Battle of An Lão
The Battle of An Lão was a battle that took place in the An Lão District of Binh Dinh, just over 300 miles north-east of Saigon. The Viet Cong captured the district headquarters following an early morning surprise attack with squads scaling the fence and lobbing grenades to disable the Army of the Republic of Vietnam machine gun positions ringing the base. A second wave of attackers infiltrated the base and ultimately took control. The VC were successful in repeatedly beating back large numbers of counterattacking ARVN troops, who rushed in by jeep and M113 armored personnel carriers. ARVN troops regained control of the district headquarters only after reinforcements are airlifted in by U.S. helicopters. The battle resulted in approximately 300 ARVN casualties, 2 American deaths, and forced as many as 7,000 villagers to abandon their homes.
The strength of the VC attack in northern Bình Định Province indicated the changing tactics of the VC, who were prepared to switch from small-scale guerrilla actions to mobile warfare.
