People's Army of Vietnam
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
(PAVN)
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
that served during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
History
The regiment or elements participated in the famous battles of
Ia Drang
The Battle of Ia Drang (, ; in English ) was the first major battle between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), as part of the Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War, at the eastern foot of the Chu Pong Mas ...
and
Plei Me Legal awareness, sometimes called public legal education or legal literacy, is the empowerment of individuals regarding issues involving the law.Central Highlands in 1965 against US forces, attacked
Buon Me Thuot
Buon may refer to:
* Buon Tan (born 1967), French politician
* Tony Buon (born 1960), British workplace psychologist, speaker, mediator and author
See also
*
{{dab ...
during the 1968
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...
, and fought against Australian and New Zealand forces in Phuoc Tuy Province at Binh Ba, Long Khanh and Nui Le, as well as a number of other actions.Coulthard-Clark 2001, p. 291.Odgers 1999, p. 349. In the South, the 33rd Regiment was subordinate to the 304th Division/B3 Front in the Central Highlands, and later under Military Region 7 and the
5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to:
Infantry divisions
*5th Division (Australia)
* 5th Division (People's Republic of China)
*5th Division (Colombia)
*Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War)
*5th Light Cavalry Division (France)
*5th Moto ...
in Bien Hoa, Long Khanh and Phuoc Tuy Province, and its strength averaged about 1,300 men.
On 3 July 1969, Company D 2nd Battalion
3rd Infantry Regiment
The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is ' ...
located a base camp of the regiment southwest of Xuân Lộc. Elements of the regiment defended the camp killing nine Americans before withdrawing with unknown casualties. Corporal
Michael Fleming Folland
Michael Fleming Folland (April 15, 1949 – July 3, 1969) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.
Biography
Folland was born in ...
smothered a PAVN
hand grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
with his body and was later posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The base comprised over 50 bunkers linked by tunnels. Among the items captured were 200 Rocket-propelled grenades, two 82mm mortars, one 60mm mortar, two AK-47s and 12,000 AK-47 rounds.
A 33rd Regiment memorial near Binh Ba lists 2,100 killed in the war, out of an estimated 4,000 Vietnamese killed in two provinces occupied by forces of the
1st Australian Task Force
The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, north of Bà Rịa i ...