Battle of A Shau Valley

The Battle of A Shau Valley was a military engagement that took place on March 9 and 10, 1966, during the Vietnam War. It was fought between American-backed South Vietnamese forces and North Vietnamese troops in A Shau Valley, South Vietnam. It resulted in a communist victory.

The US Special Forces Camp, located in A Shau Valley, had constantly been under attacks by Vietcong guerrilla units for several weeks, when the North Vietnamese Army’s 325th Infantry Division launched a sudden and vicious onslaught against this American-held position on March 9, 1966. A force of 215 South Vietnamese troops, from the Civilian Irregular Defense Group, and 17 Green Berets defended the camp.

After 21 hours of heavy fighting, the North Vietnamese overran the front line positions as the defenders were forced to evacuate the camp. The evacuation was possible thanks to fire support provided by more than 10 US Army’s Sikorsky H-34 helicopters, with UH-1 Hueys. Casualties: 8 American Special Forces and 170 South Vietnamese troops got killed, while the North Vietnamese suffered 450 casualties.

For the remainder of the war, US troops would try in vain to recapture the camp and the hills around it, specially Hill 937, where the communist forces had dug in.