Battle Analysis - Dong Ap Bia (Hamburger Hill).

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Ben Denio

Battle Analysis – Dong Ap Bia (Hamburger Hill)

        Vietnam was part of an old French Colony called Indo-China.  During World War II, the Japanese captured it from the French.  Vietnamese resistance was led by the communist Ho Chi Minh.  In 1945 he led the resistance when the French tried to re-establish control.  During 1946, war broke out between the two sides.  In 1954, the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu.  After this defeat a Geneva Agreement was assigned for the future of Vietnam.  This agreement divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel into two parts; a northern zone which was communist and controlled by Ho Chi Minh, and a southern zone that was democratic and controlled by Ngo Dinh Diem.  Elections were to be held on both sides to establish the government.  

        America feared that the communists would win a massive amount of votes with the Buddhist peasant population.  America refused to allow the elections to take place.  The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was formed to protect the independence of Vietnam.  This was done because of the containment/domino theory that if South Vietnam would fall to communism then Cambodia would be the next to fall, following Laos, Thailand, Burma, and India.  Ho Chi Minh responded with a guerrilla campaign against the south.

        North Vietnam had a massive, well trained army (NVA) along with a decent sized air force with Soviet MIG-21s.  The North Vietnamese had been fighting on their homeland for many years before the Americans came to Vietnam.  North Vietnam was equipped with many Chinese and Soviet weapons.  AK-47s, SKSs, RPKs, SAMs, and MIG-21s were among these cheap but very reliable weapons used by the North Vietnamese.  Because the NVA did not have vast currency at its expense, they did not have the latest weaponry, but instead had many arms produced cheaply to arm its whole army.  

        The U.S. had a large army, navy and the world’s largest air force.  Many of the soldiers that were fighting in Vietnam were straight out of boot camp and sent to the front lines.  The NCOs and officers O-5 and above had a lot of experience in the previous Korean War.  America had the latest technological weapons among its armed services.  The M-16 was introduced in Vietnam as the new infantry assault rifle.  America’s navy was equipped with battle cruisers, and aircraft carriers carrying many missiles and fighter planes.  Due to political factors, the U.S. could not operate in the neighboring countries surrounding Vietnam (Laos, Cambodia).  This affected America’s strategy of fighting the North Vietnamese who themselves massed troops and supplies in these countries.  

        The battle for Dong Ap Bia was part of Operation APACHE SNOW.  APACHE SNOW was directed at enemy forces, bases, and lines of communication in and adjacent to the Northern A Shau Valley.  As part of this operation, the 101st Airborne Division in coordination and cooperation with the 1st ARVN Division conducted a multi-battalion combat assault into LZ’s adjacent to the Laotian border on 10-11 May 1969.  

        The North Vietnamese had alliances with China, Korea, and the Soviet Union.  This helped the NVA with supplies and money to fight their war.  The NVA also had an advantage with their tactics because they had fought on their own land and perfected guerrilla warfare.  The Americans however had not been in Vietnam and had to adopt new tactics and doctrine to their war fighting.  The U.S. had an alliance with South Vietnam during the war.  Americans and South Vietnamese fought side by side in many of its battles.  The commanders on the American side underestimated the capability of the NVA.  In the eye’s of the U.S., the NVA was less technologically advanced, did not have great size in forces, and were inferior in battle.  This would come back to haunt the U.S. commanders on Hill 937.

        Except for frequent afternoon thunderstorms, the weather was clear and suitable for supporting air operations.  When thunderstorms occurred, Hill 937 would become very muddy and hindered movement to the top of Ap Bia.

        The Dong Ap Bia complex is a prominent line of ridges running southwest-northeast overlooking an east-west valley approach to A Luoi and the northern A Shau Valley.  The most prominent feature of the Ap Bia ridge is the saddle between Hill 916 on the southwest and Hill 937 on the northeast.  The area is covered with multi-canopy jungle and thick undergrowth, dense thickets of bamboo, and waist-high elephant grass.  The steep slopes made it very difficult for movement.  Dong Ap Bia bordered with the Thung Pham River, and Laos.  This gave the NVA advantage to use Laos and the river to reinforce its troops and supplies without having the Americans interfere.  The hill gave the NVA great advantage over the U.S.  The NVA built concentric rings of fortified positions, spider holes, deep tunnels, trenches, and underground shelters for first aid stations.   The NVA also used the triple-canopy jungle to mask its fighting positions and supply routes from aerial reconnaissance.  

        On the American side there were five battalions leading the assault on Hamburger Hill.  The U.S. had three battalions from the 101st Airborne Division; The 3rd/187th, 2nd/501st, and the 1st/506th.  The ARVN had two battalions of its 1st Division; the 2nd and 4th battalions.  The U.S. also had 10 supporting artillery battalions, and TAC Air support.  The NVA had the entire 29th regiment located on Dong Ap Bia.  This regiment was made up of two battalions; 7th and 8th battalion.  The U.S. and ARVN had close to 1800 men in the battle while the NVA had close to 1000 men.  The Americans had numerical strength in both troops and key weapon systems.  The U.S. had ARA, Artillery, and Navy jets to support the ground assault.  F-4 phantoms and F-105s would drop napalm and cluster bombs on the mountain to destroy the enemy bunkers and foliage of the jungle.  Exposing the enemy bunkers was crucial to the U.S. so that they could fix artillery on those positions to support the infantry.  The North Vietnamese had none of these key weapon systems.  Instead they relied on the high ground with overlapping camouflaged bunker positions to fight the enemy.  Even when the foliage was destroyed, the massive bunker complex was so elaborate and well constructed that the NVA still had the advantage.

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        The NVA had very limited technology on the battlefield.  They relied on primitive ways of fighting their battles.  They used cheap weaponry from China and the Soviet Union including assault rifles, machine guns, SAMs, and mortars.  The Americans however had the latest technology at their disposal.  Close air support included Huey and Cobra attack helicopters and various navy jets.  No tanks or APCs were used in this battle due to the terrain.  America had the technological advantage in this battle, but the NVA’s tactics and doctrine evened out the advantage that the Americans had over the NVA.  

        Logistics played ...

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