The 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam
Unparalleled and Unequaled
Publication Year: 2010
Published by: The University Press of Kentucky
Front Cover
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
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pp. vii-
List of Maps and Figures
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pp. xviii-ix
List of Tables
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pp. x-
Abbreviations and Special Terms
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pp. xi-xiii
Introduction
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pp. 1-3
In the mid-1960s, the security of the Delta, the densely populated rich rice bowl of agrarian South Vietnam, was poor and getting worse. Viet Cong (VC) insurgents were severely disrupting the commerce and welfare of this vital region. The 9th Infantry Division, the only U.S. Army division activated and trained in the United States for active duty in South Vietnam, was specifically designated to operate from a base deep within the Communist-controlled...
Chapter 1: Securing the Mekong Delta
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pp. 4-11
The Mekong Delta was the most populated and richest agrarian area of South Vietnam, and consequently it was the primary target of Communist aggression. Viet Cong activities in the Delta were appreciably reducing the cultivation of the important rice crop and were isolating the Delta from Saigon. It became obvious that increased military actions were necessary to deny the Communists access to the Delta’s resources. It was the opinion of Gen. William Childs...
Chapter 2: The General Offensive and General Uprising
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pp. 12-21
In 1967, the Communists assumed that the RVNAF and Allied Forces were weak and could be defeated so they abandoned their limited offensive tactics and adopted the concept of large battles, generally conducted by main force units. Thus, the Communists changed their tactics from company- and platoon-sized or smaller operations to battles conducted with multibattalion...
Chapter 3: Enhancing Combat Capabilities
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pp. 22-78
In mid-May 1968, the 9th Division found itself still responsible for a huge tactical area of responsibility that included all or parts of eight Vietnamese provinces. Th e division headquarters was split between Bearcat and Dong Tam, with the majority of divisional support troops and several combat battalions located at Bearcat...
Chapter 4: Pacification: The Endgame
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pp. 79-98
The 9th Infantry Division was introduced in the Delta for one purpose only, to improve the security. Its mission was clear: it had to defeat the Viet Cong main and local force units and to support the pacification efforts of the GVN, thereby eliminating the Viet Cong’s intimidation of the people. Pacification then was the endgame, and the most discernable pattern in it was that programs...
Chapter 5: Third Phase of the VC/NVA General Offensive
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pp. 99-110
At the beginning of August 1968, enemy operations were characterized by a general evasion of contact while maintaining large battalion-sized units in anticipation of a third offensive, with Saigon as the primary objective. In Long An Province—the underbelly of Saigon—enemy interdiction and guerrilla and terrorist activities were minimal, a good ...
Chapter 6: Fourth Phase of the VC/NVA General Offensive
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pp. 111-115
The division captured an enemy document in January 1969 that indicated that the fourth phase of the General Offensive and General Uprising, the Dong Xuan, a Winter-Spring Offensive, was imminent. Its objectives were to annihilate 60 percent of the enemy troops and destroy 50 percent of the enemy outposts; liberate the rural areas and ...
Chapter 7: The Take-off
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pp. 116-136
By the end of the first quarter in 1969, the effectiveness of combat operations had peaked, preempting Communist efforts. The brave soldiers of the division displayed extraordinary heroism in conducting more than one hundred offensive operations daily, half of which were at night, in the extremely difficult and treacherous booby-trapped terrain...
Chapter 8: Post–Dong Xuan Operations
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pp. 137-140
The aggressive actions of the RVNAF and the 9th Division in the Delta and U.S. forces and our Allies elsewhere in South Vietnam forced the Communist leaders to abort their Winter-Spring Offensive. Yet, the dispersed and elusive Viet Cong and NVA units that remained in the Upper Delta still had a limited capability...
Chapter 9: Pacification Results
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pp. 141-146
The endgame was pacification, and the success of the 9th Division can be measured by not only its combat results but also the improvements of the GVN pacification program. Of great importance was that the GVN won the “rice war.” The improved security prevented the Viet Cong from appropriating appreciable supplies, and, after the major ...
Chapter 10: A Total Division Effort
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pp. 147-149
This discussion has focused primarily on the combat capabilities of infantrymen and their direct support organizations: the artillery, air cavalry, assault helicopters, Air Force, and Navy. Many other units not specifically mentioned—such as the 45th Infantry Platoon (Scout Dog), the 65th Infantry Platoon (Combat Tracker), the Air Cushion ...
Chapter 11: The Division Rotates Home
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pp. 150-154
In June, the 9th Division received word that it was to rotate to the United States, and units began to prepare to stand down. The 2nd Brigade terminated operations on 4 July; the 1st Brigade on 23 July; and on 26 July, the 3rd Brigade went under operational control of II Field Force, Vietnam. From its entry into the Mekong Delta...
Appendix A: 9th Infantry Division and Assigned and Attached Units, 1969
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pp. 157-158
Appendix B: 9th Infantry Division Task Organization, January–April 1969
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pp. 159-
Appendix C: The Story of a Booby-Trap Casualty
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pp. 160-163
Appendix D: Prisoner Phan Xuan Quy: Biographical Information and Thanh Phu Battle Account
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pp. 164-174
Appendix E: Reflection of a Prisoner
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pp. 175-176
Notes
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pp. 177-180
Index
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pp. 181-195
E-ISBN-13: 9780813126487
Print-ISBN-13: 9780813126470
Page Count: 216
Publication Year: 2010
Series Title: American Warriors Series
