Timeline, October 19th

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
October 19, 1945 (Year of the Rooster [At Dau]): At Tu Le, Bigeard receives orders for the 6th BPC to immediately gather the personnel of nearby garrisons, evacuate Tu Le quickly and reach the Black River as soon as possible. Bigeard decides to delay evacuation until the next morning, so the garrison at Gia-Hoi can join them. During the day, a French fighter-bomber discovers a column of 600 Viet Minh moving on Tu Le and destroys it, but the enemy's main force, numbering in the thousands, has already reached the two peaks that flank Tu Le to the south and east. At around 2300, the survivors of the garrison of Gia Hoi arrive, with arms, luggage, women and children.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
October 1961 (Year of the Ox [Tan Suu]): A program to develop a paramilitary force among minority groups in South Vietnam begins with a project designed to prevent the Rhade Montagnard tribesmen in Darlac Province from coming under Viet Cong control. Exploratory talks are held with Rhade leaders in Darlac to seek their participation in a village self-defense program. A US Special Forces medical noncommissioned officer is involved in this first effort.

October 19, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): The Ia Drang Valley campaign begins when NVA regulars attack the SF camp at Plei Me about 25 miles southwest of Pleiku and set an ambush for the ARVN relief units. However, the South Vietnamese are aware of the ambush and send out an aggressive ARVN armored column to relieve the camp.

Note; VHPA and Woodruff say it is the 33rd NVA Regiment that attacks Plei Me; however, Osprey says it is the 101B Regiment of the 325 Division as well as the newly infiltrated 66 Regiment of the 304 Division - the confusion may lie in the 101B's code name of "Worksite 33".

October 19, 1966 (Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Attleboro update: The 196th Light Infantry Brigade runs into a major enemy force south of Sui Da while searching for rice and other enemy supplies. When four companies of the U. S. 5th Special Forces Group's Mobile Strike Force are inserted into landing zones north and east of Sui Da, they immediately become heavily engaged. It becomes apparent that the VC 9th Division, consisting of three regiments, together with the North Vietnamese 101st Regiment have deployed into central Tay Ninh Province with the major objective of wiping out the Special Forces camp at Sui Da. The four Special Forces companies are overrun and withdraw in small groups or are extracted by helicopter. In response, General Westmoreland commits the 1st Infantry Division, contingents of the 4th and 25th Infantry Divisions, and the 173d Airborne Brigade. As the battle develops, some 22,000 US and allied troops will be engaged here.

October 19, 1967 (US Counteroffensive Phase III): A command and control ship of the 155th AHC traveling from Bao Loc enroute to Ban Me Thuot by way of Dalat, runs into bad weather, loses RPM and crashes into a tree. Four ARVN soldiers are killed and two of the crew receive minor injuries.

THIRD INDOCHINA WAR: October 19, 1981: The UN General Assembly reaffirms its conviction that foreign troops should leave Cambodia (Kampuchea).

ONGOING OPERATIONS/BATTLES/SIEGES: 1947-48: Cao Dai militia "flying brigades" inflict serious losses on the Viet Minh in Tay Ninh Province and elsewhere. (1/47-12/48) 1947: L?a and Ceinture (10/47-11/47) (riverine - French Naval Assault Divisions [Dinassaut]) 1949: Anthracite (10/49) (riverine - French Naval Assault Divisions [Dinassaut]) 1952: Viet Minh assault in the northern highlands (10/14-11/30/52) 1953: Operations Delta, Bordeaux, Claude and Brochet. (July through October) Operations Brochet and Mouette (9/52-11/53). (riverine - French Naval Assault Divisions [Dinassaut]) Operation Seagull (10/53) 1954-55: Operation Passage to Freedom (US Navy): 8/16/54-5/20/55) 1962-1971: Operation Ranch Hand (1/12/62-1/7/71) 1964-1970: Project Delta (10/1/64-6/30/70) 1965-1968: Operation Rolling Thunder (2/24/65-10/31/68) 1965-1971: US Navy: Operations Market Time 3/11/65-9/70, Game Warden 12/18/65-12/70, Clearwater 2/24/68-7/70. SEALORDS 10/18/68-4/71, Mobile Riverine Force 1/1/67-9/69. 1965-1973: Operation Arc Light [6/18/65 to 1/27/73 (Vietnam), 4/73 (Laos) and 8/15/73 (Cambodia)] 1966-1968: Operation Sea Dragon (10/66-10/68) 1964: Chinh Nghia (ARVN) (8/11-7/17/64) Hop Tac (ARVN) (9/1/64 to mid-1965) Leaping Lena (5/15-10/1/64) 1965: Action near An Khe for 11th Aviation Group, 1st Cavalry (9/1/65-11/30/66) Battle of Plei Me SF Camp (10/19-10/27/65) Hopscotch (10/4-10/25/65) 1966: Action near An Khe for 11th Aviation Group and 229th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry (9/1/65-11/30/66) Attleboro (9/14-11/25/66) Blackjack 21 (10/13-11/9/66) Haeng Ho 6 (ROK) 9/22-11/9/66) Leeds (10/17-12/3/66) Macon (7/4-10/27/66) Prairie (8/3/66-1/31/67) Project Daniel Boone (6/27/66-12/1/68) Project Delta 13/66 (10/15-12/2/66) Robin (Australian) (10/10-10/16/66) Shenandoah I (10/17-11/1/66) 1967: Ardmore (7/17-10/31/67) Battles in I Corps involving the US 1st Cavalry Division and trapped upland Communists (10/67) Bolling (9/19/67-1/31/69) Con Thien is bombarded (July-November 1967) --Operation Neutralize (9/11-10/31/67) Don Ched (US 9th/Royal Thai) (10/17-10/20/67) Dragon Fire (ROK)(9/5-10/30/67) Enterprise (2/13/67-3/11/68) Fairfax/Rang Dong (1/12-12/1/67) Kingfisher (7/16-10/31/67) Kole Kole (5/14-12/7/67) Macarthur (10/12/67-1/31/69) Omega (7/8-10/30/67) Project Daniel Boone (6/27/66-12/1/68) Samurai (7/10-10/30/67) --Samurai III (10/1-10/30/67) Shenandoah II ((/27-11/19/67) Strike (9/1-11/17/67) Wheeler (9/11/67-11/11/68) Wallowa (10/4/67-11/11/68) 1968: Battle of Thuong Duc SF Camp (9/28-10/19/68) Bold Dragon (10/1-11/15/68) Bolling (9/19/67-1/31/69) Burlington Trail (4/8-11/11/68) Comanche Falls (9/11-11/7/68) Dale Common (10/18-10/19/68) Jeb Stuart III (5/17-11/3/68) Lam Son 245 (8/2/68-4/24/69) Lam Son 265 (9/11/68-4/24/69) Lam Son 271 (10/16/68-4/24/69) Lancaster II (1/21-11/23/68) Macarthur (10/12/67-1/31/69) Mameluke Thrust (5/18-10/23/68) Marines Third Division counteroffensive (June-October, 1968) McLain (1/20/68-1/31/69) Mission GS-21 for the 361st AWC (9/1/68-11/3/68) Napoleon/Saline (2/29-12/9/68) Nevada Eagle (5/17/68-2/28/69) Project Daniel Boone (6/27/66-12/1/68) Quyet Chien (7/17/68-3/4/69) Scotland II (4/15-2/28/69) Toan Thang II (6/1/68-2/16/69) War Bonnet (10/68) Wheeler/Wallowa (9/11/67-11/11/68) 1969: Breezy Cove (9/69) Lien Kiet 414 (8/25-12/31/69) Lien Kiet 541 (8/26-12/31/69) Pipestone Canyon (5/26-11/8/69) Quyet Thang (1/1-12/31/69) Quyet Thang 21-38 (9/29-12/31/69) Toan Thang III (2/17-10/31/69) Washington Green (4/15/69-1/1/71) 1970: Cung Chung III (phases 3 and 4) (Australian) (10/3/70-2/1/71) Washington Green (4/15/69-1/1/71) 1971: Charge School )10/1/71-3/9/72) Ivanhoe (9/18-10/1/71) 1972: Hunter killer naval operations against NVA coastal infiltration. (10/10/72-1/18/73) Linebacker II (5/10-10/23/72) 1972: Easter Offensive (Truong) - Operation Lam Son 72 (6/28-): The ARVN 1st Division begins to launch attacks to enlarge its control toward the western part of Thua Thien Province. The ARVN 2nd Division continues to concentrate on Quang Ngai Province, and the ARVN 3rd Division pushes back the NVA in the Que Son Valley and retakes the district town of Tien Phuoc. The Airborne Division fights to retake FSB Barbara and Anne. - The Chu Pao Pass area has been cleared and the highway between Kontum and Pleiku open to commercial traffic since early July. However, the enemy continues to harass traffic with sporadic attacks by fire and Route QL-14, although open, remains insecure. Several ground operations are conducted along Route QL-14 between Kontum and Vo Dinh are conducted by the ARVN 23rd Division in October to destroy enemy forces and enlarge friendly control, but the limited capabilities of the division keep it from advancing further than 10 km northwest of Vo Dinh, where ARVN control remained established, until cease-fire day. - From July 11 through the rest of the year, III Corps will concentrate on driving the enemy back from An Loc and rotating troops garrisoned in the city. The ARVN 18th Division begins operations to retake the Quan Loi airfield but its effort extend into September without success. 1974: The NVA engages in a series of strategic raids throughout 1974 designed to wear down ARVN and slowly extend its territory