VENETIC

The Battle of Phước Long

Bình Phước Province

12 December 1974

by W.S. McCallum

In December 1974, the North Vietnamese Army decided to seize Phước Long, a town near the Cambodian border, so it could provide a gateway into the heart of South Vietnam when the time came to launch the planned general offensive against the South in 1975. The NVA 165th Regiment, with tank support, assaulted the town, which was held by the 81st ARVN Ranger Battalion. The battle that ensued was to be a turning point in the Vietnam War…

News of the NVA advance has preceded the 165th Regiment’s arrival, and most of the town’s inhabitants have fled, leaving the place looking like a ghost town.

There are two roads providing approaches to the town, and all is silent. The only signs betraying the presence of ARVN troops are the hasty roadblocks they have erected to slow down the advancing NVA.

This corner of Phước Long sits inside a vaguely Y-shaped intersection of these two roads:

This intersection is the NVA’s objective: taking it will give them a foothold on the outskirts of the town in what is to be a protracted battle.

T54s lead the assault. Having learned a lesson or two since the disastrous road-bound tank assault on An Loc during the 1972 Offensive, the NVA’s armour approaches through covered terrain.

They are accompanied by supporting infantry.

A mortar battery takes up position on the other side of the road.

And the battalion HQ sets up in a citrus grove.

The bugler’s call sets off a human wave assault of massed NVA.

As the first tank rolls into view, an ARVN Rangers unit opens fire with a LAW.

It misses and the tank returns fire, causing the first losses of the battle.

A Ranger forward observer begins radioing in co-ordinates for a nearby ARVN artillery battery.

The first 105 mm howitzer rounds fall short, but then start creeping over the first wave of the advancing NVA, causing heavy casualties.

And the ARVN LAW team fires another projectile at the T54.

The NVA sporadically return fire, pinning down the observer and some of the other ARVN Rangers.

The small unit is heavily outnumbered, so men are tentatively sent forward to explore for weaknesses in the NVA formation’s flank.

Those of the NVA under bombardment who are able to do so begin firing at the advancing ARVN.

The lead T54 now finds itself under fire from a second LAW team.

Their first two shots fail; the third hits.

The Rangers continue by firing at the adjacent NVA, still reeling under the ongoing bombardment.

The ARVN officer in charge of this forward defence is worried by the sheer number of troops he is facing.

And justifiably so, as a regular Commie horde is converging on his position.

And although one tank has been knocked out, more are advancing….

The linchpin of the defence is the ARVN forward observer, who has recovered from the erratic fire he received and is now laying down artillery fire with pinpoint accuracy.

Meanwhile, the NVA’s forward observer is huddled in a pig pen, waiting until he can take up position in a vantage point that will enable him to retaliate.

In the centre, the artillery barrage continues, stalling the main assault.

ARVN troops take up position in houses on the far side of the main road, readying for the oncoming NVA assault.

While another wave peels off from the rear of the NVA’s main body to outflank the ARVN from the other side.

They take some losses crossing open ground, but are soon out of line of sight and successfully infiltrating into the outskirts of the town.

Seeing that they are being outflanked, the lone ARVN unit holding the centre withdraws, along with the forward observer.

The NVA column that had been waiting under cover alongside the main road finally decides to attack.

Given the sheer numbers of NVA, and the fact they are being hemmed in by another column on their side of the road, the ARVN troops in the house across from them decide to cut and run.

Finally free of artillery fire, the remaining NVA in the centre advance in support of the two T54s.

While the NVA who infiltrated into the outskirts of town advance towards the intersection from the right flank.

The commander of the ARVN forward units is running out of options at this point. He only has a handful of troops to defend his side of the intersection with. Where in hell are his reinforcements?

Getting cocky in the absence of opposition, the NVA tanks start outpacing their accompanying infantry.

It’s a fatal mistake: there are ARVN lurking in and around a corrugated iron newspaper kiosk. They open fire with a LAW.

It’s a K-O for the second T54 to fall victim to LAWs that day.

What ensues is a rumble at the pho cart, as the NVA fire en masse at this newly-revealed ARVN unit.

‘

The ARVN Rangers in front of the newspaper kiosk keep being hit from NVA on both sides of the road, until only one NCO is left.

Meanwhile, the NVA forward observer has taken up position beside the local pho cart and begins calling in a mortar barrage.

The commander of the forward defence units goes down, along with various of his men.

Further mortar rounds hit the newspaper kiosk, blowing off the roof and killing the remaining men in it.

The LAW team however, survives, and runs to take cover on the far side of the road, with a few other survivors. Whilst crossing the road, they draw fire from the two columns of NVA approaching towards them from both sides of the road.

An ARVN straggler is rounded up and taken prisoner.

The few ARVN defending the Garage du Mékong wait anxiously for the assault that is about to hit them.

In a surprise move, an ARVN M48 tank rolls out from concealment behind the bike repair workshop, but quickly falls victim to an NVA RPG rocket.

The NVA only have one tank left, but it is the trump card.

Across the road, the retreating ARVN Rangers rally, but fall victim to another mortar barrage.

They are to be the final victims, as the ARVN commander decides to withdraw his few remaining men. The NVA commander has seized his objective.

It was only a qualified victory for the NVA commander, as although he had taken the crossroads, his losses were so heavy that the ARVN commander won on points.

Such were the opening rounds of what proved to be a protracted battle. Here as in real life, the NVA managed to establish a foothold in Phước Long, but found themselves facing weeks of bitter street fighting and jostling for domination of the town as the ARVN helicoptered in reinforcements and airdropped supplies to support the beleaguered garrison. The town’s defenders eventually surrendered on 6 January 1975, allowing the NVA to secure its jumping-off point for the final assault on Saigon four months later.