Bu Prang Camp

Last updated
Bu Prang Camp
Flag of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.svg   Military service mark of the United States Army.svg
Tuy Đức district, Quang Duc Province in Vietnam
NARA photo 111-CCV-522-CC62982.jpg
Bu Prang, 21 November 1969
Vietnam location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bu Prang Camp
Shown within Vietnam
Coordinates 12°14′17″N107°18′58″E / 12.238°N 107.316°E / 12.238; 107.316
TypeArmy Base
Site information
Operator Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
United States Army (U.S. Army)
ConditionAbandoned
Site history
Built1967 (1967)
In useOctober 1967-1970 (1970)
Battles/wars Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg
Vietnam War
Garrison information
Garrison 5th Special Forces Group

Bu Prang Camp (also known as Bu Prang Special Forces Camp) is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base in Quang Duc Province 5km from the Vietnam-Cambodia border.

Contents

History

CIDG Forces at Bu Prang, 23 January 1970 Bu Prang Camp.jpg
CIDG Forces at Bu Prang, 23 January 1970

The base was located on Route 14, in Tuy Đức district 5 km south of the Cambodian border. [1] The base was established by the Special Forces II CTZ MIKE Force who secured the site in a parachute assault on 5 October 1967. [2] Once the area was secured, Detachment A-236, 5th Special Forces and CIDG forces were brought in by helicopter to establish the base. [2] :175

On 28 October 1969 the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 3rd Division began a siege of the Camp, Landing Zone Kate and Duc Lap Camp. On 1 November when Kate was abandoned the forces evacuated towards Bu Prang. On 18 November 1969 PAVN mortar fire destroyed the Camp's ammunition storage bunker. The siege was broken by the ARVN on 16 December 1969. [2] :323

The base was relocated further east in early 1970 to put it out of range of PAVN artillery fire coming from Cambodia. [1]



Current use

The base has been turned over to farmland.

Related Research Articles

The Battle of Svay Rieng was the last major offensive operation of the Vietnam War to be mounted by the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) against the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Phước Long</span> Decisive battle of the Vietnam War

The Battle of Phước Long was a decisive battle of the Vietnam War which began on December 12, 1974, and concluded on January 6, 1975. The battle involved the deployment of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 4th Army Corps for the first time, against determined units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in Phước Long in Bình Phước Province near the Cambodian border, under the command of Lieutenant General Dư Quốc Đống.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Plei Me</span> 1965 engagement of the Vietnam War

The siege of Plei Me was the beginning phase of the first major confrontation between soldiers of the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The lifting of the siege by South Vietnamese forces and American air power was followed by the pursuit of the retreating North Vietnamese from 28 October until 12 November, setting the stage for the Battle of Ia Drang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnamese Rangers</span> Rangers of the former Army of the Republic of Vietnam

The Vietnamese Rangers (Vietnamese: Biệt Động Quân; Chữ Hán: 別動軍), commonly known as the ARVN Rangers or Vietnamese Ranger Corp (VNRC), 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 in the Vietnam War</span>

The inauguration of Richard Nixon in January led to a reevaluation of the U.S. role in the war. U.S. forces peaked at 543,000 in April. U.S. military strategy remained relatively unchanged from the offensive strategy of 1968 until the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May which led to a change a more reactive approach. The U.S. and South Vietnam agreed on a policy of Vietnamization with South Vietnamese forces being expanded and equipped to take over more of the ground combat from the departing Americans which began to withdraw in late June without any reciprocal commitment by the North Vietnamese. The morale of U.S. ground forces began to fray with increasing racial tensions and the first instances of fragging and combat refusal. The antiwar movement in the U.S. continued to grow and public opinion turned increasingly antiwar when the Mỹ Lai massacre was revealed in November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970 in the Vietnam War</span>

The United States continued its unilateral withdrawal of forces from South Vietnam notwithstanding the lack of progress at the Paris Peace Talks. The removal of Prince Norodom Sihanouk from power in Cambodia in March and his replacement by General Lon Nol, began the Cambodian Civil War. South Vietnamese and U.S. forces entered Cambodia in late April to attack People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Vietcong (VC) bases and supply lines there which had long been used to support the insurgency in South Vietnam. The expansion of the war revitalized the antiwar movement in the U.S. and led to the Kent State shootings and Jackson State killings in May. While U.S. ground forces withdrew from Cambodia at the end of June and legislation was passed to prevent their reintroduction, the South Vietnamese conducted operations in Cambodia for the rest of the year and the U.S. provided air support and military aid to the Cambodian government. Despite this support the Cambodians lost control of vast areas of the country to the PAVN. Within South Vietnam the second half of the year saw a reduction in large U.S. operations with the focus shifting to pacification and population security and supporting Vietnamization. The PAVN/VC generally reverted to sapper attacks and attacks by fire but they fought hard to defend their base areas and infiltration routes.

The Battle of Duc Lap took place during the Vietnam War where North Vietnamese forces attempted to overrun the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) Duc Lap Camp between 24 and 27 August 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Het Camp</span> Former US Army camp in Vietnam

Ben Het 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. The camp was notable for being the site of a tank battle between the U.S. Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), one of the few such encounters during the Vietnam War.

Đức Cơ Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base west of Pleiku in Gia Lai Province, central Vietnam.

Thường Ðức Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base southwest of Da Nang in Quảng Nam Province, central Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dak Pek Camp</span>

Dak Pek 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ban Me Thuot East Airfield</span>

Ban Me Thuot East Airfield was a military and civilian airfield and army base located approximately 8 km southeast of Buôn Ma Thuột.

Landing Zone Kate is a former U.S. Army base northwest of Quang Duc Province in southern Vietnam near the Cambodian border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duc Lap Camp</span> Airport

Duc Lap Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base southwest of Buôn Ma Thuột in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Francis Marion</span>

Operation Francis Marion was a 4th Infantry Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade operation that took place in Pleiku, Darlac and Kon Tum Provinces, South Vietnam, lasting from 6 April to 11 October 1967.

Operation Austin IV was a search and destroy operation conducted by the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade in western Quang Duc and Phước Long Provinces, from 1 to 18 May 1966.

Operation Shenandoah II was a security operation conducted during the Vietnam War by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division to secure and repair Highway 13, South Vietnam from 29 September to 19 November 1967.

The War of the flags was a phase of fighting throughout South Vietnam lasting from 23 January to 3 February 1973 as the forces of North and South Vietnam each sought to maximize the territory under their control before the ceasefire in place agreed by the Paris Peace Accords came into effect on 27 January 1973. The fighting continued past the ceasefire date and into early February. South Vietnamese forces made greater territorial gains and inflicted significant losses on the North Vietnamese forces.

The Battle of Quang Duc took place from 30 October to 10 December 1973 when North Vietnamese forces attempted to occupy part of Quang Duc Province to expand their logistical network from Cambodia into South Vietnam. While the North Vietnamese attacks were initially successful they were eventually forced out by the South Vietnamese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bù Đốp Camp</span>

Bù Đốp Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base in Bù Đốp District, Bình Phước Province near the Vietnam-Cambodia border.

References

  1. 1 2 Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. p. 5-72. ISBN   978-1555716257.
  2. 1 2 3 Stanton, Shelby (2008). Special Forces at War: An Illustrated History, Southeast Asia 1957-1975. Zenith Press. p. 165. ISBN   9780760334492.