hist2004
04-10-2004, 12:52 PM
During the war there were few instances where the combat reconnaissance
components of both sides met on the battlefield. The clash of opposite
recon forces, however, could produce furious fighting when important
objectives were at stake and each side reinforced. Late on the afternoon
of 29 January 1968, a Cobra Lighting Patrol (25th Infantry Division) was
helicoptered into the northern edge of the Ho Bo Woods. It’s mission was
to find the enemy reported to be moving in that sector and to direct re-
inforcements into the contact area. At the same time the elite Viet Cong
272d Regiment Reconnaissance Company was serving as the vanguard for
communist columns marching toward Saigon-just prior to the start of the
major enemy Tet-68 offensive.
At 4:25 p.m. the two recon elements, representing some of the most dedicated
soldiers on either side, clashed, and the action escalated rapidly. Machine gun
crossfire and automatic rifles riddled the dense jungle as patrollers from different
armies tossed grenades and skillfully matched moves with countermoves. The
American patrollers radioed for “the Rifles”, the aero rifle platoon. The Viet Cong
reconnaissance troops called up lead companies of their own forces. The American
headquaters told the Rifles to hold on to their positions until more help arrived. The
VC headquarters ordered their recon strike force to shield redirection of main columns
away from the compromised pathway.
Late-afternoon shadows were falling over the jungle as the Viet Cong slipped around
and isolated the patrollers and cavalrymen. An hour later, Major General Mearns sent in
the 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, “Wolfhounds”, during a bold twilight air assault. The
arrival of powerful American airmobile reinforcements expedited the VC command’s
persistent instructions to their recon element: hold out and cover the shifting of the main
regimental column. The battle was on.
Dug-in enemy gunners riddled the three-company Wolfhound” relief forces with streams
of tracer-lit fire in the deepening evening sky. Capt. Michael Wikon led Company C
across the landing field toward the dark tree line as his troops charged through a hail
of automatic weapons fire and rocket explosions. The infantrymen returned fire with
rifles blazing as they entered the dense undergrowth. The Americans pushed through
the woods to reach the beleaguered cavalrymen and patrollers, but progress was
interrupted by bursts of well-aimed fire. Platoon leader Staff Sgt. James McCosh
recalled, “The VC would wait until you were looking down their gun barrels before
they’d shoot”.
The Viet Cong reconnaissance troops offered staunch resistance as their patrol squads
opened up at lethal ambush ranges, fell back, and fought again in a highly skilled display
of delaying ferocity. The VC recon troops were armed with light machine guns, AK47
and SKS assault rifles, and the new RPG-2 rocket launchers. Their ammunition,
according to one division intelligence report, “seemed limitless”. Wolfhound battalion
commander Lt. Col. Walter E. Adams reported, We fought an enemy armed to the
teeth in there, and fought all the way through the woods to that platoon”.
The 27th Infantry battalion troops finally reached their besieged comrades after advancing
300 yards. Sixty-four Viet Cong recon troops died rather than surrender, and the
Americans captured only one prisoner, a VC soldier so badly wounded that he could
neither keep fighting nor get away. The recon troops of both armies claimed mission
success. The Company F patrollers and Troop D Rifles held their ground successfully
until reinforcements arrived. The VC recon company masked the change of direction
of their main column and enabled it to reach Tet-68 jump-off positions.
Regards,
Hist2004
components of both sides met on the battlefield. The clash of opposite
recon forces, however, could produce furious fighting when important
objectives were at stake and each side reinforced. Late on the afternoon
of 29 January 1968, a Cobra Lighting Patrol (25th Infantry Division) was
helicoptered into the northern edge of the Ho Bo Woods. It’s mission was
to find the enemy reported to be moving in that sector and to direct re-
inforcements into the contact area. At the same time the elite Viet Cong
272d Regiment Reconnaissance Company was serving as the vanguard for
communist columns marching toward Saigon-just prior to the start of the
major enemy Tet-68 offensive.
At 4:25 p.m. the two recon elements, representing some of the most dedicated
soldiers on either side, clashed, and the action escalated rapidly. Machine gun
crossfire and automatic rifles riddled the dense jungle as patrollers from different
armies tossed grenades and skillfully matched moves with countermoves. The
American patrollers radioed for “the Rifles”, the aero rifle platoon. The Viet Cong
reconnaissance troops called up lead companies of their own forces. The American
headquaters told the Rifles to hold on to their positions until more help arrived. The
VC headquarters ordered their recon strike force to shield redirection of main columns
away from the compromised pathway.
Late-afternoon shadows were falling over the jungle as the Viet Cong slipped around
and isolated the patrollers and cavalrymen. An hour later, Major General Mearns sent in
the 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, “Wolfhounds”, during a bold twilight air assault. The
arrival of powerful American airmobile reinforcements expedited the VC command’s
persistent instructions to their recon element: hold out and cover the shifting of the main
regimental column. The battle was on.
Dug-in enemy gunners riddled the three-company Wolfhound” relief forces with streams
of tracer-lit fire in the deepening evening sky. Capt. Michael Wikon led Company C
across the landing field toward the dark tree line as his troops charged through a hail
of automatic weapons fire and rocket explosions. The infantrymen returned fire with
rifles blazing as they entered the dense undergrowth. The Americans pushed through
the woods to reach the beleaguered cavalrymen and patrollers, but progress was
interrupted by bursts of well-aimed fire. Platoon leader Staff Sgt. James McCosh
recalled, “The VC would wait until you were looking down their gun barrels before
they’d shoot”.
The Viet Cong reconnaissance troops offered staunch resistance as their patrol squads
opened up at lethal ambush ranges, fell back, and fought again in a highly skilled display
of delaying ferocity. The VC recon troops were armed with light machine guns, AK47
and SKS assault rifles, and the new RPG-2 rocket launchers. Their ammunition,
according to one division intelligence report, “seemed limitless”. Wolfhound battalion
commander Lt. Col. Walter E. Adams reported, We fought an enemy armed to the
teeth in there, and fought all the way through the woods to that platoon”.
The 27th Infantry battalion troops finally reached their besieged comrades after advancing
300 yards. Sixty-four Viet Cong recon troops died rather than surrender, and the
Americans captured only one prisoner, a VC soldier so badly wounded that he could
neither keep fighting nor get away. The recon troops of both armies claimed mission
success. The Company F patrollers and Troop D Rifles held their ground successfully
until reinforcements arrived. The VC recon company masked the change of direction
of their main column and enabled it to reach Tet-68 jump-off positions.
Regards,
Hist2004