Timeline, April 22nd

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
April 22, 1954 (20th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Horse {Giap Ngo]) (Fall): Dien Bien Phu: At 0840, a task force from Huguette 2 breaks through for a short time to H1 after a whole night of fighting and one company of Bigeard's troops executes a raid on Dominique 5, destroying a Communist bunker and capturing its weapons. As night falls, men from H3 start off with supplies of drinking water and ammo boxes toward H1, making their way slowly and with difficulty through the labyrinth of tunnels and communications trenches northward.

Meanwhile, as the Condor relief force treks along the Nam Ou, it discovers a Viet Minh ammo depot at Hat Den containing American mortars, Czech automatic rifles, submachine guns, cartridges and 205 rucksacks. Intercepted Communist radio messages show that the enemy knows about the start of Condor, it having first been reported by a Viet Minh regiment two days before. The Viet Minh expect air drops on two towns that lie on the direct route to Dien Bien Phu and elements of two enemy battalions are ordered to stay put and screen the besieged fortress from the Condor troops.

The French-led commando forces are already in place deep in Viet Minh territory in three small groups: Group A with 320 men; Group B with about 300 men led by Lt. Vang Pao, a Meo tribal leader and a regular French officer, who will later become a General in the Royal Laotian Army and eventually an American-backed guerrilla leader; and Group C, with 200 tribesmen commanded by a French sergeant. There is also a separate recon commando unit collecting intelligence for the French High Command in Saigon, as well as the already-infiltrated GCMA units, numbering close to 15,000 men, dispersed in small units from just north of Saigon to the Chinese border, some of whom have been operating for the past two years and who report directly to the French High Command. Their job now is to screen ahead of the whole Condor operation. At 2000, Gen. Navarre notifies his deputy that execution of the second phase of Condor will be delayed until further order and then will be subject to advance notice of five days.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
April 22, 1962 (18th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Tiger [Nham Dan]) (US Advisory): About 600 South Vietnamese troops are airlifted by 29 U.S. helicopters (the largest force employed to date) to join an equal number engaged in a sweep in Kien Phong Province, 80 miles southeast of Saigon.

April 22, 1965 (21st day of the 3rd month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): The first USMC contact with the Viet Cong occurs.

April 22, 1967 (12th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): HMAS Hobart comes under enemy fire near the Song Ma. An SAS patrol ambushes an enemy patrol of 12 men, killing 3 VC and wounding another.

April 22, 1967 (12th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Khe Sanh: Operation Beacon Star begins.

April 22-26, 1968 (25th through 29th days of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV) (Zaffiri): Operation Delaware update: The 1/7th reaches A Loui and, as the rain has finally stopped and the valley is drying out, secures a LZ, into which is CA'd the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Brigade. Together, these two forces rout a small enemy unit around A Loui and secure the airstrip. Engineering detachments arrive and, working 24 hours a day, get the old French airstrip ready to accept cargo planes.

April 22, 1968 (25th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): HMAS Hobart under fire at near Dong Hoi.

April 22, 1969 (6th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive): Operation Putnam Tiger begins.

April 22, 1969 (6th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive): The 2nd ARVN Regiment begins Operation Lam Son 277 in Quang Tri Province.

April 22, 1970 (17th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Australia's Prime Minister announces a reduction in forces, saying that "...the process of Vietnamisation made this force reduction 'desirable and feasible.'"

April 22, 1972 (9th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Rat [Nham Ty]) (US Cease-Fire): Nguyen Hue/Easter Offensive: As the ARVN 21st Division moves north along Route QL-13 toward Chon Thanh, 30 km due south of An Loc, it is stopped by the 101st NVA Regiment (Separate) about 15 kilometers north of Lai Khe. At An Loc, the NVA offensive is renewed, with one infantry regiment attacking the city's southern sector, while another unit ambushes the ARVN 15th Regiment on Highway 13. An Loc's southern sector is defended by Colonel Van Ba Ninh's 8th Airborne Battalion. Using the XM202, a modified version of the M72 LAW, the paratroopers destroy two enemy T-54's and two BTR's (a type of armored personnel carrier). Communist troops panic and begin to flee from the battlefield. Suspecting more enemy tanks in the area, Lieutenant Colonel Van Ba Ninh calls in a USAF C-130 Spectrum gunship, which catches five NVA tanks in the open and destroys them. The artillery phase of the battle begins in earnest, with an average daily rate of 1000 rounds of indirect fire a day falling on the defenders. Helicopter entry into the city becomes almost impossible because of intense AAA.

BORDER CLASHES:
April 1977 (2nd and 3rd months, Year of the Snake [Dinh Ti]): Serious Khmer Rouge raids occur into Chau Duc Province.

THIRD INDOCHINA WAR -- OTHER:
April 22, 1987 (25th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Hare [Dinh Mao]): The US says plans to send a special envoy to Hanoi are on hold until that capital indicates an interest in resolving the issue of POW/MIAs.