Timeline, December 17th

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
December 17, 1946 (Year of the Dog [Binh Tuat]): According to a modern Vietnamese source, an attack by French troops on Hang Bun Street in the capital kills a hundred people. Meanwhile, Ho and Sainteny are meeting in Hanoi.

December 17, 1951 (Year of the Hare [Tan Mao]): Hoa Binh campaign: The Ba Trai forest has been temporarily cleared, but Viet Minh forces on Ba Vi still threaten Rocher Notre-Dame. The French launch another pincers attack, with a task force composed of the 1st Foreign Legion para's (1 BEP), the 2nd Battalion, 6th Moroccan Tirailleurs (2/6th RTM), and the 2nd Battalion, 1st Algerian Tirailleurs (2/1st RTA), attacking from west of Ba Vi Mountain to clear the Lang Gy depression. and the 2nd Foreign Legion para's (2 BEP) moving south from the Ap Da Chong--Yen Cu road to clear the heights under cover of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Moroccan Tirailleurs (3/4th RTM) and 5th Colonial para's (5 BPC). The two task forces link up easily at 1500, leaving the 1st BEP, 5th BPC, and 3/4th RTM in control of the road to Ap Da Chong.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
December 17, 1961 (Year of the Ox [Tan Suu]): President President Ngo Dinh Diem and his entourage fly in to the small SF camp at the mountain valley village of A Shau in Thua Thien Province for an official visit.

December 17, 1964 (Year of the Dragon [Giap Thin]) (US Advisory): According to the US Navy's "Sea, Air and Land" history, Operation Barrel Roll begins this date (versus December 16 in some other sources) when A-1H Skyraiders escorted by McDonnell-Douglas F-4B Phantoms and followed by RF-8A photo reconnaissance aircraft from Ranger fly their first mission over Laos.

December 17, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Clean House begins in the Soui Ca Valley.

December 17, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Smash begins on the Courtenay Rubber Plantation.

In a coordinated operation immediately east of the American AO, 1 RAR participates in Smash as a maneuver element Aussie deployment is by helicopter and directly from Operation New Life, via Xuan Loc, into an roughly rectangular AO with an area of about 59 square km in southwest Long Khanh Province between Route 2 and Route 15 to the west. The objective is a possible VC concentration area where holiday season attacks against targets in the general area of Xuan Loc-Ham Tan-Ba Ria are being planned. Casualties are own, 1 WIA; VC 2 KIA. One small village and two camps are located.

December 17, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): An A1-E goes down near Bien Hoa (possibly while in support of American forces in Operation Smash, but that's just a guess) and an ARRS crew gets "a grandstand seat" of the fire and fog of war.

December 17, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): The Montagnard revolt flares up again in the central highlands.

December 17, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): The second operation to be named Uniontown begins in War Zone D.

December 17, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): South Korean (Republic of Korea, or ROK) troops begin Operation Maeng No. 9 in Binh Dinh Province.

December 17, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): The HMAS Perth comes under fire off Dong Hoi. Back in Australia, Prime Minister Harold Holt wades into the surf off Portsea and disappears, never to be seen again.

December 17, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): A/7/17th Cavalry Blues check out a fortified area and bunker complex.

December 17, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Operation Hall begins in Ninh Thuan Province.

December 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Khe Sanh: The North Vietnamese 325C Division arrives and is deployed north of Hill 881N. The 304 Division crosses over from Laos and establishes positions southwest of Khe Sanh. US companies on the hill outposts begin receiving increased sniper fire and NVA units begin probing the perimeter defenses of the outposts, and even of the base itself. It is noted that the NVA are often cutting the barbed wire in the outer defenses and then camouflaging and concealing the break, in obvious preparation for a future attack. Meanwhile, the 320 Division is in the DMZ to the northeast. Supporting these divisions in the vicinity of Khe Sanh are elements of the 203 Armored Regiment, the 68 Artillery Regiment and elements of the 164 Artillery Regiment. The Communists have brought with them 27 tanks, heavy 122mm field guns, and at least one communication relay site.

December 17, 1969 (Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): The preemptive strike from the An Hoa Base begins as Group Alpha, consisting of Companies I, K, and M, 3/5th Marines, sets out for a five-day search-and-clear operation in the northern Que Son Mountains, while Group Bravo, consisting of Companies L, E, 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, and C, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, assumes complete responsibility for the security of Liberty Bridge, Liberty Road, and the regiment's eastern area of operations.

December 17-18, 1971 (Year of the Boar [Tan Hoi]) (US Consolidation II): Plain of Jars, Laos: Air America resupply missions to Thai positions on the Plain of Jars are cut short when the whole area is covered by smoke, presumably from slash-and-burn farmers, but by the end of the day, all the Thai positions on the Plain are under simultaneous ground and artillery attack. Most are reporting B-52-like bombs and rounds hitting accurately. Many report NVA tanks outside their wire. The NVA attacks continue throughout the night, and by the next morning, every position has been breached, NVA tanks and 12.7mm AA guns were positioned throughout the Plain of Jars, and the NVA controls or has surrounded almost all of the Thai positions.

December 17, 1971 (Year of the Boar [Tan Hoi]) (US Consolidation II): US troop levels in South Vietnam drop to 156,800.

THIRD INDOCHINA WAR:
December 17-22, 1977 (Year of the Snake [Dinh Ti]): Laos' President Souphanouvong (formerly known as the Red Prince) makes an official visit to Kampuchea (Cambodia).