The REAL Battle from We Were Soldiers - Ia Drang 65 (2/2) - Massacre at LZ Albany
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
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After the near massacre at LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, General Westmoreland does not want to give the impression of defeat and retreat to the NVA or the US press, and so orders a march on foot out into the jungle to secure two new LZs. With exhausted men having just fought for several days against the NVA, the advance is not treated with the tactical rigidity it deserves, and the North Vietnamese move to ambush in the jungle.
Link to Part 1 - • The REAL Battle from W...
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brah. "50 minutes ago" yet this video was made a few seconds ago 💀
Ide love to see your illustration on the “Battle of Long Tan”, the Australians largest engagement in Vietnam , my father was there ..
World of Aircraft carriers you mean :P
Money sink game
The battle of long tan would make a great video
Imagine fighting the last few days at X-ray with no sleep, and instead of being lifted out with everyone else, you're told to walk to another LZ just because the General doesn't want to "give the appearance" of a retreat
Soldiers have always been and will always be beholden to politicians
It is no different than the flawed execution of General Milley during 2021 Kabul evacuation, or 1993 Mogadishu General garrison . Officers will always make mistakes even in the future wars to come.
@@GutsAndGlory734 Don't blame Miley - That was 100% Biden's fault. He had been asked to continue with the Trump administration's plan to safely draw-down U.S. forces in Afghanistan, but vehemently refused, as if anything to do with Trump was cancer. He then had the nerve to continually check his watch as caskets containing the 13 dead American soldiers bodies HE KILLED were taken from from a C130 at Edwards. The man is a lawless, evil usurper.
Two miles isn't far, and the enemy could have set up an ambush if the aircraft had come back to the same LZ.
...again.
Tactically moving to a new LZ was a good idea, but the way they did it invited the attack.
@@legbreaker2762 2 miles might not seem far. But both the terrain and the combat effectiveness of the men hardly make it a sound decision to abandon their current defensive positions.
One of the platoon commanders at LZ X-ray was called Rick Rescorla. He survived the battle to become a security advisor for one of the companies located near the top of one of the twin towers. He actually flew in a light aircraft towards the towers and realised how easy it would be to fly a hijacked airliner into them. No one took any notice of his fears but he did go against the advice of the time and insisted that in the case of an attack everyone should evacuate rather than wait for the fire service. Because of this many lives were saved. Rick Rescorla was last seen going back to try rescue more people.
He was originally from Cornwall in the UK and was an ex British para. By all accounts he was a capable officer and a very brave man.
Bro, so tragic.
Great man.
@@greva2904 and sang Cornish and British songs to help calm people during the evacuation and did so as well during The Battle of Ia Drang.
God bless that man
Oh good god here to spam this comment section with it too, it’s not even related to this one
There's really no comparison for the battlefield breakdowns from this channel. Top-tier.
Epitome of UA-cam.
very brave men,jendra
Very true.
Absolutely true
@@9and7 i
My Great-Uncle PFC Roger Martin was a rifleman in Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry and was wounded at LZ Albany. I was never able to personally ask him about what he experienced at Ia Drang but his sister, my great grandmother, gifted me his own old copy of We We’re Soldiers with his permission. My Great-Uncle reportedly had burned his hands badly on a trip flare and had been evacuated. He returned the next day on the 17th after convincing the doctor only to bandage his hands so he could return to his buddies. He was a point man in the first platoon when he was wounded to the hip again ensuring he was going to be sent home to Wisconsin. He passed away last summer in 2021. I will always regret never having been able to build up the courage to ask him about what he personally experienced at Ia Drang only having a short mention in We Were Soldiers about what happened to him and all of his fellow troopers at that horrific battle.
not every story needs to be heard
My father's father fought in World War Two in the US Army as a machine gun commander during the Battle of the Bulge. My dad asked him a number of times about his experiences, and he was not willing to share very much. He didn't want to relive those times. He's gone now too.
@@nymalous3428 that was my fear as well. I know a lot of his friends died there in Ia Drang so I was hesitant to bring it up. On the other hand had he not been wounded there he may have never found his wife as they met at the hospital where he was recovering after the battle.
Where in Wisconsin?
@@benjaminranallo7576 Kenosha
I bought a surplus 1966 UH1 B Huey for my grandkids to play in my yard with. Just a shell no motor etc. but the kids love it. They sleepover in it.🚁
Now that is an awesome thing to get for your grandchildren. Wicked awesome.
I'm 30 years old and would love to come play on that!!
Out of curiosity, where does one go to get one of these?
That's awesome. One of my girlfriends growing up who we hung out with every Thursday all through elementary and middle school (saw my first boobies there haha) had a like... replica sail ship "playhouse" in their backyard her father had built for all of us. Had tire swings and zip lines coming off it, slides into the lake that were like 20' long. Had a fake sail we could raise and lower on one of the masts. We'd have the coolest water balloon and gun fights. I still remember many of those days vividly and I'm sure your grandkids will remember playing in a helicopter in the future too. ;)
@@huntclanhunt9697 probably an aircraft graveyard
I could watch a whole video on that one guy that survived for a week in the jungle completely alone. That is absolutely nuts.
its Rambo himself
He was "Charlie Mike-ing". Which means "Continue Mission". Also the name of a pretty cool Vietnam Book about the LRRPS.
The guys name was Braveboy
From a Vietnamese perspective, that thing is so normal.
@@lehoang3532 Being completely isolated from friendly forces and re-supply? Nope.
Couple of small things to add:
On Cpt Forrest's dash back to his company, he ran back with his two radio operators in tow and both were killed during the dash, it's a small miracle that he survived that run back to his company.
McDade was a very green commander (though experienced soldier) and had commanded the battalion for less than three weeks, a lot of the accounts point to the experienced Major Frank Henry who had been assigned to help support McDade in feeling out his command as the one who took charge of the situation, marshalled the survivors and managed the fire support that kept them from being overrun
Right . McDade commanded troops in the Pacific theatre during WW2 , but had been in administrative roles ever since. Lt. Larry Gwin ( executive officer A co) roasts him pretty good in his book " Baptism". Also an excellent book with a birdseye view of the Albany fight from start to finish.
@@joshuagann8026 Gwin's book is indeed very good and well written. Anyone interested in the X-Ray/Albany battle should read it as well as "We Were Soldiers Once".
@@aaaht3810 agreed. It's a great book all the way around about the Vietnam war as it covers his time as an advisor, and then the day to day work of an air mobile infantry company. The x-ray an Albany battles are if course a huge part of the book as they should have been , but there's also a lot excellent reading besides his info on those battles.
@@joshuagann8026 Yes. Agree. Good read.
My dad was a RTO. Thank god he survived Vietnam!
The soldier at the end who got left behind at the end of the battle was PFC Toby Braveboy.
After he was picked up a week after the battle, he returned home only to die in a car crash in 1971.
There was guy who survived most of the battles in WW2 just to come back state-side and got killed for his wallet
@@larsonfrederick7885I hope they caught the POS who did it.
My grandpa who was in Vietnam knew that guy.
@@26michaeluk pos what?
@@tunguska2370 the person said a man who survived big battles in WW2 was murdered for his wallet when he got home. I was saying I hope they caught the piece of shit that killed the veteran who was killed.
To prevent the appearance of retreat he created the reality of defeat.
A good metaphor for the war as a whole.
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Lt.C. Moore claimed a victory because the NVA pulled back from X Ray. They pulled back, defeated, only to stage the next catastrophie the next day, near Albany.
@@truth68-st3dcright, if anything it was a harbinger of death and futility in Vietnam.
We were out Sun Tzu'd.
Avoid direct confrontation and exploit the enemy's weaknesses.
There is opportunity in chaos.
Those who are first on the battlefield and await the opponents are at ease; those who are last on the battlefield and head into battle get worn out.
They fought the war they could win. If it were today the US would have done it differently, in my opinion. Kinda hard to hide anywhere these days these days.
The soldiers that fought there are heroes. I am not saying they did it wrong or whatever. The fact is in Guerilla warfare, you don’t attack directly, you gnaw at the sides. Just my opinion on that battle. We marched into a trap.
TOR, don't know if you were aware, but the tall soldier next to Gen. Westmoreland at the end of your clip was future Gen. Stormin' Norman Schwartzkopf. By a number of different accounts, Westmoreland seemed inept at his job, underestimating the VC and NVA on more than one occasion. This situation appeared to be exacerbated by McNamara's fixation on a corporate approach to war. Gen. Abrams seemed much more adept and aggressive in his activities.
You should research Westmoreland. His background was as an artillery officer; he later was the Commandant at West Point. He was hand-picked by President Kennedy, who considered him to be a politician officer(like Eisenhower). He was fixated on defeating the Vietnamese like the US did the Germans in WW2, with tanks and artillery; conditions in Vietnam made that impossible(the Vietnamese refused to stand and get pounded by US bombs and artillery).
Ironically, in the Ia Drang valley, North Vietnam discovered how to defeat the US Military in Vietnam...and they killed and mangled a lot of our(American) soldiers. To better understand how this happened, there's a book called "On Strategy" by a Colonel Harry G Summers of the US Army War College. Read it AFTER you read former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara's book, "The Fog of War."
@@DavidSmith-ss1cg I agree with you on this. I read the book "Victory at Any Cost" where Vietnamese senior officers wanted to learn how to fight the Americans. I think this battle was more for analysis by the Vietnamese than to the Americans, who's straight forward aim was to kill as many as they could. Also you should read Gen. Moore's after action report on Ia Drang.
Thanks for confirming that. The photo caught my eye and I was scrolling through the comments in the hope someone might have confirmed this.
That's why I picked it 👍
The name tape that says Schwartzkopf and the face that resembles Gen. Schwarzkopf are dead giveaways. Of course it's Stormin' Norman.
I remember when this book came out in the 1990s ("We Were Soldiers Once... And Young"). It was probably the most riveting military history book I had ever read. And I had read a lot. Somehow I located and called one of the US machine gunners (primarily active at XRay)(I believe he was living in Iowa at the time, as I was). He was happy to talk to me for about an hour and answer all of my questions. I was in my mid-20s. He was 50 that year I believe. It's been almost 30 years. Now I am 55. It was an extraordinary experience talking to him. If you are out there, I hope you are well sir. Thank you.
What are you thanking him for? He was a victim. He and every other vietnam vet deserves reparations from the government for being put through that war.
@@gabagool...not_italian... I thanked him for his time talking to me.
see also: "Baptism" by Larry Gwin, where a more in-depth narrative of LZ XRay can be found. I found this book in the back of an airline seat back in 2000 and have been an avid reader of war memoirs since.
Absolutely agree. I've read countless books about countless battles from various wars, but "We Were Soldiers Once... And Young" is still the best I've ever read even to this day.
Man, it was a modern day Teutoburg ambush with the same mistakes. Kudos to that one officer making that run to reunite with and lead his men.
Westmoreland! Give me back my battalions!
They left out he had a radio man to his left and right and both were killed by the same machine gun burst as he ran. He was playing college football as a running back when he joined.
I guess in the way that any defeat in heavily forested terrain is likely to resemble teutoburg. But it’s hardly a near twin. There’s no equivalent of the barbarian apparently assimilated into Roman society but secretly conspiring with their enemies who he originated from.
My thoughts exactly. Why the hell did American troops have to die being stretched so thin, not even doing recon into an unknown location? This was a blunder and evidence that the Leaders conducting the Vietnam war had our young boys killed for nothing. May both sides involved in this terrible war rest in Peace🙏
8:23 made me pause. Imagine surviving days of combat at X-Ray, then a day-long ambush where everyone died around you; just to die alone by yourself, picked off at night. Tragic.
That is the price one must pay when invade another country.
@@lehoang3532 of course, i wouldnt want to justify the american millitary for a second; but from the perspective of any soldier in any war, I'd rather die from a bullet, surrounded by my comrades, than have my throat slit alone at night
@@lehoang3532 yo bro uhh this was in the South. The communists forces invaded the South. So more of a defensive than offensive operation.
@@FolfiWolfie Please read the Geneva Accord 1954 in full. There meant to be a general election in 1956, but the US (beep) on it because they know they would lose. Thus the US engineer a lot of "extraordinary" measures to intervene.
Remember: there is only one country of Viet Nam, how can we invade ourselves?
@@FolfiWolfie "The South"? The legitimacy of "The South" is a huge questionable topic. "The South" was established when Ngo Dinh Diem chose to not comply with the 1954 Geneva Accord. There would have been an election but Diem was so sure Ho Chi Minh would have won so he bailed and erected his own government, a government which was so incompetent and weak. The rest is history. Study more before you speak, it'll make one looks wiser.
The shockwaves from those explosions were amazing. Getting more detailed every video.
One of my cousins was killed at LZ Albany. A few months later, the extended family went to a local armory where a Captain Avent presented a Bronze Star and Purple Heart to my aunt and uncle. The local newspaper included some quotes of their conversation that made my mother very angry when she saw the article. She kept the clipping which came to me after she died. The quotes read "Capt. Avent said "like relatives in every case I've handled, do not feel their sacrifice has been in vain. More people are dying on the highways than in Viet Nam." My aunt presumably replied "But the difference in dying on the highways is there is no purpose for it. There is great honor in dying for your country. And there is a purpose for it." Both of these quotes are utter bullshit, as nothing of the kind was said by either of them. My mother made sure to show me the article and expressed her displeasure. I was 9 years old, and I was very confused and upset that my government would lie to me that way.
Yeah I don't think dying for your country has any purpose either not be rude or disrespectful
@@jayo3074, I think it can have a purpose (defeating Nazis comes to mind), but all too often it is obviously for profit, monetary or political.
your local news wasn't owned by the government, they're private for profit organizations.
@@Guts3570 Of course. They got the words from somewhere, though. Even if the paper made them up, no one from the Army or elsewhere came forward to correct the record.
Makes you wonder what else they lie about and have lied about.
What I love about this video:
1. Shadows! These gives a great 3D-like feeling, especially for helicopters and trees.
2. Soliders walking and disappearing under the tree tops!
3. That ambush animation at 4:36, menacing!
4. Cpt. G. Forrest's sprint!
5. Everything else, well done, Sir!
My small suggestions (if I may):
1. Maybe a date somewhere in the corner of the screen at the beginning?
2. How about if flags for KIAs were in black & white?
Anyway, thanks a lot for everything!
You don't put a black and white flag on the coffin of a fallen soldier so why do it here?
@@buckley7806 Because we can.
@@ColinStachowski No. There's a reason the dead get a full colored flag.
OMGOSH FINALLY! So excited to finally watch both parts together. You're never allowed to do this to me again and make us wait so long for a part 2. Love your vids man. When one of your vids come out, I seriously kick everyone out of the house, lock the doors, pop popcorn and take it all in.
I'm picturing a guy Sparta kicking a baby down the doorsteps.
Have studied this battle for decades. It encompasses everything right and wrong about US strategy. Your analysis it top notch. A complex battle explained in a limited time. I served with the 1st CAV as 11D. Thank you. Would recommend the book "Pleiku" for anyone that wants a longer analysis.
Another great series. My Uncle was a combat Photographer, served 2 tours from 68-69. In his second tour he got to spend time with 5th Group Special Forces. He still is my favorite Uncle, God bless all who serve and to those heroes who did not return.
You are literally the greatest. I love history, thank you very much sir. Always wanted someone to discuss LZ Albany, especially the L-shaped maneuver done by the NVA.
Mr. The Operations Room, I think I speak for a vast majority of people when we say your material is top notch & a sincere thank you. Also, we kindly ask, if possible, to submit your topics of 2+ videos back to back instead of weeks/months apart if possible. Regardless of the answer, keep up the stellar work!
As soon as I got the Patreon notification earlier I knew this was gonna be a good one. I knew Ia Drang was more than what was shown in the movie but never knew it became that much more brutal.
Because the movie "We Were Soldiers" is just reek of propaganda. And according to some chat of Vietnamese, it is deliberately made as propaganda and half-truth. Remember, it was released in 2002, and the US went on "an adventure" in 2003
Just a little bit of trivia, Columbus is a city in west Georgia where the National Infantry Museum is located. Fort Benning, located just outside Columbus, is one of the primary bases where the US Army trains infantry. Many veterans of this battle lived on base or trained at the base including the legendary Hal Moore (Mel Gibson's character in the film). Hal lived to be a very old man and only died in 2017.
Albany is a small town in south Georgia that's about an hour southeast of Columbus. At the time of the battle there was a base near the city that hosted a bomber group. It's also where Ray Charles was born.
Just got back from Benning and the infantry museum and my kids graduation. Great place to visit.
Hearing about this battle always pulls at my heart strings. Seems like a lot of battles from that war pull at my heart strings.
It was one battle where the US made some mistakes and the enemy took advantage of the situation. Quite a few mistakes.
Amazing great work i love this channel.
my best friend was a Warrant Officer for the U.S. army and flew the huey.
Mant story he told. R.I.P. Rich. i miss you bro
"We Were Soldiers" is a powerful movie. I think it is one of the best war movies I have ever seen. It depicts the victories and horrors of war, on the battlefront and back home. It shows the struggle from both sides. It will tear at your heart and bring you to tears. I strongly recommend it. "We Were Soldiers" is not your typical "Hollywood" movie, it is a rare gem that helps us to remember our Heroes.
But that movie made the VietNamese very upset.
@@thanglethanh2112 Please explain.
RIP Jim Nakayama.
@@born2bbald12 They described how the Viet Minh soldiers treated the French soldiers as cruel, what happened in La Drang was very different from real life and in this video.
@@huuphuclecao8712 I appreciate you statement. Please elaborate. I understand that Hollywood movies are many times inaccurate. It seems you may have interesting information. Please share it with us. Honor the history.
I love this OPERATIONS ROOM since I discovered watching my first one - The Gulf War. I watched so many of your videos. It's so exciting and very informative. Thank you so much for your great work.
Same one I started with. Been hooked ever since!
Having been on the ground for this battle I can attest to the validity of the video. The comment that B -2/7 were airlifted to LZ Albany - true. The comment that they took over command of the LZ and the 40 survivors is hogwash. I was on the ground controlling the airmobile operation. My role was not significant compared to 400 soldiers involved in the battle.
But, on the ground, amongst the 40 was the battalion commander,the BN XO, the S3, S2 and 3 Infantry Company Commanders.
Trust me, the incoming platoon leaders did not assume command of LZ Albany from the officers listed. Did they save the 40 men, quite possibly. We’re they courageous, hell yes! Was LT Resorla the epitome of the battlefield leader. You bey your sweet ass!!
Just watched part 1 and now watching part 2 you can see how much progress in editing you and your team has made in just 8 months! We were soldiers was one of my favorite movies growing up, this makes me appreciate what these soldiers went through so much more!
I have lots of respect to all of our Vietnam vets. I was very young when this happened. I salute you all.
have respect for those who fought for their country, and not just those who invaded it
Same here. I was about 9 years old during this time. These Americans were real men.
@@ChrisMartens-d6yreal men killing real people has their minds become real broken.
I really enjoy this channel - every video teaches so much, and the quality is only getting better.
Glad you enjoy it!
A young Norman Schwarzkopf in that last photo... (he later would command the Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm).
no wonder desert storm worked so well. He learnt so much from this experience
@@TakumiFujiwara80 And next to him, Westmoreland was already a veteran of two wars, WWII and Korea.
My dad was in Vietnam. He doesn’t ever like to talk about it. He has pictures where his company was burning jungle with napalm from tanks clearing ahead for the troops.
I can’t imagine what he had to deal with.
I can't imagine what the Vietnamese had to endure against a technologically superior invader that to this day deny they lost the war and massacred civilians in multiple countries.
@@kokko9507 The NVA and VC were literal terrorists.
@@Robert-hy3vv Oh the same shit as the US military then. Cope propaganda victim, cope.
@@kokko9507 Crispy critters don't endure anything anymore.
Would be cool (although difficult getting information) to see a breakdown and analysis of MAC-V/SOG missions in Vietnam.
Always enjoy watching your uploads, informative, amazing and always well done. The last photo you used was most impressive. General Westmoreland and a very young Norman Schwarzkopf.
And to think he was already a Major in that picture.
Was worth the wait, wow i never expected such a well planned and execued ambush so soon after X-ray. No wonder the air cav vanished. Thanks again for a wonderful video.
It wasn't planned. The NVA were stopped eating one final meal before approaching X-Ray when their scouts alerted them to the US presence. Their actions once alerted were spot on. Still the US hung on formed a defensive perimeter, outkilled the enemy and policed the battlefield when the enemy fled. This is when they discovered half cooked pots of rice along the riverbed. The NVA simply got the jump. The Air Cav Vanished? Where do you get that? Moore was promoted to leader of the 3rd Brigade and the Air Cav stomped on everything it went after in 1966...led by Moore
Fatigue has always been a factor in battles and officers are no more resistant to its effects than the men under them. It makes me wonder how befuddled the decision makers were after having fought at X-Ray? If the men were practically collapsing from fatigue how sharp were those giving the orders?
One the major revelations with Airborne troops was how much more combat a soldier would see. I don't remember the numbers, but it if you compare the amount of "action" on average a soldier would see in WWII or Korea war, it pales in comparison to Vietnam.
@@silentghoust Very good point.
I recall Lt.C. Moore said there was a great victory at X Ray, so tell me where the NVA force came from.
@@silentghoustan American infantryman in WW2 averaged 40 days of combat in a year. In Vietnam, with the advent of the helicopter, the average infantryman saw 240 days of combat a year. I think that's what you're looking for.
Reminds me of the battle of Teutoberg forest. How can officers allow their command to move without proper scouting? Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.
When your tired, everything hurts, hungry and thirty, you just dont give a shit anymore. This is what can happen
.
Yet LTC McDade was eventually promoted to Colonel despite this & a couple of other poor performances while in-theater.
@@dmcory4283 Say that to the French in Mang Yang Pass (1954). That battle was an ***extremely effective*** fight from the Vietnamese perspective, in no small part thanks to lack of proper Frech recon
Always appreciate your crisp narration and of course the excellent animations you provide! Very well done! Cheers mate!
I love that picture at the end of Westmoreland and Schwarzkopf. 10:05
Schwarzkopf sure looked young in that photo.
I didnt catch schwarzkopf. Crazy you caught that
Horrible leadership. They treated this lead up to a battle like a boyscout hike. An unnecessary loss of life.
Americans are often known for underestimating their enemies.
Why should the Americans think differently? After all, we were just some Vietnamese, some Asians, or some [beep]. We were just dumb beasts in need of "civilization"
@@lehoang3532 You incorrectly assign a 19th and early 20th century European colonialist mindset to the post WW2 American anti-communist mindset. They are not the same and you only do yourself a disservice by dumbing down the complexity and motivations of the conflict. As a sidenote, the hundreds of thousands of N Vietnamese that were massacred by their own communist "brethren" sure felt the scourge of communist ideology imparting "civilization" on them.
@@lehoang3532 You don't have to go that far to downgrade Asians , Le , it was the governmental system of Communism that we didn't want expanded . But you have it now , so enjoy all the liberty it gives you .
Chupong was a major NVA stronghold and transit point connecting to Cambodia and the Ho Chi Minh trail. Seems the only ones who did not know this were those planning this insertion.
Thanks for the upload Operations Room. If you were around while I was in school history would’ve been one of my fav subjects ever. This channel is awesome!
This battle pretty much laid out the blueprint of the rest of the war. A bunch of Young Americans who were primarily drafted, who came mostly from middle and lower class of society, most did not care about being there, dying for leadership that cared more about their pride and how America was perceived. Leadership that was incompetent and inept at the type of war they were fighting. Underestimating the enemy because they were "far more inferior", even though the enemy was proven, had a combat experience, a disciplined enemy that were determined to defend their homeland by dragging out the fight and frustrating an invading Army.
I don't remember us underestimating the NVA. 1Lt, USMC, 1/9, 3rd Recon Bn, 1968.
Except the NVA and VC were technically the invading Army, as they were the ones invading South Vietnam, which the US was protecting.
Boy have you swallowed every “leftist” narrative about Vietnam. Over 80 % of the men who served in VN were volunteers, not draftees. In general our lower level leadership was superb and and our officers cared deeply about the men they commanded. Were all of our officers perfect,of course not. But in any large organization there are a few people who slip through the cracks. You actually may be one of them. In every poll taken since the end of the Vietnam War, when veterans were asked if they would do it again the vast majority answered an affirming Yes.
Were our top commanders first rate? Some were and some were not. Most were capable though. They were not evil men. They were given orders by those in charge in the White House and at the Pentagon on how to fight the war.
Regarding your comment on “fragging”. That action has existed in all wars. Nothing new.
You can offer your views on the VN, but I suggest you do some real research into the facts of the men who served and their motivations for serving. What you don’t realize there was strong support US involvement in Vietnam in 1965 and it remained pretty consistent throughout the entirety of the war. Young men of my generation felt it was duty to serve our country.
I myself enlisted in the Marines three days after graduating from high school in 1965. Served honorably for four years. Spent 13 months in as a Marine Scout Dog handler in Vietnam. Earned 2 Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a Combat V for Valor and the the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Came home to a country I did not recognize. I like many of my fellow veterans used the GI Bill to go to college. Earned two degrees and graduated at the top of my class. The phoniest people I have ever encountered in my life were the so called antiwar activists on campus. What a pathetic and ignorant lot. They to spewed out the same crap as you posted. They were the most cowardly bunch of “tools” on campus. More than once I and a couple of veteran friend’s of mine had the distinct pleasure of kicking the living shit of these pampas phonies after a night of partying. None of their friends ever tried to help them, they turned and ran.
I took my degrees into the chemical industry and served in various executive positions until retirement in 2013. If you ever come to Newport,RI and you see a white haired guy driving a Porsche convertible, that will be me. Flag me down and I will buy you lunch and a drink at the Clark Cook House on the Wharf.
I’ll be happy to fill you in on the truth about the war. Not what you’ve read or heard. Remember journalism is the first draft of history.
Imagine you are the lone survivor of the assault and all of your friends already gone but you are still there only to be found a week later.
Shades of Publius Quinctilius Varus. If only the Romans had air support
Part 2!!! Thank you, I've been waiting for this one :)
Great animation. Explains where everyone was but only hints at the horrors of the battle.
I love your content keep it up. ❤️
Thank you! Will do!
The long-awaited Part 2
Explosion shockwaves, shadows for the Hueys... Loving that attention to detail. The Ops Room videos keep getting better and better.
Soldiers in earlier fighting at X-Ray caught friendly Napalm, which is shown in the film "We Were Soldiers." Albany immediately followed X-Ray and isn't shown in the film. But you can't popularize a massacre (of your own guys). And because people remember X-Ray, they can remember Albany, which happened next.
The Operation Room's 'Iwo Jima' content shows more than 100 US soldiers killed in a friendly artillery/air support strike in a 2 minute time frame
I was freaked out just seeing 2-3 get hit, in part 1 of Ia Drang
So glad this was covered. It's almost universally left out of the battle. Jack Smith's writings of being in the middle of the column are terrifying. I highly encourage people read it. It's not a book. They tortured many wounded Americans. Jack was alive and wounded when an enemy soldier used his body as cover for his machine gun. The only reason the kid, Jack describes him as 15 to 17, didn't notice he was alive was because he was shaking very hard between bursts. He couldn't fight back as he had no weapon, but Americans were firing at the machine gunner too. Eventually an M-79 grenade launcher killed the gunner and knocked Smith out and badly wounded him. Just Google it. The whole story is insane.
The most harrowing thing about Jack Smith's account was the way gut-shot men screamed. His account reinforces my belief that many US dead were killed by friendly fire. More than a few of the men interviewed for the book believed they were being shot at by their fellow soldiers.
@RStevenPage exactly! Glad someone else has read it and came to the same conclusions as me.
Horrendous loss of life. As always fantastically put together by you and the time Francis 👍🏽
Forrest ran back to his men with his 2 radio operators and he was the only one to make it, both radio operators were killed. It kind of gives a bit more perspective on how intense the ambush was. It was a wonderful display of quick thinking leadership and I don't think he ever got the recognition he deserved for it.
As for McDade, well there's a reason Hal Moore retired a Lt General and McDade barely made it to Colonel
...should be an early indicator that Westmoreland was too inflexible in his thinking to be in overall command of US forces in Vietnam.
NVA and Vietcong were also extremely motivated and learned to work around the US forces.
Finally! I was hoping you'd return to Ia Drang! 2nd part is so rarely covered.
It's amazing that they (aircraft) were able to drop ordinance on even MOSTLY the right people (enemies) in close combat support situations like this. Any type of flight sim where I've tried to do stuff like this it seems almost impossible to pick out the correct tiny man sized targets if you're not cheating by using target markers they didn't have in real life. Oh yeah and nice Schwarzkopf cameo at the end there.
I once worked with a fellow who was an Lt. in the LZ Albany fight. On an anniversary of the fight a television newscaster narrated a news special report about what had taken place at Albany. The newscaster had been in that battle as a young infantry soldier, adding credibility to the reporting. My co-worker, then a retired senior army officer, had recorded the program and played it in the break room at lunch. He wept openly during the program and it was very clear he had been deeply touched by the experience. It was obvious he bore a heavy burden that would haunt him for the balance of his life.
Witnessing his personal distress is still troubling. Memories of war live longer than the war itself.
I'll never forget Nước Chấm. The smell, the taste, the heat. It stays with me even to this day.
That's the last time I try a Vietnamese dipping sauce.
I always thought it was "Nouc Mam"? I think I can live without it.
It's called "Nước mắm", though in different region it has different taste. It is likely that you taste "Nước mắm" from the South, which was much heavier in smell and taste, suitable for eating rather than cooking.
Lol bro, "Nước chấm" is the generic term for "dip" or "sauce". Probably you were referring to "Nước mắm", meaning "fish sauce". Yeah it's an essential part of our Vietnamese cuisine.
They left this out of the movie,.. I have been waiting for this since part 1, great vid, keep at it!
I truly appreciate the increase in your quality and quantity of videos while also keeping the length of sponsored content reasonable.
wooo, an operations room video.... my Friday is complete!
Part 2 finally 🔥
Excellent detailed video as always. Really cool to get such detail when examining these battles. IDEA: Operation El Dorado in 1986. The U.S. uses F-111's to strike military targets in Libya as punishment for Moammar Khaddafi's support of terrorists. Showing the long flight around Spain would really illustrate the problems with that mission.
Yay part 2 is here!
Loved the video @The Operations Room! Can't wait for the next video man! Finally, the long Awaited Part 2 to "La Drang 1965" LMAO!
Thanks for such great videos
As a cadre member of Mechondo in North Ft. Hood, we used to do this all the time. When not running Mechondo we'd mess with National Guard units. It's incredible the amount of chaos that a couple of dozen guys can inflict on conventional units especially at night.
I sure hope you've turned your life around.
@@SharpForceTrauma several times.
People need to realize that the Vietnam War played a huge role in forming the modern day special operations we have now.
Green Berets, SEALs, CAG and etc
We have the 160th SOAR due to the clusterf*** in iran when planes collided at a FARP en route to evacuate the goons after the Iranian revolution.
I spent a year as a Marine platoon commander in Vietnam. I called it search and get ambushed, not search and destroy. The VC and NVA had better intelligence than we did. Westmoreland’s ill conceived strategy got a lot of men killed. Over 50,000 servicemen, many just out of high school, were needlessly killed. Kissinger received a peace prize for ending it, but he was also responsible for it’s escalation.
I thought I knew the story, but this presentation lays out how awful the decisions by Westmoreland were. It's amazing any Americans survived such a sh-tshow.
To be honest, there are too many American invaders alive at the end of the day.
At least, they are luckier than the French in a particular battle. The French lost 60% of their number and **all** of their heavy equipment. The Americans are lucky here.
@@lehoang3532 dien bien phu? That was such a shitshow from the french commanders
@@Kallogee no, battle of An Khe Hill (also called Mang Yang Pass). In the same year of 1954.
Great Video, fly in, get bogged down, hold out, Have rely on air support to survive, lose a lot of men, fly out, accomplish NOTHING, sums up the rest of war, epic failure!
i was a extra in the movie with Mel Gibson - had a couple of minutes of film time on screen. of course i died
My evil ex was Randall Wallace's assistant for this production. She was almost cast as one of the Army officers' dependents. I'm glad she wasn't.
Again - nicely done sir - your talents are unmatched. I anxiously await your next posting.
Westmoreland - He ranks right up there with Johnson and McNamara - totally clueless, he should have been relieved of command much earlier in the war. Should have never been Chief of Staff. I don't understand why they rewarded him with that position.
I can see why. The top brass could not admit to themselves or the general public how badly thing where messed up in Vietnam. So they gave Westmoreland shiny medals and promotions to hide how badly he screwed up.
The top brass was the problem. The body count doctrine and the technowar was their idea. They had a total misunderstanding in how wars should be fought.
And they also lacked any imagination or political understanding of this conflict. They thought that all communist countries were all just the same - when they in fact were not, as Ho Chi-Minh was a nationalist, a socialist and a democrat. He had even been friends with the CIA when they fought against Japan in World war 2. But when USA supported France, instead of this farmers wish for support for Vietnams independence, then he had to turn to Communist China to ask for help and weapons as there was no one else to go to.
So perhaps then could America with a more moderate stance towards Vietnam have solved this conflict diplomatically in a smoother way.
Another mistake was to back the corrupt and opressive South Vietnamese regime. The rich ruling class sat in government, and the Generals were corrupt and stole equipment from the army and sold off to enrich themselves, and the landowners did steal 80-90% of what the farmers working on their fields did produce.
So the peasant unhappiness with the ruling class became a breeding ground for creating new Vietcong recruits.
And all of these problems could have been solved if USA had just put pressure on South Vietnam to deal with corruption, respect democracy, and doing a large landreform so that the farmers could own their own land so they could keep what they had produced instead of having it taxed away and stolen.
But America did not want to take the risk of being accused of USA imperalism by forcing a small country to change its way of governance. So the politicians dared to do nothing. And the problem was therefore never solved.
And the peasants continued to join Viet-Cong. and the peasants felt no wish to risk their own lives to fight for the South Vietnamese army so the troop desertation continued to be enormous, and the combat effectiveness of the South Vietnamese army continued to be extremely crappy.
And on top of the problem with an opressive corrupt regime, you also had other factors that motivated Vietcong fighters.. like warcrimes, the hated strategic hamlet program, the nationalist dream of an unified Vietnam, the contempt for Diem and the Catholic ruling class in a Buddhist country etc.
The best chance for USA to have won this war was probably not on the battlefield. A land reform would probably have been more helpful to save South Vietnam from destruction than 300.000 American combat troops.
Been waiting for this one!
Thank you for covering this because I actually really enjoyed the movie with Mel Gibson
The movie has its good moments, but Gibson unnecessarily embellished certain aspects, which ruined it for me, I'm sorry to say.
Gibson should’ve directed it, and they should’ve filmed it in south east Asia instead of California. It reminded me of that John Wayne movie green berets which was filmed in the American south, I think.
One of the most underrated channels, keep it up!
Thanks, will do!
A battle that would see the two defining tactics of Vietnam show their strengths and weaknesses
Infiltration assaults against an enemy who can dump arty and nape onto you is extremely costly, but get close enough and you can force him into blue on blue or not to drop.
Experience and motivation was a constant bugbear for the Americans, drafting thousands, rushing them through training and throwing the into one of the most hostile environs on Earth went about as well as expected.
Looking at other counter insurgency ops like Afghanistan, the Bush War, Malayan Emergency and Dhofar rebellion the skill, fighting ability and terrain familiarity of both sides is utterly crucial.
Its hard to hang to the enemies belts as the Viet cong did to the Americans when you’re fighting battle hardened, jungle experienced troops more than happy to take you apart up close as they are to evaporate your position with artillery and air power.
When America did deploy troops with high levels of training and rough terrain experience like the Green Berets along the Ho Chi Mihn trail or Naval special forces in raids in North Vietnam they faired much better than the grunts
The salient feature of this conflict is that America chose a strategy of grinding attrition against a foe that was apathetic and politically inured to the butcher's bill it had to pay. It was a fundamentally flawed war - philosophically, politically, and morally. It was a failure of imagination and intellect on behalf of its architects.
I'm sure they must read Clausewitz at West Point, but clearly the lessons weren't learned.
@@onylra6265 One thing Mao talked about being crucial for an uprising to succeed was the creation of “liberated zones” where they could arm, train, collect food and organise without fear of being crushed
The NVA had all of North Vietnam for that. There was no way to cut the ‘Cong off from supplies and support and stop the NVA marching south
In Dhofar the UK/Omani force built FOBs ontop of Adoo (nickname for local commies) supply lines, forcing them to fight and projecting power. In Malaya, UK/Commonwealth forces cut off the communists from local shanty towns that were being used by the communists for intel and supplies. The communists then found themselves starving and getting picked off.
US had no way to stop the arms flowing into the south
Agreed. Thing is, they weren't facing the VC. But the NVA. That's a whole different level. But you're right in all other aspects.
Onylra as well.
@@onylra6265 I will never stop being angry at the ROE for the airforce in this war.The assholes who made those should have been hung.
I see the invididual rotation policy as the main flaw in Vietnam, and not conscription itself - which in itself is a superior system compared to a "professional army".
Soldiers in Vietnam only stayed there for 12 or 13 months (depending on if you were in the Army or in the Marine corps).
This led to units never really got much battle experience in Vietnam, and once they had served for almost a year and gained some experience - then it was time for them to go home. And in came a new guy to Vietnam to replace the man who had flown home. So units thereby did not learn from past mistakes they had done, and therefore kept on repeating them.
Another problem with this idiotic policy was bad team spirit.
When you constantly had new men coming into the unit and old friends leaving, then it was hard for soldiers to build long lasting friendships and get friends that they could entrust their own lives even in combat. Contrast this to Nazi-Germany in World War 2, where all the soldiers came from the same town or province and all the men knew each other well, and they had been through military training togheter, and they had fought battles togheter and all the men knew each other - and the team spirit and fighting moral was very strong. And when someone got killed in battle and an unexperienced new man came to replace him, then he got into the company of old battlehardned veterans who could teach you a lot of tricks to stay alive in combat, and how to effectivly inflict as much damage as possible upon the enemy.
Other problems the US military had in Vietnam was the idiotic body count doctrine which destroyed fighting morale.
It turned out that soldiers did not like to be seen as an expendable resource that American Generals could easily replace by flying in more men from the USA. If you knew that I as a General only wanted to impress Robert McNamara with killing as many enemy soldiers as possible, and I did not care if you died... as you could easily be replaced by young Mike from Pennsylvania or John from Texas... then you would probably be very upset when you are ordered to make dangerous and stupid missions to walk into enemy ambushes, just so your Generals can find the enemy so he can use superior American firepower from artillery and napalm from aircrafts to score high enemy kill counts.
And a third problem was that that the NCOs got their hands tied by their superiors. Instead of practicing Aufragstaktik which had made the German army so succesful in World War 2 and letting NCOs getting free hands to solve problems on their own as they were the ones closest to the frontline and knew the combat situation best - did the American military do the opposite and limited their power to make their own decision.
Now did all Generals have helicopters so many of them liked to fly over the battlefield and tell every platoon leader on the ground what to do, and micromanage everything from his helicopter over the battlefield. But not everything happening on the ground in the thick jungle could be seen from above in a helicopter, so this way of leading men in battle often led to stupid mistakes that did cost men their lives.
It would have been better if sergeants and corporals had been able to improvise and made their own decisions instead.
Was anticipating this one. As always it didn't disappoint.
Another great episode from The Operations Room.👍
This just remind us what can happen when you don't train properly or understand your enemy.
The PAVN plan was to overrun Saigon by the end of 1965. They didn't, so despite the heavy American losses, the Ia Drang campaign was a huge American success
@@rexsmith9577 Lmfao... how deluded one can be? The Vietnam war was a shame in the face of the US military. Call anything you want a "success" but at the end, the truth is it was a total loss.
@@matthewmiles15 LMFAO!! You rube. Simply believing the Commie Democrat propaganda. The US Military absolutely CRUSHED the PAVN and Viet Cong in every encounter. As long as the US was in South Vietnam, the country was free. The only reason the North overran the south was because the double crossing democrats in congress refused to return the US Military forces and kick the north out again. After the south was overrun, the commie economic policies DESTROYED the entire country. More people starved than were lost in the war with the US. The commie leadership was executed. The only reason Vietnam recovered was by adopting the Chinese policies of Mixed Communism and Capitalism. Ultimately, in Vietnam, the Communists lost. The really sad part is, most people don't know or understand the true story.
@@rexsmith9577 the pavn exacted heavy casualties on the technologically superior force and made them retreat, the fact that us forces managed to delay the fall of Saigon by ten years doesn't make it a victory
@@paullytle1904 but the fact remains: As long as the US Military was in S. Vietnam, the spread of communisim was contained.
I found this fascinating as I knew nothing of this battle.
Thank you, very much for creating this video.
☮
Glad you enjoyed it!
NVA and VC were amazing. Against all odds they succeeded.
Barbaric, primitive, and ruthless, but quite impressive.
@@SharpForceTrauma Nothing better than changing the minds of invasion forces. Imagine the mindset, 'oh shit we are dying instead of killing' , break out the medals for the family boys. US scum
No VC in this battle.
Been waiting for this one for long, great videos as always
One of my best friend’s dad was a platoon leader at Ia Drang. He survived.
Amazingly good precise informative clips you make. Unfortunately we have to wait for a long time for new ones. Thx a lot.👌⚘
I gotta say, if you were to make an RTS pc game with this art style it would probably sell pretty well
Try the Close Combat series. It's more sim-y than other popular RTS, but it looks exactly like this.
Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
Much appreciated
See kids, thats why simply being in the milatary doesnt make you tactically sound or an operator, thatbrigade commander got 150 men killed
Thanks again for letting me know part 2 is out
How many Tears Have Fallen
Tears so many have fallen
Through the years for the Greatest Nation ever
Tears for life liberty the pursuit of happiness
For a free world
Tears for the sons and daughters that never returned home
Warrior soldiers all
Tears wiped from the cheeks of so many wives
Shed by the children with only faint memories
Tears behind the mother's veil
On father's handkerchief
Tears at the base of the white stone
That wet the flowers and flags
Tears at the sound of taps played in the distance
For the memories of buddies
Tears at the sight and sound of dog tags boots
Empty
Tears when the aircraft flyover
Stars shining brightly
Tears as the ships sail
Anchors aweigh
Tears for those that patrol
Guard the dark nights alone
Tears at roll call
With no reply to a name called
How many tears have fallen
Bless Them All
Dr. Sack
5/30/2021
I will die standing before I bow in chains.
It is a little confusing when you identify the units as 2/7 Cav, 2/5 Cav Regt, these were Battalion (Bn) size elements ) and not Regiment size, they belonged to 3rd Brigade, the Army had not converted to Regiment identification until much later, I could be wrong but that is my recollection of unit identification of the time. I am not nit picking; the video is excellent and is outstanding in it's representation of the battle at LZ Albany.
Another great video...
Time to make a copycat channel.
Thank you for your hard work,again!
Very much enjoy your channel. You are accurate and well presented.
Glad you enjoy it!
ua-cam.com/users/shortsBmc9NFfhx74?feature=share
Yes, been waiting patiently for this one haha. Great stuff.
So, the Americans screwed up.
Badly.
Been waiting on this one!!
Thank you!
An enemy tactic that the Americans would endure throughout the conflict.