Operation Beaver Cage was a U.S. Marine Corps operation in the

Que Son Valley QUE or que may refer to: * Quebec (Que.), as the traditional abbreviation, though the postal abbreviations are now QC and previously PQ * Que Publishing, a company which first began as a publisher of technical computer software and hardware suppo ...

that took place from 28 April through to 12 May 1967.

Background

Operation Beaver Cage was an operation by Special Landing Force Alpha comprising

1st Battalion, 3rd Marines 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines (1/3) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Nicknamed the "Lava Dogs", the battalion consists of approximately 800 Marines and sailors and falls under the com ...

and

HMM-263 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM-263) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of V-22 Osprey, MV-22B Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Thunder Chickens", is based at Marine Corps Air Station New ...

against 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) base areas in the Que Son Valley 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 o ...

Operation

The operation commenced with a helicopter assault into the valley at 07:00 on 28 April. Contact was minimal until the night of 2 May when a VC unit attacked Company C's night defensive position and was forced back by artillery and AC-47 ''Spooky'' gunfire. On 5 May as the Battalion headquarters was being withdrawn by helicopters it was attacked by VC mortar and small arms fire, the assault was repulsed without loss. On 9 May Beaver Cage was joined with

Operation Union Operation Union was a search and destroy mission in the Que Son Valley carried out by the 1st Marine Regiment from 21 April to 16 May 1967. The object of the operation was to engage the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 2nd Division. Background ...

. On 10 May Companies B and C engaged a large VC unit killing 86 VC.

Aftermath

The operation concluded on 12 May, Marine losses were 55 dead and 151 wounded, while VC losses were 181 killed and 66 captured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:BeaverCage, Operation Beaver Cage Beaver Cage United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1967 Beaver Cage History of Quảng Nam province