Timeline, April 21st

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
April 21, 1954 (19th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Horse [Giap Ngo]) (Fall): Legionnaires and the Vietnamese paratroopers from Opera, reinforced by two of the four tanks that are still in working condition, attempt to break through to Huguette 1 on a supply run and, after hand-to-hand fighting, manage to open a narrow route briefly between 1045 and 1130. It is becoming too costly to supply H1, however, and at 1400 the fort's commander orders an end to the effort. On Claudine, the French are doing long-range patrolling in the direction of Ban Co My, while on H2 the men there remain on alert and reinforce the position under fire, losing 11 KIA and 15 WIA in the process.

Of the 135 tons scheduled to be dropped this date, 20% is misdropped into enemy lines. Enemy artillery fire destroys the garrison's last three trucks this night, making it impossible to collect tons of dropped supplies, which from now on will be used by whatever strongpoint they happen to land on or near. The fort's internal logistical system is completely broken down by now. Small numbers of personnel continue to be air-dropped, on average never making up for the day's losses.

Meanwhile, the "Condor" relief plan has been modified somewhat, with the plan now being to first deploy troops to attract as many Communist forces as possible northward to the flank of the Nam Ou. Once the enemy has been distracted there, a light curtain of commando forces will keep that front active while the bulk of the Condor force bypasses the usual route to Dien Bien Phu and instead heads in the direction of Isabelle along a more southern route through Muong Heap. If provided there with four infantry battalions, Condor's commander hopes to be able to reach Isabelle by about May 25.

In the meantime, to confuse the Viet Minh, small detachments of available French units from other parts of Indochina are airlifted to front-line units all over northern Laos and deliberately offered up to the enemy as decoys; the men have been deceived into thinking they are the advance guard of their own units which will be moved to Laos as part of the Condor force. The ruse works. Phase 1 of Condor starts and, on April 21, intercepts a large Communist cargo boat carrying mortar ammo, and also contact is made with the first of the commando units operating ahead of the Condor force. Supply problems are quickly developing, however; porters and pack mules must be airlifted into the region to carry the vital supplies, especially jerry cans of water and rafts to ford the numerous streams, and this interferes with the troop movement by air. The season is so hot and the region so arid, even in the monsoon season, that the units heading toward Dien Bien Phu have to work through extensive forest fires and finally resort to night marches.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
April 21, 1966 (1st day of 3rd month supplemental (D-S), Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): The start of Operation Georgia, a search and destroy operation conducted by a battalion-size U.S. Marine force in Quang Nam Province through May 10th.

April 21, 1967 (12th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Union starts. On this date, elements of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, encounter a firmly entrenched enemy force near Binh Son and immediately deploy to engage it.

April 21, 1967 (12th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): A six-man Australian SAS patrol ambushes an enemy patrol of 4 VC, killing two and wounding one. The patrol extracts.

April 21, 1967 (12th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): US announces first tally of civilian wounded rising steadily.

April 15-21, 1968 (18th through 24th days of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): During this period, the 7/17th Cavalry Squadron's efforts were again concentrated in the Plei Trap area west of Polei Kleng in support of the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. Totals for the week were 11 NVA KIA.

April 21, 1968 (18th through 24th days of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): (Zaffiri): Operation Delaware update: In the A Shau Valley, fog, a low ceiling and unexpected monsoon rains that continue for several days make resupply missions to American ground troops there "sheer terror." The firebase at the initial LZ keeps shelling the enemy and the 1/7th slogs on through the mud towards the site of the former camp at A Loui; the airstrip there is needed to bring in bigger loads of ammo and equipment via C130s.

April 21, 1969 (5th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive): An exhausted and dehydrated recon team from USAF 20 SOS stumbles into a large enemy force near an enemy base camp.

April 21, 1969 (5th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive): The first official RAAF Bushranger operational mission is flown (per some sources, Bushrangers provided support on April 16, 1969).

April 21, 1970 (16th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Cambodia: An ARVN force penetrates an enemy base area in Cambodia across the border from South Vietnam's Chan Doc Province.

April 21, 1972 (8th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Rat [Nham Ty]) (US Cease-Fire): Easter Offensive: B-52s hit North Vietnam's Hamn Rong transshipment point and Thanh Hoa.

Near An Loc, two battalions of the ARVN 1st Airborne Brigade occupy the NVA staging area, a rubber plantation just south of the city, forcing the enemy to abandon their plan of moving southwest to Route QL-13 and attacking An Loc from the southwest. But with their deadline missed, the NVA still attacks An Loc fiercely, firing 2,000 artillery rounds during the day. Enemy infantry and armor units advance on An Loc in a four-pronged attack from the southeast, with each front spearheaded by 5-6 tanks with infantry escort. However, NVA commanders don't coordinate the four fronts, with the first prong starting at around 4 AM and the last one not getting underway until 1 PM, which allows the city's defenders to focus their firepower on one battle front at a time. ARVN soldiers with M72 LAWs and USAF and VNAF air support stop the day's NVA armor drive, destroying many tanks. However, enemy positions in the northeastern quarter of An Loc are still invincible and the city's southern half is coming under increasingly heavy attacks-by-fire every day, while supplies for the defenders are running low; especially food, ammunition and medicine.

April 21, 1975 (11th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Hare [At Mao]): Ho Chi Minh campaign: Xuan Loc falls to the NVA (NOTE: Some sources say this happened on April 20th, some on April 22nd) after the 18th ARVN Division there has lost about 30% of its strength, including nearly all its riflemen, while destroying 37 NVA tanks and over 5000 enemy troops. President Thieu resigns in a tearful and angry televised speech, denouncing America for abandoning South Vietnam and revealing President Nixon's behind-the-scenes assurances of support, and then leaves for Taiwan. 78-year-old Vice President Tran Van Huong, a former Viet Minh activist who had been Mayor of Saigon in the 50s and Prime Minister of South Vietnam twice in the 60s, assumes office.