Vietnam War

The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), also referred to as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), and was part of the Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War.

Battle of la Drang – October 19 – November 26, 1965. Battle between U.S. and People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN, North Vietnamese Army) forces, significant because it prevented the PAVN from seizing control of the Central Highlands and cutting the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, South Vietnam) in two. The battle also demonstrated the effectiveness of air mobility against regular army units.

This monograph will illuminate some of the more important activities - with attendant problems. shortcomings. and achievements - of the U.S. Army Field Artillery in Vietnam. The wide variations in terrain. supported forces. density of cannon. Friendly population. and enemy activity which prevailed throughout South Vietnam tend to make every action and every locale singular.

The military actions that have occurred in the war in Vietnam are as diverse as the geography of the land. To represent the actions described in this small volume as typical is to ignore that diversity they are, at best, representative, their selection in large measure dictated by the availability of detailed source material. The events are nevertheless illustrative of much that has taken place in Vietnam since American troops were first committed in force in 1965 of heroic achievement and sacrifice, of human error, of experimentation and innovation, of a wily and elusive enemy, of a new dimension in warfare afforded by the helicopter. To the American public, these accounts will serve as a preliminary record of the achievements of men who served their nation well, a preface to a full military history of the war that is already in preparation. To the soldiers who took part in the actions, the narratives will afford an opportunity to see more clearly, beyond the fog of battle, what happened to them as individuals and as groups. To those who still may have to fight in Vietnam, the accounts will provide a measure of vicarious experience, which is the true service of history.

Three animated maps and key.