Okay okay would you roll in uh a 270 from the smoke approximately uh one me away from it I’ll just you from here only a tree or bush could hide an enemy ready to annihilate them ambushes were the order of the day and they always ended in a shower of blood for both sides in this new installment of military history we’re going to reconstruct in great detail three important offensives carried out by the Viet Kong a series of surprise attacks in which the powerful United States Army was totally humiliated by local
Gorillas put on your bulletproof vest grab your M16 and let’s get started although the official activities of the United States Army in Vietnam began a few years later a special operations Commando group was established in the Southeast Asian nation in 1964 this was the macv sog a unit composed of elements of the Navy Seals Marines and members of Special Forces during its 8 years of activity between 1964 and 1972 MCV SG carried out high-risk missions that despite their importance were not reported to the general public
In order to operate and keep its structure secret the group was divided into three geographically delimited subcommands the northern command in control or CCN the Central Command in control or CCC and the namesake Southern command also called CCS it was at one of the most important bases in the northern section that the Vietcong carried out one of the most brutal attacks on the western Invader in a day that will remain forever in the memories of those who survived next we will listen to the Memoirs of John Striker Meyer one of the
Most recognized Veterans of the legendary Mac vog during that attack it came after midnight it was a moonless night and the tap sappers who were highly trained NBA soldiers hit the base fob 4 or forward operations base was a top secret operational headquarters of enormous importance to Washington its role was fundamental for the organization of missions in one of the most conflictive areas of Vietnam which is why Green Beret and other top level Commandos who cooperated with Mac vog were often housed there the problem was that the flow of
Activities was very high and the base was not always guarded with the same solidity there were brief windows in which fob4 was susceptible to a massive attack and the Vietnamese knew it for this offensive the Communist front employed the infamous sappers its Special Forces soldiers trained to give their lives no matter the conditions during the war their reputation was cemented through brutal sacrifices the sappers were fanatical Communists willing to do anything recapturing the fighting Spirit of the old kamic kazis of Imperial
Japan such was their determination for their land that they wore a white bandana on their forehead with the words we came here to die Written in Blood on the morning of August 23rd 1968 a Viet Kong Battalion made up of sappers and regular soldiers entered fob four their strategy had been considered down to the Last Detail so much so that the offensive coincided with the Knight when the new lunar cycle began this ensured total darkness for them to move like Hunters through throughout the Vietnamese jungle news of the attack spread little
By little as shots and explosions echoed in every corner of the territory let’s listen to veteran Jean Pew tell what it was like to cross the camp in the middle of a hail of enemy gunfire and now hear is bang bang got you son of a and then the next breath I’m hit I’m hit I’m hit so I go out and start pull dragging him into the barracks and I could feel the bullets going by my bare torso torso and snapping right next to my ear it’s an experience that you just you you just wish that they could hit you instead of feeling it that
way the spike team Rattler reconnaissance team was stationed at the top of the marble mountains one of the highest places in dang the ma V Commandos were enjoying a peaceful night when suddenly a series of Rumblings turned the moment into a nightmare below several meters from their positions the Viet Kong Battalion had penetrated the scarce defenses starting a real Massacre within minutes fob 4 was transformed into a bonfire filled with us corpses only a few structures survived the offensive while the members of the
aforementioned Spike team Rattler reconnaissance team observed all the horror from above a part of the Vietnamese Squad Was preparing to ambush push them the sappers used ropes to climb in a few minutes taking their victims completely by surprise by the time the climbing team managed to surround Spike team Rattler the situation at the entire F4 base had become a true hell on Earth there were tents on fire lifeless bodies on the ground and blood mixed with mud and vegetation in this chaos North Vietnamese troops ran carrying assault
rifles in one of the most shocking situations a group of sappers with explosives attached to their bodies ran into the base’s Ammunition Depot within seconds an explosion ended their lives in the weapons reserve of fop 4 got some machine guns up here it’s coming from the house hold up up boy get up here imagine seeing with your own eyes how a completely deranged enemy soldier runs towards an explosives Depot sacrificing his life to leave you without weapons this type of kamakazi attack ended up becoming something
characteristic during North Vietnamese ambushes the sappers entered with dynamite or bombs on their bodies to destroy us bunkers and strategic positions as the first rays of the sun illuminated the base the Viet Kong troops retreated leaving only Devastation behind among the ruins of what had been an important American Military post the bodies of 17 Green Berets were found as well as dozens of wounded some seriously due to the top secret nature of their work the eliminated Americans did not have an official funeral service
in Southeast Asia the next Ambush we will discuss was not carried out against elite units but against Marines operating on the banks of the onon River on the morning of October 17th 1967 [Music] during the first months of 1967 the Vietnamese front suffered the loss of thousands of soldiers as a result of the so-called Search and Destroy mission carried out by the United States Army but General Tran vantra suggested that the Communist troops could still achieve Victory if they managed to inflict heavy losses on the
Americans that is why in mid 1967 the seventh and Ninth divisions of the North Vietnamese Army began to plan what would be one of their most brutal and effective offensives the Onan river runs through a forested region with lots of vegetation making it an ideal place to hide with that in mind on October 16th 1967 a patrol of soldiers from Alpha Company was sent to survey the region during their mission they encountered a small enemy unit which escaped after a brief firefight upon reporting this encounter Uncle Sam’s men received a specific
order they were to find this group of Vietnamese and annihilate them part of the plan was for them to advance through occupied territory upon finding Viet Kong settlements they were to contact the artillery batteries waiting a few miles away the problem was that the local Warriors had already noticed the plan and were waiting for the right moment to attack like a predator watching its prey one of the American soldiers did not have a good feeling about the operation well they told us we were going to a place that was going to be
pretty rough and that’s all they didn’t tell us what was waiting on us you had no choice you just went at around 10: a.m. on October 17th 1967 American soldiers encountered Viet Kong troops as we anticipated the Asians were waiting in bunkers scattered in strategic areas of the Jungle surrounding the path along which their rival was advancing when the Americans came within range chaos broke out a storm of rifle cartridges machine guns and grenades erupted in a deadly Ambush Washington’s troops had no time to take up defensive positions
and suffered massive losses of personnel during the first minutes of combat Viet Kong men came from all sides taking advantage of their bunkers and the geography they knew so well as the North Vietnamese fire increased the American soldiers thought they heard the distinctive sound of an M60 machine gun the men assumed it was Cavalry that had come to rescue them so they ceased fire for fear of hitting one of their own the Asian front took full advantage of this moment of weakness at about 11:30 a.m.
they sent in reserves of Vietnamese Personnel who were waiting for the right moment to act to make matters worse for the Americans it was impossible to use artillery as the proximity of their own to their enemies made it too risky Alpha Company [Music] disappeared and now the firing was directed against us against Delta company at the same time as this part of the offensive another group of Asian troops had Advanced stealthily to the vicinity of the artillery when the time came they pounced on the enemy further complicating the support that the rest
of the Americans ambushed in the anthon region could receive the members of that artillery Battalion remember how chaotic that situation was on the one hand they had to coordinate the shots and receive information from the soldiers who were further ahead on the other they had to defend themselves from the waves of Vietnamese who tried to take over the position what better way to listen to North Vietnamese colonel V Min triot describing the strategy used by his men one of the artillery observers that is
those men in charge of surveying the landscape and translating it into concrete data for launching attacks was Lieutenant Harold pinky Durham he was an experienced soldier who was on his second tour in Vietnam he adopted at a dangerous position exposing himself to hostile Fire coming from several directions but it was necessary so that he could communicate with the rest of the troops and coordinate the artillery attacks Durham calmly and quietly carried out his work providing precise coordinates that managed to blow up
several Vietnamese positions unfortunately during combat the brave Soldier stepped on a claymore type mine which does not explode but does launch hundreds of metal pieces that pierce the victim’s body Durham suffered very serious injuries and due to that incident he was left blind in one of his eyes with his vision flooded with blood and his body lacerated the lieutenant continued to operate effectively providing coordinates By Radio even when the bullets grazed his head thanks to this man’s sacrifice North Vietnamese forces were unable to
complete their m M as they could no longer Advance on the soldiers who had been ambushed further ahead on that fateful day in October Durham saved hundreds of lives listen to the description of Captain Carl Kaiser who was part of the engagement and survived to reconstruct the initial events and one of the members of the flank security reported hearing movement and hearing a metallic click on his right flank at that that time a machine gun opened fire on the right file of the first platoon of Alpha Company that’s the first shots that were
heard that’s correct as the American troops managed to organize and regain ground the Viet Kong soldiers began to retreat the bulk of the Asian column ceased hostilities and left the area about 2 hours after the hell began they could return home satisfied having more than fulfilled their mission as they managed to inflict brutal damage on the American ranks in total anthon’s offensive claimed the lives of 56 Washington soldiers another 75 were wounded and two remain missing to this day among the dead was the heroic Harold
Durham who received the legendary Medal of Honor postumus for his dedication and sacrifice to ensure the survival of his comrades the Vietnam War was brutal but it is precisely in these extreme conditions that heroism and Military ability flourish that is why the last Ambush that we will review in this video also has a recipient of the legendary Medal of Honor as a participant let’s put ourselves in time and space on August 25th 1968 members of the American 48 Transport Group were carrying out their important job transporting supplies to prevent
soldiers from starving to death on that day the Convoy was particularly large with a total of 81 trucks that left the town of long bin loaded with food Fuel and weapons as you can imagine the roads that connected Vietnam at that time were not exactly gems of modern engineering quite the opposite they were winding and precarious roads that link the starting point to Saigon the final destination of the 48th Transport Group [Music] [Music] around noon the Convoy entered the village of apai a small rubber tree Plantation that stretched along the only
passable Road there was a column of the army of the Republic of Vietnam the southern front that Allied itself with the United States their presence was something to be expected since these troops collaborated with the pacification of communities like the one they were passing through within a few minutes the Convoy already occupied the entire extension of the village when the first trucks began to leave opne the presumed soldiers friends of Uncle Sam revealed their true identity they were Viet Kong men armed to the teeth to rid the
drivers and elements of the 48th Transport Group not only did they have surprise on their side but the Asians had posted snipers on both sides of the road placing all the American vehicles in the deadly Zone the most vulnerable part in an [Music] ambush the [Music] the Battle of apne was not limited to gunfire the Communist soldiers also used machine guns and rpg7 launchers to destroy the vehicles the primary objective was to cut off the supply of provisions and if possible capture some of the loot to feed the Viet Kong with weapons and food
after spraying the trucks carrying food with bullets the attacker’s fury focused on the fuel tankers waiting for them to explode and completely block the Convoy’s advance in this part of the story we will meet the Great Hero who emerged in the midst of this chaos William say was a truck driver of only 19 years old thanks to his skills behind the wheel he became a member of the Transport company but that did not mean he did not know how to fight when the shooting broke out in APN the boy jumped out of his vehicle and
looked for the rest of his companions to organize the response in an ambush it is essential to stay calm and act by listening to your head not the fear roaring in your stomach SE and other drivers positioned themselves 6 m away from each other adopting a defensive position to repel the first attack of the Vietnamese soldiers the boy opened fire and killed two enemies who were about 10 m away meanwhile one of his companions managed to eliminate a Viet Kong Soldier but then his M16 jammed and was unusable however the death of the three
Communists scared away a small group of gorillas who were approaching the trucks William C played a prominent role in protecting his comrades at apai first he fearlessly threw hand grenades that drove the enemy back the North Vietnamese assumed there were several men but it was just SE holding his own during this time the boy was shot in the wrist and bled out throughout the day still he managed to drag several wounded comrades to safety under a hail of enemy shells it is hard to imagine the bravery and resolve it takes to repeatedly
expose yourself to painful death to save others it was for this as well as for eliminating several Viet Kong soldiers that William received the Medal of Honor unfortunately the 19-year-old ended up dying from multiple wounds that caused massive blood loss the Ambush was incredibly long with intermittent hostilities that extended over 9 hours of that Infamous August 25th this gave enough time for the US Air Force and artillery to show up showering the Communist Gorillas with fire and destruction finally at 900 p.m. a large
infantry unit arrived to assist the rear of the Convoy seeing themselves outnumbered the North Vietnamese retreated into the jungle in total 30 Americans died 45 were wounded and two were taken prisoner making this episode one of the deadliest of the entire conflict throughout this installment it became clear that material or numerical superiority are not always the most powerful cards ambushes and surprise attacks can be a deadly tool that balances the scales the United States learned this the hard way during its intervention in
Vietnam and so we come to the end of the video If you like this content and want to continue discovering the most incredible events in military history we invite you to subscribe and activate notifications without further Ado We Say Goodbye until the next install of military history thank you for joining us
