Timeline, April 4th

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
April 4, 1954 (2nd day of the 3rd month, Year of the Horse [Giap Ngo]) (Fall): Dien Bien Phu: The night of April 3-4 is fairly quiet, except for some enemy patrols heard around Claudine 4 and 5 in the west, and some Viet Minh spotted between 0330 and 0530 trying to cut through barbed wire. The air drops end at dawn and the new paratroopers are sent to E10 and D3. Communist artillerymen seem to be taking a rest during the day, which is a clear one. At 1400, news comes that the Viet Minh are pulling back from their positions on E2 down into the ravines at the foot of it. French patrols begin probing down the east slope and encounter no opposition, but Bigeard decides to leave the lower part a no man's land as it's pointless to try to garrison it as long as the enemy has the area under its guns. At Isabelle, the enemy is testing the siege techniques they plan to use later on the main fortress, with trenches approaching the strongpoint followed by bunkers which can only be destroyed by dive bombers or tanks in costly close-in attacks. One such attack was launched on the 2nd; on the 4th, three tanks from Isabelle again smash into the trench line and destroy the bunkers with point-blank cannon fire. By nightfall, the monsoon rains are back and no personnel drops cam be made this night. At 2015, Huguette 1, 5 and 6 report they're being "seriously probed." At 2200, the fortress commander is notified that Huguette is under heavy artillery fire and most of the Communist howitzers are working over the northern part of Huguette and the airfield; a massive attack against H6, which is down to 88 Legionnaires and two lieutenants, is building. Shortly after 2200, a company is sent in reinforcement but in a few minutes radio reports that the reinforcements as well as the H6 garrison are taking heavy casualties.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
April 4, 1959 (27th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Boar [Ky Hoi]): Eisenhower makes the first US commitment to South Vietnam in a speech at Gettysburg College.

April 4, 1965 (3rd day of the 3rd month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Rolling Thunder update: As USAF planes approach the Thanh Hoa bridge, two F-105s are downed by MiG-17s.

April 4, 1966 (14th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): Per VHPA, Operation Virginia starts near the Khe Sanh SF camp; it's the first time a large US force has been in the Khe Sanh area. Per KSVC, Marines conducts Operation VIRGINIA from April 17-May 1, looking unsuccessfully for NVA troop concentrations between Hill 558 and the base.

April 4, 1966 (14th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): In Da Nang, an uneasy quiet ensues after Thieu and Ky bring in military forces. Delicate negotiations by a US Army officer persuade the leaders of dissident army units to hold their fire and stop South Vietnamese Marines from attacks on pagodas where armed Buddhists hold out. General Westmoreland tells LBJ that he sees a "prospect of success in Da Nang," but the President and his advisers don't believe him and fear for the stability of the Ky-Thieu government.

April 4, 1968 (7th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): Khe Sanh: In Operation Pegasus, the 1/9th Marines move southeast from the rock quarry and drive elements of the 66th NVA Regiment off Hill 471, two miles south of the base. The 1/5 Cavalry Squadron moves northwest from LZ Wharton and attacks enemy units near the old French fort.

April 4. 1968 (7th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): River Assault Division 92 of the MRF 9 INF, carrying the U.S. 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry is ambushed at the cross-roads on the Song Ba Lai in Truc Giang District of Kien Hoa Province. Note: the MRFA says it was carrying the 3/47th Infantry: "River Assault Squadron NINE suffered the greatest number of casualties during any single day of its existence. With soldiers of the 3/47th Infantry embarked, the assault craft were proceeding to designated beaches along the Song Ba Lai - East and West. Both columns were ambushed, taking many rocket hits; thirty-five sailors were wounded. For the Boat Captain and .50 caliber machine gunner of Monitor 92-2, and a 40MM gunner on M-91-3, this was their last firefight. The names of BMC Samuel C. CHAVOUS, BM3 John D. WOODWARD, and FN Douglas G. MORTON were stricken from the muster of River Assault Squadron NINE. At day's end, nine assault craft were disabled in various degrees by enemy action, and required repair."

April 4, 1968 (7th day of the 3rd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV: A/7/17 encounters signs of the enemy in Kontum Province, but not the larger force nearby.

April 4, 1970 (28th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Heavy fighting is reported in Quang Tri Province near the DMZ and the Cambodian border.

April 4-8, 1970 (28th day of the 2nd month and 1st through 3rd days of the 3rd month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Siege of Dak Seang Camp: The ARVN 23rd Battalion, 2nd Ranger Group, and its American advisors are besieged in their defensive perimeter on a hillside.

April 4, 1975 (23rd day of the 2nd month, Year of the Hare [At Mao]): Ho Chi Minh Campaign: After the fall of Cam Ranh Bay, many of the refugees who had arrived there have reembarked for further passage south and west to Phu Quoc Island in the Gulf of Siam. Greenville Victory, Sgt. Andrew Miller, American Challenger, and Green Port each take on 7,000-8,000 evacuees for the journey. Pioneer Contender sails with 16,700 people filling every conceivable space from stem to stern. Crowding and the lack of sufficient food and water among the 8,000 passengers on board Transcolorado leads a number of armed Vietnamese marines to demand they be discharged at the closer port of Vung Tau. The ship's master complies to avoid bloodshed, but this crisis highlights the need for better security. Meanwhile, rumors of coups or political accommodations with the Communists are sweeping the regions still controlled by Saigon and Thieu responds with declarations of firm purposes--and arrests members of the non-Communist opposition. In the northern part of the country, trucks loaded with Communist troops and equipment are moving from Ban Me Thuot toward Loc Ninh while others roll south along coastal and interior routes in the wake of the military victories, each column moving under protection of an AA regiment. Communist ship sand boats land men and supplies at Cam Ranh Bay; transport aircraft land at Da Nang, Kontum and elsewhere. A C-5A carrying 257 orphans and adult escorts, many of them American women evacuated from their posts in Saigon crashes after losing a rear door; 155 die in the crash. The heroic actions of many of those on board, some of whom are also injured saves many lives. Operation Babylift continues, eventually bringing out a total of nearly 3000 children from Vietnam and 52 from Cambodia.

POSTBELLUM:
April 1995 (3rd and 4th months, Year of the Boar [At Hoi]): The Vietnamese government publishes casualty figures for the war (1954-75) showing that more than 1,000,000 Vietnamese combatants and some 2,000,000 civilians had been killed.