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Michelin Rubber Plantation was located near Dầu Tiếng District in Bình Dương Province, 72 km northwest of Saigon. The plantation was established by the Michelin company in 1925 and at it was the largest 
US and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces conducted frequent operations against PAVN and VC forces in the plantation. On the evening of 27 November 1965 the ARVN 7th Regiment,
Map of the plantation
* * * * * {{coord, 11.2631, N, 106.3339, E, source:wikidata, display=title Base areas of the Viet Cong Battlefields in Vietnam
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, an ...
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.
US and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (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 In military terms, 5th Division may refer to:
Infantry divisions
* 5th Division (Australia)
*5th Division (People's Republic of China)
* 5th Division (Colombia)
*Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War)
* 5th Light Cavalry Division (France)
*5th Mo ...
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, 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, 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 t ...
which included operations in the plantation. From 17 May to 7 December 1967, the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division conducted Operation Diamond Head, 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 force ...
the plantation was the scene of fighting between US forces and the PAVN. From 17 to 24 March 1969 the 1st Infantry Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 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.
See also
* Bến CủiReferences
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