INTRODUCTION

Over one year before the TET OFFENSIVE of January 1968, a major battle took place near the Cambodian border in the region around Tay Ninh, called Dau Tieng, which was located in War Zone C. At the height of this operation, it was estimated upwards of 50,000 troops were engaged in combat.

This action took place in early November 1966 to deny the Viet Cong strategic positions about 80 kilometers (52 miles) northwest of Saigon.

The Operation was touched off almost accidentally when a Company of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade who were on a routine patrol stumbled into the southern flank of a large Viet Cong Force. The Infantry quickly tried to fight the Communists—who were trying to crush them because they were outnumbered—but the 196th, aided by elements of the 25th Infantry Division, hung on stubbornly while thousands of battle-tough men of the First Infantry Division (Big Red One) were pushed into the area by helicopter.