Michelin Rubber Plantation was located near Dầu Tiếng District in Bình Dương Province, 72 km northwest of

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. The plantation was established by the

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

company in 1925 and at it was the largest

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

in Vietnam. The plantation was located approximately halfway between the Cambodia border and Saigon and so was an important base and staging area for the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

(VC) and later the

PAVN 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 Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed win ...

. The plantation was an important source of revenue for the South Vietnamese Government and it was believed that the Michelin Company paid off the VC in order to keep the plantation operating during the war. US forces were obliged to compensate Michelin for damage caused to the rubber trees during operations in the plantation. NARA photo 111-CCV-609-CC34255

US and

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...

(ARVN) forces conducted frequent operations against PAVN and VC forces in the plantation. On the evening of 27 November 1965 the ARVN 7th Regiment, 5th Division was overrun by the VC 272nd Regiment, killing most of the Regiment and 5 US advisers. From 21 to 27 February 1966 the 2nd and 3rd Brigades, 1st Infantry Division conducted

Operation Mastiff Operation Mastiff was an operation conducted by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division in the Dầu Tiếng District, lasting from 21 to 25 February 1966. Prelude U.S. intelligence reports indicated that the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 9th Divis ...

, a search and destroy operation in and around the plantation.http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/resources/operations/operations.txt From 22 February to 14 May 1967 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division,

196th Infantry Brigade The 196th Infantry Brigade ("Chargers"), also known as the Charger Brigade was first formed on 24 June 1921 as part of the United States Army Reserve's 98th Infantry Division (United States), 98th Division with the responsibility of training soldi ...

173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Eu ...

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi ...

, VNMC 1st and 5th Battalions and ARVN 35th and 36th Ranger Battalions conducted

Operation Junction City Operation Junction City was an 82-day military operation conducted by United States and Republic of Vietnam (RVN or South Vietnam) forces begun on 22 February 1967 during the Vietnam War. It was the first U.S. combat airborne operation since th ...

which included operations in the plantation. From 17 May to 7 December 1967, the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division conducted

Operation Diamond Head Operation Diamond Head was an operation conducted by the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Tây Ninh Province, lasting from 11 July to 31 October 1967. Prelude In May 1967, U.S. intelligence located a People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) sup ...

, a search and destroy operation in the Plantation and surrounding areas. In August and September 1968, known as the Phase III Offensive in reference to the third wave of PAVN attacks after the

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 ...

the plantation was the scene of fighting between US forces and the PAVN. From 17 to 24 March 1969 the 1st Infantry Division,

, 1/4th Cavalry conducted

Operation Atlas Wedge Operation Atlas Wedge was a joint U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) military operation from 17 to 24 March 1969 during the Vietnam War designed to engage People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units in the Michelin Rubber Plantation ...

in the plantation. In 1975 after the fall of Saigon, first the plantation and then the factory in Saigon was nationalized by the communist government.

References

External links

Map of the plantation
* * * * * {{coord, 11.2631, N, 106.3339, E, source:wikidata, display=title Base areas of the Viet Cong Battlefields in Vietnam

See also

References

External links