Timeline, February 28th

[David]

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
February 28. 1965 (27th day of the 1st month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Advisory): In Operation Barrel Roll, Skyraiders and Skyhawks from Coral Sea carry out a concentrated strike on Mu Gia Pass near the North Vietnamese-Laotian border. Enemy logistic routes are cut at critical points and delayed-action bombs make the areas difficult to traverse, but the North Vietnamese manage to keep their logistic lines functioning. (OS)

February 28, 1966 (9th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Defense): Operation Double Eagle II update.

February 28, 1967 (20th day of the 1st month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Junction City update/Battle of Prek Klok I.

February 28, 1967 (20th day of the 1st month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Northwest of Cam Lo, a recon patrol is heavily engaged and Company F, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, goes in on foot to extract the LRRPs.

February 28, 1967 (20th day of the 1st month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): A platoon of Company B, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, is suddenly attacked by a large enemy force near Suoi Da.

February 28, 1967 (20th day of the 1st month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): The commander, Naval Forces, Vietnam, establishes the Mekong Delta Mobile Riverine Force, combining the 2nd Brigade with Navy River Assault Flotilla One. The force contains over a hundred Navy vessels, ranging from barrack ships to armored troop carriers and monitor gunboats. The strike force even contains floating Army artillery barges. The MRF will ferry Army and Vietnamese Marine units into action throughout the waterways of the Mekong Delta and Rung Sat Special Zone. Due to the unique environment, LRRPs attached to the force obtain information, not just on enemy forces, but on waterway depths and bank conditions and clearances underneath bridges; the patrollers find that many LZ's reported favorably by helicopter overflights are muddy quagmires, and they also work with riverine shore parties in the nightly movement of artillery barges, conductive last-minute recon of short conditions, checking for sandbars and other obstacles and guiding barges in to mooring positions with filtered flashlights. The prevalence of immersion foot and skin infections limit the amount of field time spent during a mission to 24-48 hours. (TVW, Stanton)

February 28, 1968 (1st day of the 2nd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): MAG-16 update.

February 28, 1968 (1st day of the 2nd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): The Australian fire base, Andersen, comes under mortar attack again. (OS)

February 28, 1970 (23rd day of the 1st month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Operation Halfback update.

February 28, 1970 (23rd day of the 1st month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): TOT mission Nighthawk

Time On Target (TOT): A surprise tactic for devastating a particular target area almost instantaneously. Suspected "hot" landing zones were often prepared with a TOT mission while the assault forces hovered or circled overhead at altitude. Troops were then inserted into the 'sanitized' LZ before the smoke cleared.

TOT missions involved timing the firing of multiple batteries so that all fire on the same location, with the firing times adjusted to cause the rounds to all impact at the same time. A typical TOT might involve 4 batteries (24 guns), of different calibers; some firing rounds fuzed for ground burst, some for airburst. The effect is that a particular jungle clearing might be quiet and peaceful one second and in the next second be totally enveloped and saturated with explosions in the air and on the ground. Bombardment may cease after the initial volley or be maintained in Fire For Effect mode, creating a sustained saturation of the area with detonations.

February 28, 1970 (23rd day of the 1st month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): A/7/17th Cavalry moves to a new AO northwest of Pleiku because of intelligence reports.

February 28, 1970 (23rd day of the 1st month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Nine Australian soldiers are killed and 16 wounded by an M16 mine. The Chief of General Staff (Australia) signals the Commander Australian Forces Vietnam (COMAFV), "Most distressed and concerned at casualties being suffered by 8 RAR in Long Hai area. In view of our experience I am at loss to understand 1 ATF undertaking operations in an area in which they have always been costly and of doubtful value. Please let me have a report urgently including the aims of the operation and the responsibility for its initiation". (OS)

February 28, 1971 (4th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Boar [Tan Hoi]) (US Counteroffensive Phase VII): United States armor takes up positions along the Laos-South Vietnam border to counter an expected North Vietnamese tank assault into South Vietnam. (VHPA)