Ia Drang Valley Maps

Location in South Vietnam

Opening Moves, October 1965

Battle, 14 Nov - 20 Nov,1965

1/7 Cavalry Fights For Its Life

C Company's Trial by Fire

Diduryk's Men Hold the Line

2/7 Cav Marches to Albany

Enemy Assault on the 2/7 Cavalry

Ia Drang Valley

In October of 1965 elements of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) attacked the U.S. Special Forces camp at Plei Me, in the Central Highlands; this was one of the first offensive actions they had taken. When PAVN had been beaten off, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) was ordered to pursue and destroy as many troops as possible, taking advantage of the helicopter mobility. When the American troops reached the Ia Drang Valley, they encountered heavier opposition.

The most famous action of the Ia Drang Valley campaign began on November 14, when elements of the 1/7 Cavalry were airlifted into a clearing designated Landing Zone X-Ray. Much of the PAVN 66th Regiment was on the Chu Pong Massif, overlooking the LZ. The North Vietnamese attacked immediately, while American troops held their position and waited for slow-arriving reinforcements. Effective combat performance by the U.S. troops, combined with air and artillery support, allowed them to hold and inflict heavy casualties.

After the battle at X-Ray, the 1/7 Cavalry Battalion marched from there to another clearing about three kilometers north of X-Ray, designated LZ Albany. As they arrived, they were caught in a surprise attack by two PAVN battalions. Strung out in a line of march, the 2/7 Cav received heavy casualties (155 killed/124 wounded). The U.S. Command, however, was quite satisfied with the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley overall because PAVN casualties had been far higher than American casualties. This battle serves some importance because it was, along with the attack on Plei Me, the first heavy contact between North Vietnamese troops and American ground forces.

[Note: There is an excellent book and a decent motion picture about the battle at Landing Zone X-Ray with the title, We Were Soldiers Once and Young. ]

Resources:

Langguth, pp. 395-407

Web Site: Department of the Army Vietnam Studies

Web Site: Smith in The Saturday Evening Post