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Operation Meade River was a
US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
cordon and search operation that took place south of
Danang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
, lasting from 20 November to 9 December 1968.


Background

''Dodge City'' was a 36 square km area located approximately 20 km south of Danang to the west of
Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...
and given this nickname by the Marines due to frequent ambushes and firefights there; together with Go Noi Island directly to the south it was a
Vietcong , , 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 ...
and
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) stronghold and base area. The Dodge City area was completely flat and criss-crossed with numerous small waterways. Dodge City was the base for the Vietcong R-20 Battalion and the PAVN 1st Battalion, 36th Regiment. The operation was planned as part of the South Vietnamese Government's Le Loi Accelerated Pacification Campaign and called for the
1st Marine Regiment The 1st Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The regiment is under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force. The 1st ...
to cordon and search the entire Dodge City area.


Operation

On the morning of 20 November 7 Marine Battalions moving overland and by helicopter established the cordon meeting light resistance losing 1 Marine killed and 25 wounded and 2 helicopters shot down. Two towers were flown into the northern area of the cordon and these would be used by snipers and for directing artillery and air support. At midday
2nd Battalion, 7th Marines The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (2/7) is a light infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. The battali ...
began sweeping from the western side of the cordon towards the railway lines and at 16:30 Company G 2/7 Marines encountered a PAVN bunker complex in an area nicknamed the "Horseshoe" (), the Marines withdrew leaving behind 6 dead. On the morning of 21 November 2/7 Marines, supported by Company D
1st Battalion, 1st Marines 1st Battalion 1st Marines (1/1st Marines) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Pendleton, California, consisting of anywhere from 800 to 2,000 Marines and Sailors, but the number fluctuates depending on th ...
and Company L
3rd Battalion, 26th Marines The 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines (3/26) is an inactive infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They were part of the 26th Marine Regiment and 5th Marine Division and fought during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. They were ac ...
planned to resume their assault on the Horseshoe but were hit by intense fire before they had moved into position and the attack stalled. 2/7 Marines attacked the Horseshoe again on 22 November. Company E was hit by close-range fire as it crossed a small stream losing 7 killed and 23 wounded in 10 minutes before it could withdraw. Company D 1/1 Marines attacked from the north losing 2 dead and 17 wounded before disengaging. On the morning of 23 November 3/26 Marines moved from the southwest of the cordon towards the Horseshoe joining up with 2/7 Marines. Company H, 2/7 Marines overran several enemy positions and recovered the bodies of the 6 Marines lost on 20 November. On 24 November air and artillery strikes were directed against the Horseshoe and then in the afternoon 2/7 Marines reinforced by Company K, 3/26 Marines attacked again. At 15:30 the assault was stopped by strong enemy fire and by 18:30 the Marines withdrew again having lost 5 dead and 31 wounded. On the morning of 25 November after preparatory artillery fire 2/7 Marines moved forward encountering no resistance as the defending PAVN 3rd Battalion, 36th Regiment had withdrawn. Over the next 4 days the Marines reduced and searched the cordon area. From midnight on 28/29 November a 6-hour artillery barrage hit the cordon area and then the
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5, nicknamed Dark Horse) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and consists of approximately 1,000 Marines and Fleet Marine ...
attacked along Route 4 clearing out numerous small bunkers and defensive positions. On 1 December 3/5 Marines encountered a strong enemy bunker position in an area nicknamed the "Hook" () losing 2 dead and 28 wounded before pulling back to allow artillery and air support to attack the enemy positions. 3/5 Marines attacked again on 2 December, but made no progress. On 3 December 3/26 Marines joined the attack on the Hook and after an extensive air and artillery bombardment succeeded in penetrating the defensive positions by the evening of 4 December. On 5 December after a napalm attack the Marines overran the remaining defenses finding 75-100 PAVN dead. On 6 December Company E, 2/26 Marines encountered a PAVN bunker complex nicknamed the "Northern Bunker Complex" just south of the La Tho River (). On 7 December 3/26 Marines, Company H, 5th Marines and Company A, 7the Marines attacked the complex, quickly becoming pinned down and losing 10 dead and 23 wounded. The Marines withdrew into night defensive positions to allow for air and artillery strikes. At 11:20 on 8 December 3/26 Marines supported by 12 M113s from the ARVN 2nd Troop, 4th Cavalry attacked the Northern Bunker Complex finding 79 dead PAVN from the previous day's fighting. Company H was pinned down by a final line of bunkers, but the Marines used an improvised explosive device to destroy a large bunker and counted a further 39 PAVN dead in the defensive lines. Company A overran another bunker line clearing 12 bunkers and killing 47 PAVN and later engaged in a firefight with another PAVN unit killing 20 PAVN for the loss of 6 Marines. Company L engaged a PAVN platoon killing 15 PAVN for the loss of 5 Marines. As night fell Company I's lead Platoon was cut off and Sergeant Karl Taylor led a mission to rescue the wounded Marines, in addition to rescuing several wounded he silenced a PAVN machine gun position before being mortally wounded. Sergeant Taylor would be posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
for his actions. On 9 December following an artillery bombardment (including fire from the ) the Marines began their final assault on the Northern Bunker Complex methodically destroying the PAVN positions, finding over 130 dead in the bunkers and taking 8 prisoners.


Aftermath

Operation Meade River concluded on 9 December 1968; the Marines had suffered 108 dead and 510 wounded, and claimed that the PAVN/Vietcong lost 1,023 killed and 123 captured. The Marines destroyed more than 360 bunkers during the operation. Despite their losses, intelligence showed that by late December the Vietcong and PAVN had returned to Dodge City.


Gallery

File:5th Marines Sweep Through Elephant Grass, 1968 (14994647958).jpg, 5th Marines sweep through elephant grass File:CH-46 Transport Helicopter, 1968 (14994498289).jpg, A Marine signals a CH-46 into position for a resupply hook-up at Hill 55 File:Corporal Roland Tancrede Leads Marines, 1968 (15180856322).jpg, 7th Marine Regiment patrol File:David Crouch Shares a Radio with a Civilian, 1968 (14994593200).jpg, A Marine shares his radio with a civilian. File:John Gartrell, Tunnel Rat, 1968 (14994691217).jpg, A Marine Tunnel Rat crawls into a captured North Vietnamese bunker File:Korean C-Rations, 1968 (14994590640).jpg, US and Korean Marines share Korean C-rations


Notes


External links


Operation Meade River: Marine Search-and-Destroy Cordon of the Vietnam War » HistoryNetPhotos of Operation Meade River
{{DEFAULTSORT:MeadeRiver, Operation 1968 in Vietnam Battles involving the United States Battles involving Vietnam Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1968 Battles and operations of the Vietnam War United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War History of Quảng Nam province