighting or were forced by American and South Vietnamese forces to leave their homes. The PAVN/VC were able to break up into smaller units and evade open-battle against an overwhelming air-land-sea deployment of US forces, and much like in Operation Masher which preceded it, they were able to return and contest the region once the operation had died down.[3]

  1. ^ Willbanks, James (2013). Vietnam War Almanac: An In-Depth Guide to the Most Controversial Conflict in American History. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. 1966. ISBN 9781626365285.
  2. ^ "History of the Yellow Star Division". kilopad.com/Tieu-su-Hoi-ky-c12. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  3. ^ Rosen, Stephen Peter (1994). Winning the Next War: Innovation and the Modern Military. Cornell University Press. pp. 95–6. ISBN 0801481961.