[6], The U.S. Army had not set up casualty-notification teams this early in the war. [45], Alpha Company noticed the sudden absence of air cover and their commander, Capt. They were briefed by Lt. Col. Moore about the battle at LZ X-Ray. The latter force became strung out and, in the early afternoon, were badly mauled in an ambush before they could be reinforced and extricated. The director, Randall Wallace, said that he was inspired by that comment and became "determined to get it right this time.". The American forces were placed on full alert throughout the night. At around 13:45, through his Operations Officer flying above the battlefield (Capt. 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry's intelligence officer Capt. Taft's (3rd Platoon, A Company) dog tags were discovered on the body of a PAVN soldier who had been killed by Taft's platoon. "[3]: • The 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was awarded the ARVN Gallantry Cross with Palm by Major General Vĩnh Lộc, II Corps Commander. They were unable to use air and artillery support due to the close engagement of the North Vietnamese, and the Americans suffered an over-50% casualty rate before being extricated from the battle. In the source book, We Were Soldiers Once… And Young, Hal Moore complains, "Every damn Hollywood movie got it wrong." '"[24], The battle was ostensibly over. The troops were inserted about 200 meters from the position of the PAVN 9th Battalion, 66th Regiment. New York: St. Martin's Press, page 219, Merle L. Pribbenow Military Review – January–February 2001, Pribblenow, The Fog of War, footnote 53 citing, McChristian, page 41; Vinh Loc, pages 97, 111, "Joseph L. Galloway Biography", We Were Soldiers, Open Road Integrated Media, "Vietnam War – Battle of Ia Drang (1965)", https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/28/2001722967/-1/-1/0/02-ILL_HIST_CH03-CH04_(PAGES37-100).PDF, "Colonel Hieu and LTC Hal Moore re: LZ X-Ray After Action Report (m)", Military and the Media – Speech Prepared for delivery Oct. 22, 1996, at the Air War College Commandant's Lecture Series, http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=22030101001, Chinese Observers' Perspective of LZ Albany, "Vietnam story: The word was the Ia Drang would be a walk. Most of this was uneventful until they were approaching X-Ray. [5] The US forces were reduced by 72 out of 395, with 18% fatal casualties. "Whiz" Broome for alerting me to Ed Freeman's passing. Delta Company, which comprised special weapons forces including mortar, recon, and machine gun units, was to be used as the battlefield reserve. We Were Soldiers ponders only briefly the philosophy of victory versus defeat. Edwards was seriously wounded and Lt. John Arrington assumed command of the company and was himself wounded while receiving instructions from Edwards. In 1954 a French unit on patrol during the First Indochina War is ambushed by Viet Minh forces. Shortly after, Moore's command post was subjected to a friendly fire incident by two F-100 Super Sabre dropping napalm. Moore responded that he had plans to send in 1st Cav, however at the present time all units are engaged. Their fire began to cut through Charlie Company's positions and into the command post and the American lines across the LZ. Moore selected: Artillery support would be provided from fire support base "FSB Falcon", about 8 km (5 mi) to the northeast of X-Ray at 13°37′22″N 107°45′51″E / 13.62278°N 107.76417°E / 13.62278; 107.76417 (FB Falcon). Specialist 4 Bill Beck and Specialist 4 Russell E. Adams (Platoon 3, Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry) were awarded the Bronze Star with Valor in 1996. Although many notable decorations have been awarded to veterans of the Battle of Ia Drang, in his book We Were Soldiers Once...And Young, Lt. Gen. Harold Moore writes: "We had problems on the awards... Too many men had died bravely and heroically, while the men who had witnessed their deeds had also been killed... Acts of valor that, on other fields, on other days, would have been rewarded with the Medal of Honor or Distinguished Service Cross or a Silver Star were recognized only with a telegram saying, 'The Secretary of the Army regrets...' The same was true of our sister battalion, the 2nd of the 7th. LZ X-Ray was considered an American tactical victory, as the Americans claimed an almost 10:1 kill ratio. [13]:120, Knowles called Kinnard to report that the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry had engaged the enemy and requested an additional battalion – the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry – to counter the PAVN 7th and 9th Battalions. "[11], Todd McCarthy, from Variety, wrote the film "presents the fighting realistically, violently and relatively coherently given the chaotic circumstances..." McCarthy further wrote, "Mel Gibson has the closest thing to a John Wayne part that anyone's played since the Duke himself rode into the sunset, and he plays it damn well." Second Battalion Headquarters Company followed and Alpha Company, 1/5, brought up the rear of the column. Willard Parish of Charlie Company, situated on Delta Company's lines, earned a Silver Star for suppressing an intense PAVN assault in his sector. It’s a lost nuclear weapon, as explained on Wikipedia and in the movie “Broken Arrow”, but in the movie “We Were Soldiers” it was a radio signal [27], In pursuit of the PAVN on his right flank, Herrick's 2nd Platoon, B Company, was quickly spread out over a space of around 50 meters, and became separated from the rest of 1/7 by approximately 100 meters. Geoghegan was killed while attempting to rescue one of his wounded men, Pfc. Palmer and Robert Stokes were also dead, leaving Sgt. The insertion took place with intense PAVN fire pouring into the landing zone, and the Huey crews and newly arrived 1/7 troopers suffered many casualties. He wanted to withdraw the units but Gen. Westmoreland demanded that the 2/7 and 2/5 stay at X-Ray to avoid the appearance of a retreat. [31], Just before dawn at 06:20, Moore ordered his battalion's companies to put out reconnaissance patrols to probe for PAVN forces. Tully's men moved out at 09:00; McDade's followed 10 minutes later. Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An, the Vietnamese commander, did not see the conclusion at LZ X-Ray as the end of combat, and the Battle of Ia Drang continued the next day with combat action at LZ Albany, where the 2/7th, with A Company 1/5th, found themselves in a fight for their lives against Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An's reserve. Broken Arrow (Nucleare) – termine militare che indica un incidente nucleare accidentale che coinvolge armi nucleari, testate, o componenti ma che non crea il rischio di una guerra nucleare [1] The expanded force at X-Ray, consisting of Moore's weakened 1/7, one company of 2/7, and Tully's 2/5, consolidated at X-Ray for the night. The notification telegrams at this time were handed over to taxi cab drivers for delivery to the next of kin. From Lt. Marm's (2nd Platoon, A Company) new position, his men killed some 80 PAVN troops with close range machine gun, rifle, and grenade assault. Continuity mistake: During the scene where the cameraman is helping carry the badly burned US soldier he grabs the wounded man's legs. At LZ Albany, however, an American battalion was ambushed in close quarters. At 04:22 the PAVN launched a fierce assault against Diduryk's men. Only after everyone (including the dead and wounded) is removed from the battlefield does he fly out of the valley. SSgt. After the battle, more than 100 dead PAVN troops were discovered around his position. There were several clearings in the area that had been designated as possible helicopter landing zones, typically named for a letter of the NATO phonetic alphabet. Eleven years later, the United States is fighting the Vietnam War. Many PAVN soldiers were burned to death as they scrambled from their bunkers in a hasty retreat, while others were caught in a second barrage of artillery shells. 4 Beck, Spec. ARVN's II Corps Command recapitulates the losses of the PAVN from 18 October to 26 November as follows:[56] KIA (body count) 4,254, KIA (estimated) 2,270, WIA 1293, captured 179, weapons (crew served) 169, (individual) 1,027. According to the assessment of ARVN Gen. Nguyen Vinh Loc, at the LZ X-Ray battle, the PAVN did not have anti-aircraft weapons and heavy mortars and had to resort to "human wave" tactics: "The enemy has lost nearly all their heavy crew-served weapons during the first phase ... Their tactics relied mostly on the 'human waves. Making use of four artillery batteries, Lund organized fire into separate concentrations along the battlefield with devastating consequences for the waves of advancing PAVN. 2nd Platoon was technically under the command of SFC Mac McHenry, but he was positioned elsewhere on the perimeter. "[3]:168[13]:121–3, With 2nd Platoon, B Company cut off and surrounded, the rest of 1/7 fought to maintain a perimeter. Surrounded and under heavy fire from a numerically superior force, the American forces at LZ X-ray were able to hold off and drive back the North Vietnamese forces over three days of battle, largely through the support of both air power and heavy artillery bombardment, which the North Vietnamese lacked. Carl Palmer, ordered the signals codes to be destroyed and artillery support to be called in. 2/5 flew in at 08:00 and quickly organized to move out, the trip taking about 4 hours. We Were Soldiers is a 2002 film about the 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, the first official engagement between United States and North Vietnamese Army soldiers of the Vietnam War. The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), also referred to as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), and was part of the Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War. D Company's reconnaissance platoon (commanded by Lieutenant James Rackstraw) was positioned along the north and east of the landing zone, establishing a 360-degree perimeter over X-Ray. Directed by Randall Wallace. [41] At 14:55, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry under Capt. Following their arrival, Herren ordered B Company to move west past the creek bed. Shortly after 05:00 a third attack was launched against B Company, which was repelled by Lt. James Lane's platoon within 30 minutes. The situation quickly disintegrated for Herrick's 2nd Platoon, which began taking casualties as the PAVN attack persisted. At 15:45, Moore ordered Alpha Company and Bravo Company to evacuate their casualties and pull back from engagement with the PAVN. [13]:124–5, Near 17:00, the lead elements of Bravo Company of 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry (2/7) arrived at LZ X-Ray to reinforce the embattled 1st Battalion; the company closed in at 18:00 hours. [58] Furthermore, they include PAVN troop casualties caused by the 5-day Arc Light airstrike that the PAVN and U.S. sides fail to take into account. C Company's command then passed to Platoon Sgt. The size of the clearing at LZ X-Ray meant that troops had to be shuttled in, the first lift landing at 10:48. Buse Tully began marching from LZ Columbus to the rear of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry column that was about 2 miles (3.2 km) away. Lt. Marm, 2nd Platoon, A Company, fired a light anti-tank weapon (LAW) at the machine-gun position, charged the position with grenades while under fire, and killed the remaining PAVN at the machine-gun position with rifle fire. At the end of the film, it is revealed that the landing zone immediately reverted to North Vietnamese hands after the American troops had been airlifted out. He claims that the Americans will "think this was their victory. [54], A 1966 PAVN Central Highlands Front report claimed that in five major engagements with U.S. forces, PAVN forces suffered 559 soldiers killed and 669 wounded. Before the base camp guards can open fire, Major Bruce "Snake" Crandall and others helicopter gunships attack and destroy the remnant of the enemy force. [31], Around midnight, Moore received from Lt. The B3 Front commander, Maj. Gen. Chu Huy Man, planned to target South Vietnamese positions in Kon Tum and Pleiku provinces. The PAVN, using bugles to signal their forces, were repelled from the knoll with artillery, grenade and rifle fire. Following this attack, Charlie Company's 3rd Platoon under Lt. William Franklin came under assault. MacKenzie by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie.[7]. Tully's men in 2/5 then began to push forward toward where the rest of the ambushed column would be. The film's final version got many of the facts of the book presented onto film but is not entirely a historically-accurate portrayal of the battle or entirely faithful to the book. [36], At 10:30 General DePuy, J3/MACV called Colonel Barrow to make sure that the B-52 had been cleared with General Vĩnh Lộc, Commander General II Corps and if the elements of 1st Cavalry had received the time on target 16:00 hours restriction and would comply. [44] The 8th Battalion was led by Lê Xuân Phối. The scout lures them into an ambush, which results in several men being killed, including Herrick and his subordinates. At 12:05, Lt. Col Tully's 2/5 troopers had arrived at the LZ. Willie Godboldt (who died of his wounds shortly thereafter). Thus, the enemy will be caught in a dilemma: He has to drag out the war in order to win it and does not possess, on the other hand, the psychological and political means to fight a long-drawn-out war." [3]:288, The elements of the two PAVN battalions that were involved in the clash with the Air Cavalry troops were: 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 33rd Regiment, 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, 33rd Regiment, 6th Company, 8th Battalion, 66th Regiment, 7th Company, 8th Battalion, 66th Regiment and 8th Company, 8th Battalion, 66th Regiment. Sugdinis's forces reinforced the survivors of Charlie Company (1/7). "[3]:133, Delta Company's troopers also experienced heavy losses in repelling the PAVN assault and Captain Lefebvre was wounded soon after arriving at LZ X-Ray. The close quarters battle lasted for 16 hours. George Forrest's Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry. [46] PAVN troops ran down the length of the column, with units peeling off to attack the outnumbered American soldiers, engaging in hand-to-hand combat. what are the names of the 5 close air-support fighter planes that dropped napalm on the north Vietnamese in both throughout the movie and the broken arrow scene? Nguyen Huu An plans a final assault on the Americans and sends most of his troops to carry out the attack, but Moore and his men overrun them and approach the enemy command center. Awesome effects and sound! It was around this point that Herrick radioed in that his 2nd Platoon were taking fire from their right flank, and that he was pursuing a squad of PAVN in that direction. PAVN casualty figures advanced by II Corps Command relied especially on PAVN regimental command posts' own loss reports (as indicated by Maj. Gen. Kinnard),[57] intercepted by ARVN radio listening stations. 2nd Platoon, B Company had survived but at great cost; out of the 29 men, 9 were KIA and 13 WIA. [13]:99 The initial attack was repulsed with the help of strong air support, and a small relief force reinforced the camp on the morning of the 22nd. Capt. [13]:137, The 6th Company, 8th Battalion, 66th Regiment made contact head on with 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 33rd Regiment and 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, 33rd Regiment maneuvered eastward and attacked the lower and upper flanks respectively and the 8th Company, 8th Battalion, 66th Regiment switched its direction north-westward and attacked the column from behind. Once the relief force was destroyed, the two regiments were to join and take the camp. "[31], At 16:30, Brigadier General Knowles, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) Forward CP Commander, landed at the LZ X-Ray to announce the withdrawal of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry set for the next day. Fifty minutes later, the third lift arrived, consisting of the other two platoons of A Company. A one-helicopter landing zone was secured and the wounded were evacuated. Galloway later described Ia Drang as "the battle that convinced Ho Chi Minh he could win". For instance, the film depicts a heroic charge under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore at the end of the battle that destroys the Vietnamese reserve, ending the battle in an American victory (a fact that the director noted in his commentary). Myron Diduryk's Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, veterans of the fight at LZ X-Ray, got the word that they would be deployed in the battalion's relief. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry (2/5), was to be flown into LZ Victor, about 3.5 kilometers east-southeast of LZ X-Ray. At the end of these attacks, with daybreak approaching, Diduryk's Company had only six lightly wounded men among its ranks – with none killed. Alpha Company had been in the LZ about five minutes and about then, small arms fire began. 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile):[5], 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile):[5]. Tony Nadal's A Company. Alpha Company moved forward to LZ Albany; McDade and his command group were with them. Add more and vote on your favourites! [44] McDade's command group made it into the clump of trees between the two clearings of LZ Albany. At around 15:30, the relief force started to encounter sniper fire and began carrying the wounded and dead of the lost platoon back to X-Ray. Ernie Savage. Joel Sugdinis, wondered where the aerial rocket artillery choppers were. The 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry (1/7) was typical for U.S. Army units of the time, consisting of three rifle companies and a heavy weapons company: A-Alpha Company, B-Bravo Company, C-Charlie Company and D-Delta Company... about 450 men in total of the 765 of the battalion's authorized strength. [38], Around 10:30 a.m., 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry received orders to withdraw from the battle zone while 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry and 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry took up defensive positions for the night. [32] News reporter Joe Galloway, who helped carry one of the badly wounded men (who died two days later) to an aid station, tried to attach a name to the death occurring around him, discovering that this particular soldier's name was Pfc. The battalion was being attacked in two directions. By early 1965, the majority of rural South Vietnam was under limited Viet Cong (VC) control, increasingly supported by People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) regulars from North Vietnam. With a clear line of sight over their sector of the battlefield, C Company was able to call in and adjust heavy ordnance support with precision, inflicting devastating losses on the PAVN forces. At 18:50, II Corps Commanding General concurred with the Arclite request. In response to the request, two F-100 Super Sabre jets swooped down to drop napalm bombs. [38] At 16:25, 1st Air Cavalry TOC made an Arclight request for YV 932985, YV 936996, YA 898005, YA 898019 with TOT 13:00 hours, not later than 17:00. In 1994, Moore, Galloway and men who fought on both the American and North Vietnamese sides, traveled back to the remote jungle clearings where the battle took place. An hour before dark three men walked up on the perimeter. Galloway also noted "[a]t LZ XRay 80 men died and 124 were wounded, many of them terribly", and that the death toll for the entire battle was 234 Americans killed and perhaps as many as 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. 4 Adams and Pfc. [29], At 09:10, the first elements of Alpha Company (2/7), under Capt. Randall Wallace depicted the battle at LZ X-Ray in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson and Barry Pepper as Moore and Galloway, respectively. Rivera were severely wounded in the attack. The American soldiers finally left LZ Albany for LZ Crooks at 13°40′5.6″N 107°39′10″E / 13.668222°N 107.65278°E / 13.668222; 107.65278 (LZ Crooks), 6 miles (9.7 km) away, on November 19. The first involved the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and supporting units under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore, and took place November 14–16, 1965 at LZ X-Ray, located at the eastern foot of the Chu Pong Massif in the central highlands of Vietnam. In the center of the LZ was a large termite hill that was to become Moore's command post. Rescorla described the scene as, "a long, bloody traffic accident in the jungle. For his "gallantry under relentless enemy fire on an otherwise insignificant knoll in the valley of the Ia Drang", Ernie Savage received the Distinguished Service Cross. It was during this battle that Spec. [citation needed], The U.S. reported the bodies of 634 PAVN soldiers were found in the vicinity. While they were doing this, Bass heard Vietnamese voices and the interpreter confirmed that these were PAVN talking.