Undercover Armies - CIA FOIA - Central Intelligence Agency

C05303949
STING UKE A BEED
American pilot, carryingl Iwas not so enterprising. I I
pointed out that it was now their turn to make a drop. "Where are the T-28s [to
provide suppressing fire]?" was the reply, and they carried their ammunition
back to savannakhet. 22 D . .
One of the two surrounded companies broke the NVA siege, then tried and
failed to relieve its battered sister unit. The North Vietnamese then assaulted
that unit, which radioed, "We're fighting hand to hand ... no ammunition ...
will call you back later." They never did, for they 'were then overrun, losing 70
men killed or captured; only eight made it back to Savannakhet. 2JD
By this point, late in the day, another battalion-BO-306-hact disintegrated
under a fierce enemy assault. The command post now came under massive
infantry and heavy weapons attack, and the defenders began to withdraw.
The communists failed to lift their own supporting fire, and fleeing defenders
later said they had heard NVA troops cursing their own gunners as casualties
mounted. But the irregulars, too, sustained serious losses. One company commander,
carryirig his wounded brother, took bullets through both legs and fell
to the ground. Survivors later reported that they saw him pull the pin from a
grenade; the blast killed himand his brother and knocked down several NVA
troops converging on him."0
Air America helicopters landed along Route 9 to pick up the wounded, and
I Iwas pleasantly surprised to hear their pilots tell of able-bodied
troopers who refused offers of a ride, preferring'to make their way west on
foot with their units. On the whole, the tegUlarstd turned in a valiant performance,
even in ultimate defeat, and was astonished to see the
cocky bravado of the survivors as they reached Savannahket. As to the
broader significance of the action, he was unsure'. The OM 30 operation had
bought five weeks' delay, slowing the NVA's subsequent drive on an important
center on Route 9, called Dong Hene, until it was too late to beat the onset
of the rains. But the Vietnamese once again owned Muong Phalane."D
Contesting for the Bolovens PlateauD
---,----,-_----:,----_-:--:-c--,-_c--IThese two setbacks had been preceded
by the loss of several of the irregulars' bases on the eastern rim of the Bolovens,
which the communists found the will and resources to overrun even while
still heavily engaged against Lam Son 719. With the South Vietnamese back
I
" IbidLO..-'-- -.c _
2.' Ibid.~1
24 Sloc~Lin-e-r-c ...~F~iy-e7.W.-,-e~ek-s-a~1P~h-al,-a-ne-c:~'D-~------,-----------
:25Ibid.U
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1'::13