The Battle of Long Định was a battle of 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 ...

between 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 the

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).

Background

U.S. helicopter surveillance had spotted a large group of VC fighters assembling in a forest glade near Long Dinh. General

Nguyễn Khánh Nguyễn Khánh (; 8 November 192711 January 2013) was a South Vietnamese military officer and Army of the Republic of Vietnam general who served in various capacities as head of state and prime minister of South Vietnam while at the head of a ...

immediately rushed his infantry forces there, using M113 armored personnel carriers.

Operation

On 26 February 1964, three-thousand ARVN soldiers encircled the VC 514th Battalion at Long Định. During the 8-hour battle, the ARVN avoided contact with the VC, instead the ARVN commander relied on air and artillery strikes to inflict damage. As a result, the VC 514th Battalion was able to slip through the gaps and successfully withdraw from the area, using

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

teams to secure river crossings.

Aftermath

Due to the incompetence of the ARVN at this battle, General Khánh sacked five of his division commanders.

References

* Bowman, John S. (1985). The Vietnam War: An Almanac. Pharos Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Dinh, Battle of Battles and operations of the Vietnam War Battles involving the United States Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1964 February 1964 events in Asia History of Tiền Giang Province