Timeline, April 26th

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
April 26, 1954 (24th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Horse [Giap Ngo]) (Fall): Dien Bien Phu: A strong patrol from the fort reinforced with recoilless rifle teams pushes north as far as the ford on the road to Gabrielle. The Viet Minh seem to have relaxed their grip, but the problem is in the air. Only 36 men are dropped in instead of the expected 80, while a total 91 tons out of a promised 150 tons of supplies are dropped, and 34% of those are lost. With fewer targets to shoot at, enemy flak has a field day, hitting 50 planes and downing three of them. At 2330, Navarre authorizes the transfer of French crews to the C-119 "Flying Boxcars."

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
April 26, 1965 (25th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Ambassador Taylor reports to the State Department that US officials and spokesman will make "no special public announcement to the effect that U.S. ground troops are now engaged in offensive combat operations," although reporters can see for themselves that American troops are not simply waiting in entrenched positions for the enemy to come to them. The credibility gap between the press (and thus the public) and high level US officials widens.

April 26, 1966 (6th day of the 3rd month (supplemental), Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): C/2/20 ARA aircraft attack an enemy position near Bong Son.

April 26, 1967 (17th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Rolling Thunder update: Fuel facilities in Haiphong are hit in a coordinated strike.

April 26, 1967 (17th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Khe Sanh: The day begins with the Marines of K/3/3 still in place on Hill 861, pinned down by the NVA, and the 3/3 CP taking approximately 200 rounds of 82 recoilless rifle fire at 0500. At the same time, KSCB receives 55 rounds of 82 and 55 rounds of 75 RR fire, most of it landing outside the perimeter.

April 26-30, 1967 (17th through 21st days of the 3rd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Five SAS ambush patrols are inserted into an areas out to 15 km from Nui Dat.

April 26, 1968 (29th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): Camp Coryell comes under mortar attack.

April 26, 1968 (29th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): An SAS patrol contacts five VC near the Long Kanh border in Ben Hoa Province, killing one VC then extracting.

April 26, 1968 (29th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): Centurion Tanks from the Aussie C Squadron conduct their first operation.

April 26, 1968 (29th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): Near Phu Bai in Thua Thien Province, Third Platoon, B/2/502nd Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne, is attacked by an NVA force hidden in bunkers.

April 26, 1968 (29th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV)(Zaffiri): Operation Delaware update: The engineers have the old airstrip at the A Loui camp ready to accept cargo planes and by afternoon C-130s start landing with the first of the hundreds of tons of material it's going to take to continue the attack in the valley.

Resupplied elements of the 1st Brigade start RIFs to the south and west of A Loui, and the enemy retreats before them. The Americans start uncovering huge arms and food caches; in one cache they discover ten 37mm flak guns and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammo, in another a small fleet of trucks. Other Cavalry units join in the search of the valley floor, but always the NVA retreats, some moving higher up into the mountains and others farther south toward Ta Bat. Despite the successful "treasure hunt," the Americans can't provoke a big fight with the NVA, one in which they could bring massive firepower to bear against the enemy.

April 26, 1970 (21st day of the 3rd month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): A and B Companies 8 RAR move to Hoa Long and lay ambushes.

April 26, 1972 (13th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Rat [Nham Ty]) (US Cease-Fire): Nguyen Hue/Easter Offensive: In Quang Tri Province, the NVA's 304th Division and Armor launches a multi-pronged attack on the South Vietnamese 147th Marine Brigade at FSB Pedro after an artillery barrage. The South Vietnamese Marines repulse many assaults, and hit twelve T-54 tanks during the night, but the defensive line has to be retracted to about 2-3 km from Ai Tu the following day.

With battles going on throughout the country, reinforcing Kontum City to withstand the coming enemy assault is almost impossible, now that all general reserves have been fully committed, there and elsewhere. Under such circumstances, II Corps has to rely on the forces it presently controls for the defense of the city. Four ARVN ranger battalions are deployed in blocking positions at Vo Dinh, 20 km northwest of Kontum, and along the Krong Poko River south to include Polei Kleng, a border ranger camp. To reinforce this camp, an important strongpoint that controls the western approach to Kontum City, another ranger battalion is brought in. The 53rd Regiment of the 23d ARVN Division is responsible for the defense of the city itself. To gain enough time for the disposition of defense forces, the ARVN 2nd and 6th Ranger Groups are sent out to delay the enemy on Route QL-14 north of Kontum. In the meantime, B-52 strikes and tactical air strikes hit enemy troop concentrations, particularly on the abandoned fire bases along Rocket Ridge.

At An Loc, the dangerous low altitude daylight resupply missions are cancelled again when one C-130 takes a direct hit and explodes. Air drops at night are now the only alternative pending a satisfactory solution to the HALO system, but night delivery has its own drawbacks in that the drop zone is difficult to identify in darkness even with marker lights. The rate of delivery of supplies to the besieged city drops.

April 26, 1972 (13th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Rat [Nham Ty]) (US Cease-Fire): President Nixon states that American strength in South Vietnam will fall to 49,000 by July 1.

April 26, 1975 (16th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Hare [At Mao]): Ho Chi Minh campaign: The NVA sends 16 divisions toward Saigon In hopes of avoiding major damage to the city, as had happened in Tet-68, the enemy commander gives his troops five critical targets in Saigon: Independence Palace (the South Vietnamese White House), the headquarters of the JGS (near Tan Son Nhut air base), Tan Son Nhat air base itself, the National Police Headquarters, and the headquarters of the Capitol Zone, whose commander controls troops in and around Saigon. The rationale is that, if these installations are captured quickly before serious fighting in Saigon begins, the battle for Saigon will be over.