Timeline, April 9th

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
April 9, 1954 (7th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Horse [Giap Ngo]) (Fall): Dien Bien Phu: Almost 180 tons of supplies are dropped over the valley, with only a 10% loss to the enemy. At 1800, two Helldivers fly in low looking for Communist supply convoys near the battlefield. One of them is shot down. That night, monsoon rains fall, but two full companies and part of the HQ Company of the promised battalion of paratroopers are dropped.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
April 9, 1962 (5th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Tiger [Nham Dan]) (US Advisory): The leading elements of Marine Task Unit 79.3.5, a helicopter task unit codenamed Shufly arrive at Soc Trang to support ARVN. This is the first Marine squadron-sized unit together with a small security force to deploy to Vietnam as a result of the establishment of MACV in February.

April 9, 1966 (19th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Horse {Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): US Marines face down rebelling ARVN troops at the Thanh Quit bridge, south of Da Nang.

April 9, 1967 (30th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Enterprise update.

April 9, 1967 (30th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Two SAS patrols are inserted into an area ten km northwest of Binh Gia and contact an enemy patrol, killing one.

April 9, 1968 (12th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): Operation Norfolk Victory begins in I Corps.

April 9, 1968 (12th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): A/7/17th Cavalry spot three enemy soldiers north of Dan Me Thou.

April 9, 1972 (26th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Rat [Nham Ty]) (US Cease-Fire): Nguyen Hue/Easter Offensive: In I Corps, the NVA launches a second major effort, again from the north and the west, but once again, the defense drives back all attacks. The 1st Armor Brigade, the 258th Marine Brigade and the 5th Ranger Group all report success. Several enemy tanks are knocked out by the Marines at Pedro using LAW rockets and by the tank guns of the 1st Armor Brigade at Ai Tu. However, Pedro is overrun, but a counterattack is begun in the late afternoon.

FSB Bastogne and FSB Checkmate, which straddle Route 547 leading east toward Hue, are under intense enemy pressure. By now, both bases are unable to be resupplied by road. Enemy pressure is especially heavy on the high ground northwest of Bastogne and east of Route 547, which has been interdicted.

In the Central Highlands, enemy assaults during the first week of April against fire support bases manned by ARVN paratroopers on Rocket Ridge have again ended in defeat and serious losses, generating some doubts among II Corps staff as to the enemy's ability to launch a major offensive as expected. It's felt that the use of B-52's and tactical air and the aggressiveness of friendly combat units has effectively delayed the enemy's timetable for offensive. This is confirmed by enemy prisoners and ralliers, but they also disclose that the enemy has reconnoitered ARVN defenses in the Dak To - Tan Canh area and is in the final preparatory stages for the offensive. The time for the attack is unknown, but action is undoubtedly imminent.

Skirmishing around An Loc continues, although Communist forces are waiting for their logistics and supply system to catch up with them before resuming the offensive there. B-52 and tactical air strikes are being called in on suspected concentrations of enemy units in the area.

In the Mekong Delta (Military Region 4), the battle for the ARVN base at Kompong Trach in Cambodia continues. The battle started on March 22 with an engagement between elements of the 42nd ARVN Ranger Group and the enemy l01D Regiment, but both sides eventually commit sizable forces: ARVN, four armored cavalry squadrons, including the 7th Division's organic squadron, deployed across the entire width of MR-4, six ranger battalions, artillery units and supporting engineer elements; the NVA, the 101D, supporting elements of the 1st Division HQ, and eventually, two additional regiments in rapid succession, the 52nd and E44. Elsewhere in the Delta, after launching a series of attacks on April 7, mostly in Chuong Thien Province, the enemy main force and local units pressure ARVN outposts and attempt to disrupt the pacification program.

April 1973 (7th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Ox [Quy Suu]): Additional B-52 raids are made south of the Plain of Jars because of additional Communist cease-fire violations. Following these strikes, all USAF missions over Laos cease after nine years of combat operations.

April 9, 1973 (7th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Ox [Quy Suu]: Prince Sihanouk, acting as spokesman for the Cambodian rebels, rejects Lon Nol's truce proposal.

April 9, 1975 (1st day of the 3rd month, Year of the Hare [At Mao]): Ho Chi Minh campaign: The ARVN forces defending Saigon are disposed to cover the five main roads leading into Saigon. North of Saigon, the 5th ARVN Division defends against an enemy attack down Highway 13. Northeast of the capital, the 18th ARVN Division holds Xuan Loc covering Highway 1 and the city and air base of Bien Hoa. Southeast of Saigon, two airborne brigades and a ranger group ( all at about 50 percent strength) defend against an enemy thrust up Highway 15. Southwest of Saigon, the reactivated and refitted 22nd ARVN Division sits astride Highway 4, the main route from the Mekong Delta to Saigon. Finally, in the northwest, the 25th ARVN Division holds Route 1 between Tay Ninh and Saigon. NVA commanders have a five-pronged plan to attack Saigon, but first they need to undertake two preliminary operations - the seizure of Xuan Loc, considered by all sides to be the key to Saigon because it anchors the eastern end of the outer defenses of the city, controls the roads from the east to Saigon, Bien Hoa, and Vung Tau, and covers the two big air bases at Bien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut; and the cutting of Highway 4, to prevent the movements of ARVN reinforcements from the Delta to Saigon and to secure a staging area for a later attack on the capital itself. They succeed in cutting Highway 4 briefly, but are driven off by ARVN counterattacks. On April 9, the entire NVA Fourth Corps, consisting of three infantry divisions (eventually reinforced to four) plus tanks and artillery, attacks the 18th ARVN Division (reinforced) at Xuan Loc. The fighting features massed NVA infantry attacks supported by extremely heavy artillery fire, with the ARVN troops at Xuan Loc taking over 20,000 rounds of artillery and rockets during the course of the battle.