Battle of Song Be
The Battle of Song Be was a battle fought between Viet Cong units and the Army of the South Vietman from May 10 to May 15, 1965, in the province of Song Be (former Phuoc Long), South Vietnam.
The Battle of Song Be began when the Viet Cong (National Liberation Front) attempted to capture the capital of Song Be. Perhaps to their surprise, US-backed South Vietnamese forces in the area rallied fast enough and re-took the town by the end of the second day of combat. Several additional days of chasing the Viet Cong forces followed.
Background
By 1962, a series of political and military setbacks had been hindered the combat effectiveness of the South Vietnamese forces, originally more than a match for the VC with their United States supplied helicopters and armored personnel carriers. The Viet Cong forces had been left to train in relative safety and had developed new tactics and been supplied with new weapons that upset the balance of power. By 1964, the morale of South Vietnamese Army units in the area was collapsing and the Viet Cong was in nominal control of much of the countryside. It appeared the war was entering its endgame, and the Viet Vong was planning ever-larger operations.
Nevertheless, on April 16, 1965, the US Special Forces SF B-34 Detachment was sent to Song Be (Phuoc Long) to reinforce the South Vietnamese forces, joining an existing MACV team headquarters in the town. They set about building up a fortified area on a nearby hill and were joined by the POW intelligence team, 120 AVN.
Summary of the Battle of Song Be
At around 01:30 hours on May 10, 1965, the Viet Cong 761st and 763d Regiments attacked the city from multiple directions. Even though the American positions were still being constructed, the SF and 120 AVN were able to stop them from overrunning their positions and the area of the town around them. At 03:45 helicopter gunships arrived but were unable to see the ground because of fog and low clouds. They instead attacked supporting artillery (likely 82mm mortars) west of the town. Attempts to evacuate casualties from the US positions in medivacs (UH-1C‘s) were repeatedly driven off by .50 calibre machine guns, until these were attacked by air; the evacuation finally took place at 08:00.
At noon the South Vietnamese Army’s 36th Ranger battalion counter attacked, driving a wedge into the town and routing the Viet Cong forces. The 36th Ranger battalion was joined a few hours later by the 34th Rangers, and by evening the entire town was returned to southern control. The fact that the South Vietnamese Rangers could retake the town was a surprise in some regards, since they were local irregular forces and generally had not performed well against the Viet Cong in prior battles.
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