The Battle of Trà Bình (Vietnamese language: Trận Quang Thạnh
- [1] Korean language
- 짜빈동 전투 Tjabin-dong
) was probably the most famous battle fought by the South Korean Marines during the Vietnam War. It was fought in the Trà Bình village, Trà Bồng District, in February 1967. The battle took place after a Viet Cong defector, former commander of a training camp, revealed that the North Vietnamese Army were planning an attack on the ROKMC's 11th Company. On February 14, the North Vietnamese 40th and 60th Battalions moved into their positions in the forest surrounding the perimeter of the South Korean 11th Company. The regular VPA battalions were also supported by one VC local force battalion from Quang Ngai. With their troops built up around the area, the Communist forces planned to cut all communication lines and wipe out the South Korean forces in the area.
History[]
At dawn on February 15, the battle began with the Viet Cong attempting to cut through the wires of the South Korean base. The South Korean marines were dug in and waiting with requests for air-support. But due to foggy weather, AC-47s couldn't commence attack on the Viet Cong, so they only had the artillery support. When the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong had penetrated Korean positions, heavy fighting immediately followed. Initially the outnumbered South Koreans, though vastly superior in firepower, were pinned down, but Communist forces' ranks soon started to break up in heat of the battle as the South Koreans counterattacked. When the fighting ended 246 enemy bodies were left behind. After the battle, 3 flamethrowers, 5 antitank rocket launchers, 2 machine guns, 28 rifles, 100 pieces of dynamite, and over 6,000 rounds of ammunition were captured by the South Koreans. Following the defeat, the NVA abandoned plans for subsequent attacks against the Chu Lai Air Base and the city of Quang Ngai. Two of the communist Vietnamese were taken prisoner in the end, one of which was a North Vietnamese battalion commander
Order of battle[]
Democratic Republic of Vietnam[]
- 2nd Division
- 1st Regiment
- 60th Battalion
- 21st Regiment
- 40th Battalion
- 1st Regiment
Vietcong[]
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Republic of Korea[]
Republic of Korea Marine Corps
- 2nd Marine Brigade (Blue Dragon)
- 1st Battalion
- 1st Company
- 3rd Platoon
- 1st Company
- 3rd Battalion
- 11th Company - Cpt. Jeong Kyung-jin (정경진; 丁京鎭)
- 1st Battalion
See also[]
- Military history of South Korea during the Vietnam War
- Vietnam War
- 2nd Marine Division (Republic of Korea)
References[]
External links[]
The original article can be found at Battle of Trà Bình and the edit history here.