Battle at the Hamlet of Ap Bac

On January 2, 1963, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 7th Division was ordered to destroy a Viet Cong in the Hamlet (AP) of Tan Thoi. The plan was for Army of the Republic of Vietnam infantry to be landed by helicopter to the north of the hamlet, while two Civil Guard battalions supported by a company of M-113s approached from the south through the neighboring hamlet of Bac. Originally it was believed that the transmitter was guarded by an estimate of 120 Viet Cong. In reality it was guarded by about 360.

The Army of the Republic of Vietnam attack went wrong from the very start. After the infantry had landed at 0703 hrs, it was discovered that the weather was not good enough for any more helicopter operations, due to a thick ground fog. Further operations had to post-poned until 0930 hrs.

The first clash occurred at 0745 where the Civil Guard blundered into the Viet Cong section across their route. After the loss of their company commander the South Vietnamese Army went to the ground and called for much needed reinforcements. Helicopters were landed 300 yards west of Bac and were supported by UH-1 gunships.

It is said that US pilots landed 200 yards from the hamlet into a Viet Cong ambush. As they came in at about 1020 hrs they were hit by machinegun and rifle fire from hidden foxholes. One of the CH-21 was shot down and another came in to recover the aircrew.

That helicopter and a UH-1 met a similar fate. The infantry on board took cover in the paddy dikes. A call was made to the commander of the M-113s ordering him to suggest an immediate advance on Bac, but the APCs were away to the west beyond a series of canals. Some ARVN unit commanders had initially refused to move.

It was not until 1300 until the first APCs reached the battle area. At 1430 hrs they charged the Viet Cong held positions, but the Viet Cong held their ground using grenades to hold off the vehicles. An airborne division was to the made available to the ARVN but were ordered the east of Bac to cut off the retreat of the Viet Cong.

The Viet Cong was resourceful enough to wait until nightfall to slip away into the darkness leaving only 18 dead behind. America suffered only 3 fatalities, but the Army of the Republic of Vietnam suffered over 80 due to the indecisiveness of their leaders.

Later after much conflict in South Vietnam, a coup was plotted and carried out against Diem. He was assassinated due to his oppressive nature against the Buddhist religion. America at this point could not back out of the conflict and was committed by November 1, 1963.

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