Timeline, March 4th

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
March 1954 (1st and 2nd months, Year of the Horse [Giap Ngo]): General Henri Navarre, in command of French forces in Indochina, now has a dozen battalions dug in around the village of Dien Bien Phu at a "land-air base" on which the French hope that Gen. Giap will hurl his army to its destruction. Navarre has almost emptied his arsenal to provide the base with artillery -- two groups of 75mm guns, two 105mm, and four 155mm, plus a number of mortars. Troops that parachuted into the area late in 1953 built two airstrips to link the base with the French forces around Hanoi and transports have flown in 10 M24 Chaffee light tanks, which were assembled at the base. Six Grumman Bearcat fighters, armed with napalm, remain on alert on the base's largest airstrip, which is surrounded by three main bastions: Huguette to the west; Claudine to the south; and Dominique to the northeast. Four smaller outposts -- Gabrielle, Beatrice, Isabella and Ann Marie -- form the outer defense while the stronghold named Elaine includes the village itself. The auxiliary airfield lies just north of Isabelle, southernmost of the outposts.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
March 4, 1965 (2nd day of the 2nd month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Advisory): The Soviets protest the March 2 Rolling Thunder strikes. Up until now neither Saigon nor Washington has issued a public statement on Rolling Thunder.

March 4, 1966 (13th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): Operation Utah/Lien Ket 26 begins.

March 4, 1966 (13th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): Operation Black Horse update.

March 4, 1967 (24th day of the 1st month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Project Delta 4-67 in the An Lao Valley.

March 4, 1968 (6th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): Camp Coryell is attacked.

March 4, 1968 (6th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): The 57th AHC's compound near Kontum is hit by 24 rockets at 0105 hours, but no damage is reported.

March 4, 1968 (6th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): A/7/17 Cavalry and D/7/17 Cavalry are inserted into a VC village and rest area in Pleiku Province.

March 4, 1969 (17th day of the 1st month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive): Operation Spindown starts.

March 4, 1970 (27th day of the 1st month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): A 2/20 ARA/Division Artillery hunter-killer team ends a two-month search for an enemy transmitting station with the capture of one VC and the discovery of a large bunker with radio equipment and complex antennas.

THIRD INDOCHINA WAR/SINO-VIETNAMESE WAR:
March 4, 1979 (7th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Goat [Ky Mui]): Despite savage resistance from PAVN, Chinese troops take the provincial capital of Lang Son. Some 220,000 Chinese troops have entered Vietnam since February 17, penetrating to a maximum of about 25 miles on the Cao Bang front. Vietnam, claiming to have mobilized 1,500,00 militia, is reported to be moving up three main force divisions, one withdrawn from Cambodia/Kampuchea, for a major offensive. China specifies "disputed areas" on the border, raising speculation that it intends to make claims on Vietnamese territory. Some 200 Kampucheans and Vietnamese troops attack two villages across the Thai frontier, withdrawing when Thai armor is brought up.