Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. Operations Thayer/Irving
Abstract
This CHECO study deals extensively with military efforts made in the latter part of 1966 to pacify northern Binh Dinh Province, one of the most populated and heavily-contested areas of the country. The struggle for Binh Dinh Province began seriously in December 1964, when the Viet Cong made battalion-sized attacks for the first time. They moved into the An Lao Valley, captured two Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) fortified positions, and remained despite extensive air attacks and counter-operations. This enemy initiative, an escalation in fact, which was later revealed as part of a plan to cut South Vietnam in half along Highway 19, played a major part in the United States' decision to raise its level of participation in the year. Some two and a half years later, the struggle. for control of this area is continuing with definite signs of progress as indicated in this report. Nevertheless, the fact that this important area, where the U.S. has launched a major military effort, still is not secure, underscores the painstaking military approach required in the unique fighting of Vietnam. airpower is an essential element of this approach and was used extensively, but, it, too, cannot be expected to produce sudden, dramatic, finite results any more than the search-and-clear ground operations they support. This hard reality, the recognition of a long and difficult military task against a resilient and determined enemy, must be kept in mind in reading this study. This study has greater detail than previous battle studies to provide a more complete environmental background in which the air role can be placed in perspective. This same treatment will be given in later studies to extended operations in other geographic areas.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 12, 1967
- Accession Number
- ADA486940
Entities
People
- Lawrence J. Hickey
Organizations
- Pacific Air Forces