Timeline, October 18th

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
October 18, 1952 Year of the Dragon [Nham Thin]): General Salan learns of the fall of Nghia Lo and orders all the small stations located north of the Black River to be abandoned, and the personnel in them to withdraw to Na San. In the Tu Le area, where Bigeard and the 6th BPC are, elements of the 1st Tai Mountaineer Battalion start to withdraw toward the northeast, while the 17th Moroccan "Tabor" and the 1st Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Moroccan riflemen start to move toward the Black River. However, in the southeast, close to the garrison at Gia Hoi, a company of riflemen is ambushed and becomes involved in a protracted battle.

INTERBELLUM:
October 1955 (Year of the Goat [At Mui]): A "brazenly rigged" referendum in South Vietnam is held in which 98% of the population is said to favor Diem over Bao Dai - in one area, 450,000 voters cast 600,000 ballots.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
October 18, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Shining Brass update: At 1800, RT Iowa becomes the first American-led recon team to be inserted into Laos.

October 18, 1966 (Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): A US helicopter and crew disappear without a trace over the Gulf of Tonkin during bad weather while on a routine surveillance patrol.

October 18, 1966 (Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): RAAF helicopter A2-1018 supporting 5 RAR crashes, injuring six personnel.

October 18, 1966 (Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): A conference in Manila opens with President Johnson and delegates from the US, South Vietnam, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand in attendance. After the conference, LBJ flies to South Vietnam for a quick visit with US troops there.

October 18, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): HMAS Perth comes under fire near Sam Son and is hit with one shell that injures four crewmen.

October 18, 1968 (Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase V): Operation Dale Common begins in Quang Ngai Province.

October 18, 1968 (Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase V): MRF patrol boats penetrate the Cua Long River on the Ca Mau peninsula in the first Southeast Asia Lake, Ocean, River, and Delta Strategy (SEALORDS) operation. SEALORDS is an effort by the US and South Vietnamese navies and allied ground forces to exploit the enemy's heavy losses during the Tet-68 campaign by pushing large main force units out to the border areas, extending government influence into former Viet Cong strongholds and consolidating control over population centers. Operations are conducted to cut enemy supply lines from Cambodia and disrupt operations at Communist base areas deep in the Mekong delta.