The Battle of Bien Hoa

The Battle of Bien Hoa

Senior Leaders have analyzed wars for years in hopes of finding the most efficient way to conduct war. This paper explores the events of that took place during the Battle of Bien Hoa in 1968. Research was conducted through internet and non-internet sources to provide the most accurate facts concerning this battle. The 29th of January 1968 was the beginning of Battle of Bien Hoa when the Bien Hoa Air Base went under attack. On 31 January the first Tet Offensive began by the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam in order to shift the invading army and regain control by the Vietnamese. A total of 39 encounters were recorded in this battle fought by brave Soldiers from the 17th Calvary, the 11th Armored Calvary, the 101st Airborne Division, the 47th Infantry Division (Mechanized), the 199th Infantry Brigade, the Air Force, Marines, and the South Vietnamese Army, against enemy forces (North Vietnamese Army, and the Viet Cong). Pleiku, Phan Theit, Ban Me Thuot, Thu Duc, An My, and Kontum are some of the cities near the Saigon area where the encounters took place. (Starry, 1931) Before the battle begun there was a huge dilemma about engaging armored vehicles in Vietnam; however once fully engaged the results created an atmosphere of change, innovation, power, and confidence that changed the strategies of war forever.

Setting the Stage

Bien Hoa is a city near Saigon located in a rural area on flat grounds, about 16 miles from the Bien Hoa Airbase (weather was not a factor in this battle). The base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam. During the Battle of Bien Hoa, and the rest of the Vietnam Wars, the US Armed Forces used the air base a...

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... learn from their unfortunate mistakes and build a better army today. Leaders, let’s not take for granted all the decades of experience, research, and hardship that our Soldiers endured in Vietnam; be prepared, be willing to change, take care of Soldiers, and live the Army Values!

References

BACM Research. (2009). Vietnam war: After actions reports lessons learned documents battle assessments. In Beverly Hills, CA: doi: Paperlessarchives.com

Mesco, Jim (1987) VNAF south vietnamese air force 1945-1975 squadron/signal publications. ISBN 0-89747-193-8

Starry, J. (1978) Mounted combat in vietnam. Washington DC: Department of the Army.

William, M. (1975) The Vietnamese Air Force, 1951-1975: An analysis of its role in combat and fourteen hours at Koh TanWashington: [Dept. of Defense, Dept. of the Air Force]: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.