US MILITARY / BATTLE MAP - Printed May 1966
Large Pictomap - War Room Map - Ia Drang River - Ia Drang Valley
Full Size - Battle Room Pictomap
US Special Forces / MACV - SOG - Map information as of 1965
Compiled - US Army Corps of Engineers
Pleiku Province - Ia Drang - 6536 i S - Phu Nhon - Le Trung - Plei La Puch
US ARMY - Vietnam War MAP
Battle of Ia Drang – Ia Drang Valley
The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle between the United States Army and the North Vietnamese Army-NVA (People's Army of Vietnam-PAVN), part of the Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War.
It comprised two main engagements. The first involved the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and supporting units, and took place between November 14th and November 16th, 1965 at LZ X-Ray, located at the eastern foot of the Chu Pong massif in the central highlands of Vietnam.
The second engagement involved the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment plus supporting units, and took place on November 17 at LZ Albany, farther north in the Ia Drang Valley.
It is notable for being the first large scale helicopter air assault and also the first use of B-52 strategic bombers in a tactical support role.
The size of the clearing at LZ X-Ray meant that troops had to be shuttled in, the first lift landing at 10:48. The last troops of the battalion were landed at 15:20, by which time the troops on the ground were already heavily engaged, with one platoon cut off.
Faced with heavy casualties and unexpected opposition, 1st Battalion was reinforced by B Company 2nd Battalion 7th Cavalry. Fighting continued the following day when the LZ was further reinforced by A Company 2/7 and also by 2nd Battalion 5th Cavalry, and the lost platoon was rescued.
The last Vietnamese assaults on the position were repulsed on the morning of 16th. As the Vietnamese forces melted away, the remainder of 2/7 and A Company of 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry arrived. By mid-afternoon 1/7 and B Company 2/7 had been airlifted to LZ Falcon, and on the 17th November 2/5 marched out towards LZ Columbus while the remaining 2/7 and 1/5 companies marched towards LZ Albany.
The latter force became strung out and, in the early afternoon, were badly mauled in an ambush before they could be reinforced and extricated.
The battle at LZ X-Ray was documented in the CBS special report Battle of Ia Drang Valley by Morley Safer and the critically acclaimed book We Were Soldiers Once... And Young by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway.
Between the Battles at LZ X-Ray, LZ Albany and LZ Columbus, US Forces lost 237 Men Killed in Action.
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