Siege of Plei Me
The Siege of Plei Me was the first major confrontation between the North Vietnamese People’s Army of Vietnam and the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The siege lasted from 28 October until 12 November, setting the stage for the Battle of Ia Drang. U. S. body count: 326 killed during siege.
About Siege of Plei Me in brief
The Siege of Plei Me was the first major confrontation between the North Vietnamese People’s Army of Vietnam and the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The siege lasted from 28 October until 12 November, setting the stage for the Battle of Ia Drang. U. S. body count: 326 killed during siege American intervention196519661967Tet Offensive and aftermathVietnamization 1969–71Easter Offensive Post-Paris Peace Accords Spring 1975Air operationsNaval operations. The first indication of an impending attack was about. October 19 when a Montagnard patrol was attacked near Plei. Me. The PAVN attacked the camp on October 20 and continued throughout the day with small arms, mortars and recoilless rifles with some attackers reaching the perimeter of the defensive perimeter. The American commander called in airstrikes which arrived about 04: 00 and continued through the day. The Americans were able to repulse the PAVn attack and the siege was lifted on 28 October. The lifting of the siege by South Vietnamese forces and American air power was followed by the pursuit of the retreating North Vietnamese from 28 Oct until 12 Nov. The battle was fought in the Chu Pong massif on the Vietnam-Cambodian border. In 1965 the camp was manned by more than 400 Civilian Irregular Defense Group program soldiers, mostly members of the Jarai ethnic group, many of which had families living just outside the camp. About 300 Montagnards, the 14 South Vietnamese and 10 Americans were inside the camp, the others were on patrol or stationed at nearby listening posts.
General Chu Huy Man was tasked with destroying special forces outposts as a prelude to capturing Pleiku city, the headquarters of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in the II Corps region, and gaining control of Highway 19, which led from Pleiku to the coast of South Vietnam. General Man had under his command the 32nd and 33rd Regiments, comprising about 4,200 men, with another regiment, the 66th, becoming available by early November. The 32nd Regiment had been operating in II Corps since January 1965; the 33rd Regiment had arrived in September; The 66th Regiment was expected to arrive by November 1965. The 1st Cavalry Division was composed of three brigades with a total complement of eight battalions. The staging areas were located in thechu Pong Massif in the Central Highlands of South. Vietnam. II Corps Command, in coordination with Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, planned to use B-52 airstrikes to destroy the three PAV N Regiments once they concentrated at the assembly areas. General Man decided to launch the attack earlier on October 19, 1965, with only two Regiments. His battle plan consisted of three phases: 1) The 33rd. Regiment would surround PleiMe and harass the defenders, exerting enough pressure to force II Corps to send a reaction force; 2) The32nd Regiment would ambush the relief column and destroy it.
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