Vietnam attacks on US Bases
In late August 1968, the quiet of the Central Highlands was shattered. North Vietnamese forces, driven by determination and aggression, launched a daring strike on the Duc Lap Special Forces camp. In the small hours after midnight on August 24th, enemy sappers slipped past the perimeter wire, their satchel charges tearing through buildings and positions. In that early, tense darkness, five U.S. advisers were wounded and one lost his life. The defenders—special operations personnel and members of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group—battled back under a hail of heavy weapons while calling for help that never came from a neighboring camp, also under siege.
Daylight offered no respite. Air support arrived in time to break the siege, and soon, two companies of Mobile Strike Force troops were airdropped near the camp. They made their way through an open field littered with fallen enemy soldiers, sealing the breach and fighting forward to reclaim the high ground. The defenders, driven by grit and fierce resolve, retook the northern hill after brutal close-range engagements. By evening on August 24th, the attackers had been ejected or killed in a victory wrought through determination and teamwork. The battle concluded on August 27th. In total, allied losses numbered over a hundred, while enemy casualties were estimated at more than seven hundred.
Barely a month later, under the first blush of dawn on September 28th, another offensive struck deep into Quảng Nam Province. This time, the target was Thường Đức Camp, perched on the western approaches to Da Nang. With the early-morning haze still thick, the North Vietnamese assault swiftly overtook two outposts, clashing across the airstrip and invading the nearby village. As fighting rippled through the camp, Forward Air Controllers called in precision air strikes. One detachment discovered gruesome evidence: body parts strewn across an outpost, telling of bomb damage and fierce impact.
By afternoon, a fierce counterattack was mounted. CIDG fighters, lining up in the village marketplace, found themselves pinned by sturdy buildings that defied their recoilless rifles. With civilians evacuated, an officer ordered air strikes that shattered both structures and their enemy occupants. Amid the wreckage, dozens of enemy bodies lay scattered. Other air strikes followed swiftly, including a Phantom jet strike against a mortar team across a river. The result sent panic through enemy radio chatter.
As night fell, U.S. and South Vietnamese defenders held their positions with help from radar-guided Intruder jets, circling gunships, and even nightly bombardments by strategic bombers. A Marine airborne controller established an aerial beacon over the battlefield, allowing jets to strike with precision while avoiding friendly casualties.
The siege dragged on until the morning of September 30th, when MIKE Force reinforcements, inserted by helicopter, helped clear the enemy from around the camp. Yet danger was far from over. On October 6th, Operation Maui Peak was launched to solidify and secure the area. Marines and South Vietnamese forces struck out to seize the surrounding high ground. Artillery and air strikes pulverized enemy positions, while Marines traversed the dangerous Route 4 and endured fierce resistance. Landing zones named Sparrow, Vulture, Hawk, and Kiwi became focal points of assault and relief. Finally, on October 14th, a Marine company arrived within the camp, officially ending the siege. By October 19th, the operation was declared over. U.S. forces had paid dearly—28 Marines killed and 143 wounded—while enemy losses numbered in the hundreds.
