Battle Of Cửa Việt
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Battle of Cửa Việt took place during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
between 25–31 January 1973 at the Cửa Việt naval base and its vicinity, in northeast Quảng Trị Province. The battle involved a combined task force of South Vietnamese Marine and armored units that tried to gain a foothold at the Cua Viet Port just as the ceasefire was about to take effect on January 28 in accordance with the
Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords (), officially the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (), was a peace agreement signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. It took effect at 8:00 the follo ...
. The South Vietnamese forces were finally forced to retreat by a North Vietnamese counterattack with considerable losses on both sides.Oral History Interview of Enemy Proselyting Department Colonel Luu Dinh Mien, 13 June 2007, Hanoi"
, Vietnam Interviews Project, retrieved on December 8, 2014.


Background

In late October 1972 as part of the counteroffensive to the
Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive (') by North Vietnam, or the Red Fiery Summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN, t ...
launched by the
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...
(PAVN), the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...
(ARVN) began attacks north of Quảng Trị to try to regain positions along the south bank of the Cam Lộ/Cửa Việt River. The attacks were met with stiff PAVN resistance and were stopped at the Thạch Hãn River. A further attack from the coast by the Vietnamese Marines in November made limited gains. By the end of 1972 the Marines and ARVN occupied positions 5 km south of the river. As the ongoing peace negotiations would soon lead to a ceasefire, the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff sought the most advantageous battlefield positions possible and so ordered a further effort to regain the south bank of the Cam Lộ/Cửa Việt River.


Opposing forces

Since March 1972, the Cửa Việt base had been controlled by PAVN, particularly the 5th Regiment of the People's Navy of Vietnam. On 15 January 1973 planning began for a final assault on Cửa Việt . A special combined unit called ''Task Force Tango'' was organized, consisting of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Battalions and elements of the 1st Armored Brigade. The task force was put under the command of Colonel Nguyen Thanh Tri, Deputy Commander of the Republic of Vietnam Marine Division.


Battle

The operation began at 06:55 on 26 January with Task Force Tango advancing in two columns. Besides ARVN firepower, U.S. and naval gunfire of the
United States Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the ...
was used to soften the target and hinder PAVN reinforcements. The PAVN put up fierce resistance to the attack, destroying 26 M-48s and M-113s with AT-3 missiles and shooting down two Republic of Vietnam Air Force planes with SA-7 missiles. On 27 January an
F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...
of VF-143 was shot down while attacking PAVN forces north of Cửa Việt. Both crewmen ejected, the radar intercept officer (RIO) was captured and released on 27 March during Operation Homecoming, while the pilot Commander Harley Hall was killed. His remains were identified on 6 September 1994. An OV-10 Bronco #68-3806, call sign ''Nail 89'' of the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron acting as forward air controller for the attempted rescue of the F-4 crew was hit by an SA-7 missile, both crewmen ejected and radio contact was established with one of them who said he was about to be captured. Neither crewman was returned during Operation Homecoming and both are listed as presumptive finding of death. At 01:45 on 28 January the Marines made a final assault and by 07:00 had broken through the PAVN lines to recapture the base. At 07:45 the , one of the two destroyers involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964, fired the last U.S. naval gunfire support in the Vietnam War and pulled off the gun line. At 08:00 in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords the ceasefire came into effect and the U.S. stopped all support for Task Force Tango. On the evening of 29 January, the PAVN launched a counterattack against Task Force Tango, and by the next day had succeeded in cutting off its lines of communication and began bombarding the encircled Marines. A Republic of Vietnam Navy LCM was destroyed as it tried to resupply the Marines. The Marines attempted to break out on the early morning of 31 January and the PAVN recaptured the base.


Aftermath

South Vietnamese losses were recorded as 40 killed and 20 armored vehicles destroyed in the battle between 28–31 January.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cua Viet, Battle of Battles of the Vietnam War involving the United States United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1973 January 1973 in Asia History of Quảng Trị province Attacks on military installations in Vietnam Attacks on military installations in 1973 Naval battles of the Vietnam War involving the United States Naval aviation operations and battles