Ap Bac

The ARVN mistakenly believed that a reinforced Viet Cong company was holed up in the small village of Ap Bac, 65 kilometers southwest of Saigon. In reality, however, there was more than a battalion of Viet Cong in the vicinity …

1963-01-02

FH01

The ARVN mistakenly believed that a reinforced Viet Cong company was holed up in the small village of Ap Bac, 65 kilometers southwest of Saigon. In reality, however, there was more than a battalion of Viet Cong in the vicinity of Ap Bac, and they were eager for a fight with the ARVN. The ARVN attackers included a squadron of M-113s and a mixed bag of regular army and Civil Guard troops. The M-113s had been effective in the past, but the Viet Cong were confident they had learned how to deal with the thin-skinned vehicles and their exposed machine gunner.

Ap Bac, South Vietnam

The Battle of Ap Bac was a major battle fought on 2 January 1963 during the Vietnam War, in Định Tường Province (now part of Tiền Giang Province), South Vietnam. On 28 December 1962, US intelligence detected the presence of a radio transmitter along with a sizable force of Viet Cong (VC) soldiers, reported to number around 120, in the hamlet of Ap Tan Thoi in Dinh Tuong Province, home of the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) 7th Infantry Division. The South Vietnamese and their US advisers planned to attack Ap Tan Thoi from three directions to destroy the VC force by using two provincial Civil Guard battalions and elements of the 11th Infantry Regiment, ARVN 7th Infantry Division. The infantry units would be supported by artillery, M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs), and helicopters.

Wikipedia: Battle of Ap Bac

ARVN

Viet Cong