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The Battle Of Ia Drang: Vietnam War

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The Battle Of Ia Drang: Vietnam War
The Battle of Ia Drang
Eric P. Driscoll
American History Since 1877
American Military University
Professor Charles Grear
World War I
The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major confrontation in the war in Vietnam between units of the United States Army and units of the Army of North Vietnam, also known as the People’s Army of Vietnam. The battle took place in the Ia Drang Valley in the Central Highlands of then South Vietnam, the battle started on the 19th of October, 1965 with North Vietnamese soldiers attacked a Special Forces camp near Pleiku and ended on the 26th of November, 1965 after many engagements that, in the Americans eyes, lead to an American victory (Tucker, 2011, p. 527).
There were many parts or mini battles that …show more content…
From 14 to 16 November 1965, heavy contact was made between the American 1-7 Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Moore, and elements of the 9th Battalion, 66th Regiment of the North Vietnamese Army at a landing zone on the Chu Pong that the Americans named landing zone X-Ray. The two sides continued to fight through both days until the North Vietnamese Regiment withdrew during the night of November 15th (Tucker, 2011, p. 527). After the fighting on the 14th and 15th of November 2-7 Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDade, replaced the 1-7 …show more content…
The 2-7 Cavalry marched towards landing zone Albany, and the 2-5 Cavalry marched towards landing zone Columbus. When the lead elements of McDade’s column reached the landing zone, Lieutenant Colonel McDade gathered his company commanders away from their units, not knowing that the enemy commander, Colonel Nguyen Huu An, had a Battalion marching towards landing zone X-Ray to engage American forces there. Not knowing that the Americans had left X-Ray the North Vietnamese commander established an ambush for the American units as they closed in on landing zone Albany, asking for assistance from a nearby Battalion of the North Vietnam’s 33rd Regiment. When the North Vietnamese attacked the column, the fighting was brutal; many of the American unit’s commanders where away from their men with McDade and the North Vietnamese got in close and stayed close to the Americans to prevent the use of air support and artillery against them (Tucker, 2011, p.
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