War Zone C was the area in South Vietnam centered around the abandoned town of Katum near the

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

n border where there was a strong concentration of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and

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) activity during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by 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 Vietnam a ...

. This area was reportedly the general location of COSVN, the headquarters for communist military and political activities in the southern half of Vietnam.

Geography

War Zone C, located in the area designated as III Corps, was a section of South Vietnam with high strategic value due to its location in between Cambodia and Saigon as well as the fact that it was a popular jump off spot for PAVN/VC forces and supplies from the Ho Chi Minh Trail. War Zone C’s boundaries followed the Cambodian border to the north and west, while its eastern boundary ran parallel to Highway 13. The area included portions of Tay Ninh province, Binh Long province, and Binh Duong province. The area has been described as pathless jungles through mountainous regions and boggy swamps which made travel and transportation extremely difficult.

Actions

The overall strategy that was adhered to focused on disrupting and reducing bases from which PAVN/VC forces could operate from and threaten Saigon. U.S. and Army of the Republic of Vietnam forces conducted small unit operations in this area, often re-sweeping previously explored areas, and established a more effective defense along the Cambodian border to prevent VC and PAVN troops from regaining access to bases in the southern provinces. War Zone C played host to several American combat operations throughout the war including

Operation Attleboro Operation Attleboro was a Vietnam War search and destroy operation initiated by the 196th Light Infantry Brigade with the objective to discover the location(s) of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) base areas and force them to ...

Operation Birmingham Operation Birmingham was a military operation of the Vietnam War in War Zone C, north of Saigon conducted by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 5th Division from 24 April to 17 May 1966. Background T ...

, and

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 t ...

(one of the largest operations conducted during the Vietnam War). Many of the battles in III Corps did not develop due to direct assaults into the wilderness, yet instead occurred in a multitude of small, sporadic fire fights located miles apart.Marshall, ''Two Vietnam Battle Narratives: Ambush and Bird'', p. 12.

Notes

References

* * * * *{{cite book, last=Summers Jr., first=Harry G., title=The Vietnam War Almanac, year=1985, publisher=Random House, location=New York, isbn=0-7394-4290-2, oclc= 9730994 Military operations of the Vietnam War Vietnam War