The Battle of Ap Bac was a small-scale battle early in the Vietnam War (1959–1975) which resulted in the first major combat victory by the Viet Cong against regular South Vietnamese and American forces.
The battle took place on January 2, 1963, near the hamlet of Ap Bac, 65km (40 miles) southwest of Saigon in the Mekong Delta. Forces of the 7th Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs)...
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The Battle of Ap Bac was a small-scale battle early in the Vietnam War (1959–1975) which resulted in the first major combat victory by the Viet Cong against regular South Vietnamese and American forces.
The battle took place on January 2, 1963, near the hamlet of Ap Bac, 65km (40 miles) southwest of Saigon in the Mekong Delta. Forces of the 7th Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) and artillery and supported by American helicopters, confronted entrenched elements of the Viet Cong 261st and 514th battalions.
Small-scale military action, in what would develop into the Vietnam War, started in the late 1950s when the South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm had instituted an anti-communist campaign aimed at rooting out "left behind" Viet Minh forces. At that time North Vietnam was hoping for an election, promised under the Geneva Accord (1954), that would unite North and South. It was also worried about inciting the United...
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