Polei Kleng Camp

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Polei Kleng Camp
Helicopters of the 170th and the 189th Helicopter Assault Companies, await the leading of troops at Polei Kleng, in... - NARA - 531458.tif
Helicopters of the 170th and the 189th Helicopter Assault Companies, await the loading of troops at Polei Kleng, 04/10/1969
Coordinates 14°23′49″N107°48′14″E / 14.397°N 107.804°E / 14.397; 107.804 (Polei Kleng Camp)
TypeArmy Base
Site history
Built1966
In use1966-72
Battles/wars Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg
Vietnam War
Battle of Kontum
Garrison information
Occupants 5th Special Forces Group
Vietnamese Rangers
Airfield information
Identifiers IATA: none, ICAO: none
Elevation570 metres (1,870 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
3,500 metres (11,483 ft)  PSP

Polei Kleng Camp (also known as Camp Le Vanh, Firebase Bass, Landing Zone Bass or Polei Kleng Special Forces Camp) is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base west of Kontum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Contents

History

The base was established in June 1966 approximately 16 km west of Kontum by the 5th Special Forces Group, Detachment A-241. [1] [2]

In March–April 1969 the base was used as a staging base for Operation Wayne Grey an operation against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 24th and 66th Regiments in the Plei Trap Valley. [3]

The base was transferred to the ARVN 62nd Border Rangers in August 1970.

In May 1972 during the Battle of Kontum after overrunning the ARVN bases at Tân Cảnh, Đắk Tô and the Firebases along Rocket Ridge the PAVN turned their attention to the base and to Ben Het Camp which blocked the avenues for attack on Kontum. The base had been subjected to artillery fire since 24 April, but from midday on 6 May the volume of fire increased dramatically with over 500 rounds systematically destroying the base bunkers and an infantry assault by the PAVN 64th Regiment penantrated the perimeter. At 19:00 the two U.S. advisers at the base were evacuated by helicopter. [2] :154–6 The attack was repulsed and the ARVN continued to hold for a further 3 days during which time U.S. airpower, including gunships and 16 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strikes, was concentrated on the attacking PAVN. On the night of 7 May the PAVN attempted another assault but were again repulsed suffering 300 killed. [2] :156 On the morning of 9 May the ARVN abandoned the base in the face of a PAVN tank and infantry assault, only 97 ARVN and their dependents reaching safety in Kontum. [4]

Current use

The base has reverted to housing and farmland, the airfield is still visible on satellite images.

Related Research Articles

The lead-up to the Battle of Kontum began in mid-1971, when North Vietnam decided that its victory in Operation Lam Son 719 indicated that the time had come for large-scale conventional offensives that could end the war quickly. The resulting offensive, planned for the spring of 1972, would be known as the Easter Offensive in the South and the Nguyen Hue Offensive in the North, Nguyen Hue being a hero of Vietnamese resistance against the Chinese in 1789. The Easter Offensive would make use of fourteen divisions and would be the largest in the war.

First Battle of Quảng Trị

The First Battle of Quảng Trị resulted in the first major victory for the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during the Easter Offensive of 1972. Quảng Trị Province was a major battleground for the opposing forces during the Vietnam War. As South Vietnamese soldiers were gradually replacing their American counterparts, North Vietnam's General Văn Tiến Dũng was preparing to engage three of his divisions in the province. Just months before the battle, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) deployed its newly formed 3rd Division to the areas along the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to take over former US bases. North Vietnamese forces deployed against the inexperienced ARVN 3rd Division included the PAVN 304th, 308th and 324B Divisions.

Operation Carentan

Operation Carentan and Operation Carentan II were security operations conducted during the Vietnam War by the U.S. 1st and 2nd Brigades, 101st Airborne Division and the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division in Thừa Thiên Province, South Vietnam from 18 March to 17 May 1968.

Vietnamese Rangers the Rangers of the former Army of the Republic of Vietnam

The Vietnamese Rangers, properly known in Vietnamese as the Biệt Động Quân and commonly known as the ARVN Rangers, were the light infantry of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Trained and assisted by American Special Forces and Ranger advisers, the Vietnamese Rangers infiltrated beyond enemy lines in daring search and destroy missions. Initially trained as a counter-insurgency light infantry force by removing the fourth company each of the existing infantry battalions, they later expanded into a swing force capable of conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations, and were relied on to retake captured regions. Later during Vietnamization the Civilian Irregular Defense Group program was transferred from MACV and integrated as Border Battalions responsible for manning remote outposts in the Central Highlands.

May Offensive

PHASE II of the Tet Offensive of 1968 was launched by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) against targets throughout South Vietnam, including Saigon from 29 April to 30 May 1968. The May Offensive was considered much bloodier than the initial phase of the Tet Offensive. US casualties across South Vietnam were 2,169 killed for the entire month of May making it the deadliest month of the entire Vietnam War for U.S. forces, while South Vietnamese losses were 2,054 killed. PAVN/VC losses exceeded 24,000 killed and over 2,000 captured. The May Offensive was a costly defeat for the PAVN/VC.

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23rd Division (South Vietnam) Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam

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22nd Division (South Vietnam)

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1st Division (South Vietnam) division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam

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Republic of Vietnam Airborne Division

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Đắk Tô Base Camp

Đắk Tô Base Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base northwest of Kon Tum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Firebase 6

Firebase 6 is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base southwest of Đắk Tô in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Firebase Fuller is a former U.S. Marine Corps, Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) firebase in central Vietnam.

Tân Cảnh Base Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base northwest of Kon Tum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Firebase Delta is a former Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base northwest of Kontum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Phase III of the Tet Offensive of 1968 was launched by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) from 17 August to 27 September 1968. The offensive was divided into two waves of attacks from 17 to 31 August 1968 and from 11 to 27 September of that same year.

The Battle of Trung Nghia took place from 8 June to 16 September 1973 when North Vietnamese forces captured the village of Trung Nghia in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese were eventually forced out by the South Vietnamese.

Operation Chicago Peak was a joint U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) military operation during the Vietnam War designed to keep pressure on the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units in the A Sầu Valley and prevent them from mounting any attacks on the neighboring coastal provinces.

Operation MacArthur was a United States Army military operation in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam from 12 October 1967 to 31 January 1969. The early phases of the operation encompassed the Battle of Dak To from 3 to 23 November 1967.

References

  1. ↑ Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. pp. 5–419. ISBN   978-1555716257.
  2. 1 2 3 McKenna, Thomas (2011). Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam. University Press of Kentucky. p. 154. ISBN   9780813134017.
  3. ↑ Carey, Ronald (2004). The War Above the Trees. Trafford Publishing. p. 351. ISBN   9781412035033.
  4. ↑ "U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Command History 1972, Annex K. Kontum, 1973. MACV" (PDF). p. K-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
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