Battle of A Sau

The A Shau Special Forces Camp was located in the A Sầu Valley, about southwest of Huế and 2 km east of the Laos border in Thừa Thiên Province. Two South Vietnamese camps at A Lưới and Ta Bat in the A Shau valley had been abandoned on 8 December 1965. The special forces camp was routinely harassed by small Vietcong formations leading up to the battle. Throughout February and March, 1966, platoon-sized troops from the camp were sent out to conduct reconnaissance patrols in the surrounding area. On 5 March two PAVN defectors turned up at the camp. Under interrogation, they indicated that four battalions of the PAVN 325th Division were planning to attack the camp. Based on that information, night patrols were dispatched to confirm the enemy positions but no sightings were made. However, Air Commandos conducting reconnaissance flights observed large build-ups of PAVN troops along with anti-aircraft emplacements. As a result, airstrikes were ordered against enemy positions. On 7 March the A Shau camp was reinforced with seven U.S. Special Forces personnel, nine interpreters, and a MIKE Force Company in anticipation of the North Vietnamese attack. ==Battle==

On 8 March the camp was placed on general alert and the camp's defenders had taken up their positions. A PAVN assault was launched during the night, but it was beaten back. Because of poor weather conditions that would hinder tactical air and resupply efforts, the PAVN decided to continue despite their heavy casualties. The second attack began during the early morning hours of 9 March with mortar bombardment, damaging communications and reducing many defensive positions to rubble. At 13:00 an AC-47D "Spooky 70" from the 4th Air Commando Squadron, circling the camp, fired on the attacking PAVN formations. However, the slow moving aircraft was shot down and crashed about five kilometers north of the camp. All six crewmen survived, but they were promptly attacked by the PAVN. Three crewmen were killed, though the others were eventually rescued by a USAF HH-43. The evacuation was further complicated by heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire, and two H-34s were lost. ==Aftermath==

Organized resistance ceased around 17:45 when PAVN troops overran the camp. During the battle the U.S. Special Forces team suffered five killed and 12 wounded (100% casualties). Only 186 of the garrison of 434 were evacuated, with the others listed as missing, although some of them surfaced later. Another report stated 231 out of 417 irregulars were lost. According to Sgt. Major Bennie G. Adkins only 122 out of about 410 irregulars survived, with many of them wounded. Adkins was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in defense of the camp by President Barack Obama in September 2014. In May a Special Forces team entered the abandoned camp to recover the bodies of those killed in the battle. They found the bodies undisturbed and large quantities of ammunition remaining in the camp. On 1 June III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) commander Lieutenant general Lew Walt ordered the 3rd Marine Division commander Major general Wood B. Kyle to develop a plan to return to the camp and destroy the ammunition. On the morning of 23 June the Marines launched Operation Turner with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines being landed at the camp by CH-46s of HMM-164 with air support by VMO-2 UH-1E gunships. The Marines completed the destruction of the ammunition and pulled out after two hours on the ground. The PAVN transformed the A Shau Valley into a heavily fortified base area with bunkers, antiaircraft guns, and artillery. US and South Vietnamese forces were unable to re-establish a permanent presence in the valley for the remainder of the war. During the Tet Offensive, the A Shau Valley provided PAVN/VC troops an important sanctuary from which to launch attacks at South Vietnamese cities and military bases, especially Huế and Phu Bai. Raids were launched into the valley in April 1968 (Operation Delaware), August 1968 (Operation Somerset Plain), March 1969 (Operation Dewey Canyon) and May 1969 (Operation Apache Snow). ==References==