Operation Beaver Cage
| Operation Beaver Cage | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Vietnam War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |
 Viet Cong | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| COL James A Gallo Jr. |
| ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines |
| ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 55 killed |
181 killed 66 captured | ||||||
Operation Beaver Cage was a U.S. Marine Corps operation in the Que Son Valley that took place from 28 April through to 12 May 1967.
Background
[edit]Operation Beaver Cage was an operation by Special Landing Force Alpha comprising 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines and HMM-263 against the Viet Cong (VC) base areas in the Que Son Valley south of Danang[1]: 158
Operation
[edit]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.[1]
On 5 May as the Battalion headquarters was being withdrawn by helicopters it was attacked by VC mortar and small arms fire, the assault was repulsed without loss.[1]: 158–9
On 9 May Beaver Cage was joined with Operation Union. On 10 May Companies B and C engaged a large VC unit killing 86 VC.[1]: 159
Aftermath
[edit]The operation concluded on 12 May, Marine losses were 55 dead and 151 wounded, while VC losses were 181 killed and 66 captured.[1]: 159
References
[edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.
- ^ a b c d e Telfer, Gary (1984). U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Fighting the North Vietnamese 1967. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. ISBN 978-1494285449. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
