Phase 1I1: 15 April - 28 April
NÚI EK MOUNT
The objective of this phase was to gain control of the high ground
north of Dak Seang, in particular FSB 31, a dominant piece of terrain on
Nui Ek Mountain three kilometers due north of Dak Seang. Most of the
heaviest fighting throughout this phase involved friendly units engaged
in operations around Nui Ek. It was not until 25 April that a successful
combat assault finally captured the FSB on the mountain. Once Nul Ek and
the high ground to the north of Dak Seang were taken, however, activity
in the Dak Seang campaign decreased notably until the campaign was closed.
Some of the more significant engagement of this phase are described below.
On 15 April a combat assault of ARVN forces was attempted on Nui Ek
Mountain. The first four helicopters in the assault received extremely'
heavy fire, which downed one chopper and forced the other three to abort.
The Army was unable to extract the survivors of the crash, but an Air Force
task force finally-did make a successful .rescue but-only after losing
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another helicopter in the attempt.
On 16 April, it was decided to insert the 3rd ARVN Battalion of the
42nd Infantry Regiment into a secure area one kilometer east of Dak Seang.
This unit was then to attack to the north towards the FSB on the mountain.
On the 17th the battalion made contact with enemy forces two kilometers northeast of the camp and sustained light casualties, and on the 18th as
5- they attempted to continue to the north they met increased enemy resistance.
m
The 20th of April was characterized by standoff attacks directed
against the various elements of the 42nd Regiment and the fire support
Um bases. During the night, the Ist Battalion of this regiment received heavy
attacks on its position just to the northeast of Dak Seang -- attacks which used flares, mortars, and B-40* fire as well as ground probes. Shadow
(AC-119G) and Stinger (AC-119K) gunships were used for support throughout
the night, and at dawn tac air was called in and the enemy's attacks were
repulsed. April 21 and 22 followed a similar pattern with frequent attacks
by fire, sporadic shellings and ground probes against positions throughout
the area and continued heavy pressure on the lst and 3rd Battalions in
their attempts to move to the north. In fact, the Ist Battalion had
suffered so many casualties by the 23rd of April, it was ordered to with
draw to Camp Dak Seang. Its withdrawal resulted in the enemy increasing
his pressure on the 3rd Battalion, and on 24 April it was therefore decided
3- to insert the 2nd Battalion on a combat assault on the fire support base
atop Nul Ek. Throughout all these enemy attacks and friendly assaults; gun
m1
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ships, tac air and Arc Light sorties provided invaluable support to the
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ARVN.
* RPG-2 Recoilless antitank launcher type weapon.
.UNCLASSIFIED
On the 25th the insertion at Nui Ek was completed, and, with the
help of tac air, the friendlies were able to stay in the area. The 3rd
Battalion then began to move back to the south towards Dak Seang, and on
April 26 they set up just outside the CIDG camp while awaiting extraction
on the 27th. Contacts throughout the day of the 27th were very light, and
by 1345 hours the extraction of the 3rd Battalion was completed. At the
same time, two ARVN battalions of the 45th Regiment started moving north
toward Dak Seang. The 28th saw relatively light action with standoff attacks
for the most part against friendly positions around the camp. Additional
troops were inserted at Nui Ek to increase the security of this high ground
to the north, thus completing Phase III.
Phase IV:
29 April - 6 May
April 29 was a continuation of the lull of the previous two days.
Ground action for the day was limited to the two battalions (the 2nd and
the 4th) of the 45th Regiment. The 2nd Battalion had a TIC one kilometer
northeast of Dak Seang in which they employed artillery, mortars, and
tactical air. The 4th Battalion, less than one kilometer away, encountered
heavy resistance; and, following an unsuccessful assault on the enemy, they
were forced to withdraw and call in more artillery and air strikes. These
contacts of the 29th continued on the 30th which also saw artillery and
tactical air in supporting roles. The plan of operation for I May was to
employ tac air on the area where the 4/45 Battalion had had the contact the
day before, followed by a sweep of the area. The only other ground action
that took place was far to the south in an area southeast of Ben Het.
I
3
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3
12UNCLASSIFIED
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The 2nd of May found the 45th Regiment engaged with the enemy in what
was believed to be a delaying action. The 2/45 Battalion was in contact
with an estimated company size unit two kilometers north of Dak Seang on the
lower slopes of Nui Ek Mountain. After about two hours of heavy fighting,
the 2/45 Battalion withdrew 100 meters to allow gunships, tactical air,
Eartillery, and mortars to pound the fleeing enemy. Little further activity
Itook place on 2 May and 3 May. The 2/45 Battalion made a sweep of their
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3
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Im
area on the 3rd but found no enemy. On the same day the enemy did, however,
initiate contacts in the Dak Pek area as a diversionary tactic to cover
his withdrawal. Activity continued to decrease on 4 and 5 May, and on
6 May there was only one standoff attack reported. ARVN activity on the
6th was, for the most part, devoted to-searching the area for friendly
bodies that had been left on the battlefields in previous engagements.36/
Phase V: 7 May - 9 May
Like the previous few days, there was little activity on 7 May and the
enemy continued to withdraw from the Dak Seang area. Sweep operations were
continued in the vicinity of FSB31 on Nui Ek, and there was some contact
with small enemy units. On 8 May friendly forces devoted most of their
time to troop movements and exchanges whereby units which had seen the
heaviest fighting were relieved by fresh troops. Then, too, there were
extractions of units back to their base camps as they were no longer needed
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in the campaign which was drawing to a close.
The end of the campaign on 9 May, like so many in Vietnam, was not
marked by the dramatic surrender of any enemy force. Instead, activit
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