showing the battlefield in depth. This was the first ... 2/031967all.pdf · the attacking Viet Cong, inflicting heavy casualties. Alcala committed the 2d Platoon to the southern half

showing the battlefield in depth. This was the firstcombat victory of the 3/5 Cavalry which dealt acrushing blow to the Viet Cong's challenges. Ourown Capt. Roy Alcala is mentioned, among others,utilizing their cav training to the maximumadvantage.

This was part of Operation Junction City, a securitymission along Highway 13. Page 15 is missing fromthe Octofoil site.

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WICKSTROM

The Battle of. .BAU BANGBy 2LT Charles C Ashton III

The glow of tracers from a VietCong machine gun illuminated the lasthour of Palm Sunday March 19, 1967,as the Battle of Bau Bang erupted inwhat was to be a furious six-hourordeal.

By sunrise, 230 bodies from the273rd Viet Cong Main ForceRegiment would cover thepockmarked, brass-laden battlefield.

Three missions were assigned tothe 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry, 9thInfantry Division: Clear and securehighway 13 from Lai Khe to Cau XeLu's Suoi Than, secure the artillerybase near Ap Bau Bang, and preparefor commitment as a reaction force inthe 1st Brigade's area of operation.

For these tasks the 3rd/5th wasattached to the 1st Brigade,participating in Phase II of OperationJUNCTION CITY, a security missionalong Highway 13.

Troop A, 3rd/5th, was to secureCombat Outpost 3 and the fire supportbase where Battery B, 7th Battalion,9th Artillery was deployed. Troop B,3rd/5th was to defend troop base,

Observation Posts 1, 2 and 3. Troop C,3rd/5th would occupy the troop base.Headquarters troop would man theSquadron Command Post; and occupyCombat Outpost 4, augmented by twotanks from Troop A.

By 7 p.m. all elements of theSquadron had occupied their assigneddefensive positions and outposts. Asthe elements of Combat Outpost 4were closing into position, a VietCong guerilla was killed attempting toplace a large anti-tank mine in theroad. Having compromised theirposition, the unit returned to theSquadron Command Post, and TroopA's tanks returned to the fire supportbase.

At 11 p.m. 15 cattle were observednortheast of Troop A's perimeter atthe fire support base. SergeantMichael Rorie, Marshville, N.C., wasbeing relieved from guard when heheard bells and saw cattle cross theroad in front of his armored cavalryassault vehicle (ACAV). Momentslater, an enemy machine gun openedup. The driver immediately returned

Combat Outposts 1 and 2 as well as fire and together with a tank's maingun, destroyed the position.

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Page 14-15

Copyright 2000 Leon Baldwin

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.The next hour and a half was quiet

and void of visible Viet Cong activity.Rorie then heard the dull thump ofmortar tubes in the woods to his frontand at 12:30 a.m., March 20, the VietCong launched a fierce, coordinatedattack along the entire 1,200 meterperimeter. The 75 cavalrymen ofTroop A simultaneously receivedenemy mortar, automatic weapons,recoilless rifle and anti-tank fire.

The incoming rounds triggered anattack in which, more than half thedefending cavalrymen were woundedand all the vehicles hit by enemyrounds, during he first half hour ofbattle.

"They Were Like Zombies"

"You could see them walking downthe road from the south," said Rorie."Some had weapons and some did not.They were like zombies. You couldfire at them and they would not falluntil they were dead."

A critical gap of 240 meters wasripped into the perimeter by thedestruction of two of Troop A's tracks.Troop A's Commander, Captain RaulAlcala, San Antonio, Tex.,immediately moved his vehicle up tothe right of an exploding mortarcarrier, and directed the groundsurveillance team's track to cover theopening on the left. With machineguns blazing, the two armored vehiclesmoved into the perimeter and the VietCong attempting to overrun them werecut down. The sector was once againstabilized.

As enemy pressure increased, thedauntless courage and decisiveleadership of the individual vehiclecommanders and crewmen violentlyrepelled assault after assault. Ignoringtheir wounds they stubbornly foughtoff the determined attacks of the 2dand 3d Battalions of the 273d VietCong Main Force Regiment andseveral guerrilla local force companies.

In the early morning hours, anarmed helicopter light fire team arrived

"I Fired Every AvailableRound"

Staff Sergeant George Hua, BaileyMills, Tex., was scanning his sector offire through the tank's rangefinderwhen the vehicle sustained threesimultaneous anti-tank round directhits. The driver was wounded but,miraculously, the hull was notpenetrated. "The white sand in frontwas turning black with crawlingCharlies," Hut said. "I fired everyavailable round in the ready rack, thenturned to the coaxial-mounted gun andemptied its ammo box."

The crew continued to fightgallantly, though sustaining nine directanti-tank hits which destroyed thesearchlight and the caliber 50 machinegun and partially incapacitated thetank, wounding the entire crew.

At 1:15 a.m. the SquadronCommander, Lieutenant ColonelSidney Haszard, Needham, Mass.,granted Troop A permission toreinforce the perimeter with theplatoon at Combat Outpost 3. He alsoplaced the 1st Platoon of Troop B andthe 3rd Platoon of Troop C underTroop A's operational control. TroopA's 2d Platoon moved at top speed,south on Highway 13, toward thebattle area. The platoon knifed throughthe attacking Viet Cong, inflictingheavy casualties.

Alcala committed the 2d Platoon tothe southern half of the perimeter,where most of the vehicles had beendamaged or destroyed.

First Lieutenant Harlan Short,Carthage, Mo., 2d Platoon leader, wasmaneuvering his tank into theperimeter when it received two anti-tank and one recoilless rifle direct hits.The loader was killed; the othercrewmen wounded and Short blownfrom the tank.

Short scrambled back into the turretand attacked the perimeter which wasswarming with Viet Cong trying toseize the position.

It was 1:45 a.m. when platoons

to assist in plunging fire at enemyattack positions. An Air Forceflareship, "Spooky", arrived shortlythereafter to help illuminate thesmoke-hazed battlefield. Troop A'smortar illumination was exhausted andall but one tank searchlight weredestroyed.

from Troop B and C were directed tomove toward the battle area. Theplatoon from Troop C, being closest,approached the perimeter from thesouth and broke through enemy forces,as they attempted to establish anambush among the ruins ofAp Bau Bang.

Their weapons spewing flame in alldirections, the platoon penetrated theenemy lines and resecured theperimeter.

ANTON

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Where

..

The..

Battle

..

Raged

..

Platoon Sergeant SistoCicuzza of Junction City,Kans., commanding the leadtank of Troop B's 1st Platoon,rushed toward the perimeterand spotted a concealed VietCong ambush force alongboth sides of Highway 13. Heimmediately blasted canisterfrom the main gun, sprayingthe entire area as the platoonrumbled on at maximumspeed. The enemy gunnerswere able to score only twohits with their anti-tankrockets, causing fewcasualties.

"Charlie" had launchedanother fierce attack as TroopB's platoon began to close onthe perimeter. Alcala decidedto slice through the attackingenemy throngs by sweepingthe incoming platoon aroundthe smoking perimeter withevery available weaponflashing red hot steel. Themaneuver succeeded incrushing the assault andincreasing the enemy casualty

toll.

Click here to see

larger version of

map

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ROHRBACH

By 1:50 a.m. the perimeter hadincreased from two understrengthcavalry platoons, 75 troopers strong, tofive cavalry platoons, 167 determinedtroopers strong. The Viet Cong attacksmounted in intensity along thesoutheastern and northwestern sectorsof the perimeter.

Lieutenant Colonel Haszard, withthe Squadron Surgeon and a couple ofvolunteers, rolled out of SquadronHeadquarters toward the battle area. At2 a.m. the command vehicle, with thesecond ACAV following, raced northalong Highway 13 where heavyautomatic weapons and anti-tank firewas encountered.

Manning one of the machine guns,Haszard sped through a Viet Congambush force as his tracers spearedtheir positions.

The artillery fire was lifted just intime to permit the two ACAV's tomove through the target area into thebattle zone. When the Squadron

Commander turned off the road toenter the perimeter, he was suddenlyengaged by two concealed anti-tankrocket crews. Two rounds penetratedthe command ACAV killing thegunner and wounding Haszard andcrew.

Intense Enemy Fireand Stinging Ricochets

With the command vehicledisabled, the second ACAV movedahead and despite intense enemy fireand stinging ricochets, began to attachtowing cables. But it too waspenetrated by an anti-tank rocket.Immediately two tanks on theperimeter moved into positions wheretheir simultaneous fire allowed thedamaged tracks to reach the perimeter.

OROSZ

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.As soon as tactical air support

became available, the jet aircraftshowered the dug-in Viet Congpositions with rockets, cluster bombunits and 500-pound ordnance. Twentysix accurate sorties broke the back ofthe enemy pressing from the southeast.By 3:15 a.m. the battle area wascleared to a depth of 800 metersaround the perimeter, allowing themost seriously wounded to be dustedoff.

The Air Force continued to strafethe area as the cavalrymen began aseries of counterattacks from theperimeter, pushing through anddestroying "Charlie."

Each enemy probe, apparently torecover weapons and bodies, was metby a violent counterattack. About 5:30

a.m.

ammunition for the cavalrymen hadbecome critical. They had expendedmost of their basic load and even thehoneycombs in the hull had beendrained of their precious nectar, themain gun rounds.

As night became day, the countbegan. In the boiling wake of a six-hour firefight, the Viet Cong brokecontact and withdrew. The 273d VietCong Main Force Regiment, anestimated 1,000 strong, had suffered astaggering defeat in their clash with the3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry.

The superiority of the cavalrytroopers was firmly established. Theysustained only four killed in action and67 wounded in leading the 9th InfantryDivision through its first major victory

in Vietnam.

OROSZ

The art work in this publication was furnished bythe

Combat Art Section of the 19th Military HistoryDetachment.

COMBAT ARTISTS

SGT Donald Orosz

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SP4 Robert AntonSP4 David WickstromPFC Edward Rohrbach

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showing the battlefield in depth. This was the first ... 2/031967all.pdf · the attacking Viet Cong, inflicting heavy casualties. Alcala committed the 2d Platoon to the southern half