David
12-18-2004, 05:32 AM
FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
December 18, 1946 (Year of the Dog [Binh Tuat]): French troops occupy the Vietnamese Ministries of Finance and Communications. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh demands that Sainteny meet with his minister, Vo Nguyen Giap, to find a solution to the crisis, and a meeting between the two men is set for the 19th.
December 18, 1951 (Year of the Hare [Tan Mao]): Hoa Binh campaign: While the 2nd BEP takes up positions on Hill 564, Mobile Group I, along with Armored Subgroup 1, are withdrawn from the sector. Mobile Group 7 starts getting ready to reestablish contact with the southern strongpoints, which have been cut off since December 11. The unit is reinforced with the two Foreign Legion Parachute Battalions (1 and 2 BEP), the Moroccans of the 3/4th Moroccan Tirailleurs (3/4 RTM), and the French and Vietnamese of Commando 35.
SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
December 18, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Smash update: In the morning, the 2/503rd Airborne's recon platoon encounters a heavily defended VC trench system supported by numerous machine guns. B Company joins the fight, attacking the enemy from a different direction, and overruns VC positions. Results this day: VC: 62 KIA. 173rd Airborne: 5 KIA.
December 18, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): River Patrol Force (Task Force 116) is established.
December 18, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Harvest Moon/Lien Ket 18 update: H Company, 2/9th Marines, 3rd Division, is pinned down by enemy fire and separated from the rest of the battalion near Ky Phu in Quang Tin Province.
December 18, 1966 (Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): An SAS patrol discovers an enemy base camp in a cave near Nui Toc Tien. They kill four VC and withdraw.
December 18-21, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Operation Klamath Falls update: For the first time since 1961, an ARVN convoy successfully makes the run from Nha Trang to Phan Thiet and back again on QL-1.
December 18, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Operation Preakness II begins in the Mekong Delta.
December 18, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): A/7/17th Cavalry kills two NVA while supporting the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry, near Dak To.
December 18, 1968 (Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase VI): Operation Toan Thang II update: Fire Base Pershing, in Hau Nghia Province, is attacked.
December 18, 1968 (Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase VI): The NLF announces over Liberation Radio that they will release three American POWs. Army General Walter T. Kerwin, the American commander of III Corps, is ordered to pick a five-man team to rendezvous with the NLF representatives.
December 18, 1968 (Year of the Monkey [Mau Than])(AR) (US Counteroffensive Phase VI): "Americal blasts N. Viets from northern positions"
December 18, 1969 (Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Congress prohibits the use of current Department of Defense appropriates to introduce ground combat troops into Laos or Thailand.
December 18, 1971 (Year of the Boar [Tan Hoi]) (US Consolidation II): Laos/Plain of Jars: The Thai's retreat to the first ridgeline south of the Plain, where they are reinforced with a combined reserve force. By late in the day, only the westernmost Thai position remains under friendly control.
December 18-19, 1972 (Year of the Rat [Nham Ty]) (US Cease-Fire): Nguyen Hue/Easter Offensive: The North Vietnamese having walked out five days earlier, the Paris peace talks are suspended until January 8, 1973, and Operation Linebacker II begins with a three-day maximum B-52 effort against storage and supply complexes, railroad yards, transshipment points and repair facilities along the major northwest and northeast rail lines, communications stations, and some MiG airfields in the Hanoi-Haiphong area, in order to shut off the flow of equipment and supplies. Three waves of B52s are to go in each night (to minimize visual tracking by AA gunners and MiG pilots) for the first three nights, with F-111s and A-6s active during the day. Escort aircraft and mutual electronic jamming by each three-aircraft cell is considered sufficient protection for the B-52s. and pre-strike raids against MiG airfields are planned, but there are not enough support aircraft available to also attack SAM sites or spread enough chaff to confuse enemy radar before the strikes. This, as well as a strong northwest wind, limits approach and exit routes available to the B-52 waves. In addition, because of the crowded airspace over Hanoi and the unusual large formation flying at night, SAC crews are told to avoid collision by maneuvering as little as possible.
In the evening of the 18th, F-111s strike four MiG airfields and F-4s spread two chaff corridors (which are blown away in the 100+ knot wind). A half-hour later, the first of 129 scheduled B-52s hit Hoa Lac, Kep and Phuc Yen airfields, with one plane downing a MiG for the first confirmed kill of the operation and of the war. Kinh No and Yen Vien are hit next. The lead aircraft, "Charcoal 1," is struck by two SAMs prior to bomb release and crashes northwest of Hanoi - the first B-52 lost to enemy action in the operation and the second of the war. At midnight, another wave of 30 planes goes in. One of these B-52s sustains heavy damage from a SAM after striking its target and crashes in Thailand after the crew has bailed out. Five hours later, the third wave goes in, losing one aircraft.
In a throwback to aerial combat in earlier wars, SSgt. Samuel O. Turner, the tailgunner on a Boeing B-52D-35-BW (serial #0676 - the craft is now on display at Fairfield AFB) downs a MiG-21 with his .50-cal. radar-guided tail machine guns, the first aerial gunner kill of the war.
Overall, on the first day of Linebacker II, 121 of 129 planned sorties are flown against Kinh No and Yen Vien complexes, three MiG airfields, the Hanoi railroad repair shops at Gia Lam, and Hanoi radio station. The defenders fire more than 200 SAMs and thousands of rounds of AAA.
December 18, 1974 (Year of the Tiger [Giap Dan]): With little reaction from South Vietnam to the NVA's activities in Phuoc Long Province, and none at all from the US other than diplomatic protests and the temporary diversion of the Enterprise carrier fleet toward Vietnam, the Politburo meets in Hanoi to form a plan for a major offensive in 1975.
December 18, 1946 (Year of the Dog [Binh Tuat]): French troops occupy the Vietnamese Ministries of Finance and Communications. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh demands that Sainteny meet with his minister, Vo Nguyen Giap, to find a solution to the crisis, and a meeting between the two men is set for the 19th.
December 18, 1951 (Year of the Hare [Tan Mao]): Hoa Binh campaign: While the 2nd BEP takes up positions on Hill 564, Mobile Group I, along with Armored Subgroup 1, are withdrawn from the sector. Mobile Group 7 starts getting ready to reestablish contact with the southern strongpoints, which have been cut off since December 11. The unit is reinforced with the two Foreign Legion Parachute Battalions (1 and 2 BEP), the Moroccans of the 3/4th Moroccan Tirailleurs (3/4 RTM), and the French and Vietnamese of Commando 35.
SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
December 18, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Smash update: In the morning, the 2/503rd Airborne's recon platoon encounters a heavily defended VC trench system supported by numerous machine guns. B Company joins the fight, attacking the enemy from a different direction, and overruns VC positions. Results this day: VC: 62 KIA. 173rd Airborne: 5 KIA.
December 18, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): River Patrol Force (Task Force 116) is established.
December 18, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Harvest Moon/Lien Ket 18 update: H Company, 2/9th Marines, 3rd Division, is pinned down by enemy fire and separated from the rest of the battalion near Ky Phu in Quang Tin Province.
December 18, 1966 (Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): An SAS patrol discovers an enemy base camp in a cave near Nui Toc Tien. They kill four VC and withdraw.
December 18-21, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Operation Klamath Falls update: For the first time since 1961, an ARVN convoy successfully makes the run from Nha Trang to Phan Thiet and back again on QL-1.
December 18, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Operation Preakness II begins in the Mekong Delta.
December 18, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): A/7/17th Cavalry kills two NVA while supporting the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry, near Dak To.
December 18, 1968 (Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase VI): Operation Toan Thang II update: Fire Base Pershing, in Hau Nghia Province, is attacked.
December 18, 1968 (Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase VI): The NLF announces over Liberation Radio that they will release three American POWs. Army General Walter T. Kerwin, the American commander of III Corps, is ordered to pick a five-man team to rendezvous with the NLF representatives.
December 18, 1968 (Year of the Monkey [Mau Than])(AR) (US Counteroffensive Phase VI): "Americal blasts N. Viets from northern positions"
December 18, 1969 (Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Congress prohibits the use of current Department of Defense appropriates to introduce ground combat troops into Laos or Thailand.
December 18, 1971 (Year of the Boar [Tan Hoi]) (US Consolidation II): Laos/Plain of Jars: The Thai's retreat to the first ridgeline south of the Plain, where they are reinforced with a combined reserve force. By late in the day, only the westernmost Thai position remains under friendly control.
December 18-19, 1972 (Year of the Rat [Nham Ty]) (US Cease-Fire): Nguyen Hue/Easter Offensive: The North Vietnamese having walked out five days earlier, the Paris peace talks are suspended until January 8, 1973, and Operation Linebacker II begins with a three-day maximum B-52 effort against storage and supply complexes, railroad yards, transshipment points and repair facilities along the major northwest and northeast rail lines, communications stations, and some MiG airfields in the Hanoi-Haiphong area, in order to shut off the flow of equipment and supplies. Three waves of B52s are to go in each night (to minimize visual tracking by AA gunners and MiG pilots) for the first three nights, with F-111s and A-6s active during the day. Escort aircraft and mutual electronic jamming by each three-aircraft cell is considered sufficient protection for the B-52s. and pre-strike raids against MiG airfields are planned, but there are not enough support aircraft available to also attack SAM sites or spread enough chaff to confuse enemy radar before the strikes. This, as well as a strong northwest wind, limits approach and exit routes available to the B-52 waves. In addition, because of the crowded airspace over Hanoi and the unusual large formation flying at night, SAC crews are told to avoid collision by maneuvering as little as possible.
In the evening of the 18th, F-111s strike four MiG airfields and F-4s spread two chaff corridors (which are blown away in the 100+ knot wind). A half-hour later, the first of 129 scheduled B-52s hit Hoa Lac, Kep and Phuc Yen airfields, with one plane downing a MiG for the first confirmed kill of the operation and of the war. Kinh No and Yen Vien are hit next. The lead aircraft, "Charcoal 1," is struck by two SAMs prior to bomb release and crashes northwest of Hanoi - the first B-52 lost to enemy action in the operation and the second of the war. At midnight, another wave of 30 planes goes in. One of these B-52s sustains heavy damage from a SAM after striking its target and crashes in Thailand after the crew has bailed out. Five hours later, the third wave goes in, losing one aircraft.
In a throwback to aerial combat in earlier wars, SSgt. Samuel O. Turner, the tailgunner on a Boeing B-52D-35-BW (serial #0676 - the craft is now on display at Fairfield AFB) downs a MiG-21 with his .50-cal. radar-guided tail machine guns, the first aerial gunner kill of the war.
Overall, on the first day of Linebacker II, 121 of 129 planned sorties are flown against Kinh No and Yen Vien complexes, three MiG airfields, the Hanoi railroad repair shops at Gia Lam, and Hanoi radio station. The defenders fire more than 200 SAMs and thousands of rounds of AAA.
December 18, 1974 (Year of the Tiger [Giap Dan]): With little reaction from South Vietnam to the NVA's activities in Phuoc Long Province, and none at all from the US other than diplomatic protests and the temporary diversion of the Enterprise carrier fleet toward Vietnam, the Politburo meets in Hanoi to form a plan for a major offensive in 1975.