The Ba Làng An Peninsula is a peninsula in Vietnam. Ba Làng An is located in Quảng Ngãi Province, northeast of Quảng Ngãi and 32 km south of Chu Lai. The name was often mispronounced as "Ba Tang An" and known as Batangan during the Vietnam War, although Far Eastern Economic Review and other sources continued to refer to the "Ba Lang An peninsula."
History
The "Three Villages called An" which give the name to the peninsula are Vân An, An Chuẩn, and An Hải. The term "ba làng" is native Vietnamese language for "three villages," while the three villages themselves have the usual Sino-Vietnamese names used by Confucian tax-collectors. The Sino-Vietnamese character "An" :wikt:安|安 means "peace," so the villages are sometimes called "Three Villages of Peace".
French Indochina
During the colonial period the waters off the peninsular were recognised as rich fishing grounds. In Nos richesses coloniales 1900-1905 the cape was called Cap Batangan in French. A French agricultural review commented that the land of the peninsula was relatively fertile. The French Navy used Cape Batangan as the starting point for its ships assigned to supply the Paracel islands, sailing straight East to West from the Cape to Pattle Island and 'Boisée' islands where there were Vietnamese and French settlers, as well as weather observation stations.
The Vietnam War
Since 1963 the Vietcong converted the Peninsula into a fortified stronghold. Following the conclusion of Operation Starlite, on 24 August 1965, Marine intelligence concluded that the 1st VC Regiment had withdrawn into the Peninsula. Reconnaissance photos of the Peninsula showed a V of older field fortifications pointing inland with the open end to the sea and a new second V further inland under construction.
The Marines conducted Operation Bold Mariner on the peninsula from 13 January to 7 February 1969. The Marine assault linked up with Operation Russell Beach conducted by the Americal Division's Task Force Cooksey, composed of elements of the 46th Infantry Regiment and 1st Cavalry Regiment and the ARVN 2nd Division to seal off the southern boundary. After months of living in bunkers and caves due to constant US bombardment, civilians had lived primarily in bunkers and caves in the region. The Marines evacuated numerous civilians for screening, eventually totaling some 11,900 people. Following the conclusion of the assault phase, Operation Russell Beach continued with Marine combined action teams, the 46th Infantry Regiment and the ARVN 6th Regiment operating to cleanse the peninsula of VC and People's Army of Vietnam forces. The population was largely removed from the peninsula during the assault phase and a clear and search operation was followed by the construction of new roads and hamlets. The population was allowed to return in April 1969 together with South Vietnamese government institutions VC losses in Operation Russell Beach were 158 killed and 116 suspects detained and 55 individual and six crew-served weapons captured. U.S. losses were 56 killed. In March 1970, a patrol from the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment walked into a minefield on the Peninsula. The battalion commander, LT COL Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. flew there in his command helicopter and walked into the minefield to rescue a wounded soldier.
Allegations
North Vietnamese sources made allegations of American use of gas against civilians during mopping up operations. These were discussed in the French Senate in 1969.
Agriculture and Tourism
The Ba Làng An Peninsula is a rich and productive agricultural region encompassing approximately 48 square km of flat, fertile farmland and rolling hills. Today the beaches of the cape are a centre for tourism and diving.
