Introduction/Purpose The Battle of Hamburger Hill was an intense battle in the Vietnam War that sparked an abundance of controversy. While this battle was only 10 days long, it was one of the bloodiest moments of the Vietnam War, as well as a turning point. Hamburger Hill changed the strategy for how U.S. troops would handle the remainder of the Vietnam War.
Definition of the Battle
The Battle of Hamburger Hill occurred during Operation Apache Snow. The operation started on May 10th, 1969 and last for 10 days. Operation Apache Snow called for the insertion of 10 battalions of American and South Vietnamese troops into the valley as phase two of the three-phase operation to disrupt and destroy enemy forces; four battalions were U.S. Major General Zais, commander of the 101st Division ordered …show more content…
to move into the valley and start destroying the enemy. Colonel Conmy had very little intelligence on the strength and location of the enemy and encountered many obstacles that his troops weren’t prepared for, causing many losses. Lieutenant Colonel Honeycutt attempted to coordinate attacks with other companies to advance up the hill but was finding that to be difficult. Colonel Honeycutt believed the enemy was occupying the mountaintop with a platoon or even a company, yet he still pushed his battalion on. During the 11th attack, U.S. troops and South Vietnamese soldiers were able to capture the hill from the North Vietnamese, only to find that most of the enemy troops had already fled the area. Allied forces suffered 70 dead and 372 wounded soldiers. The PAVN suffered at least 630 killed, but the total
Definition of the Battle
The Battle of Hamburger Hill occurred during Operation Apache Snow. The operation started on May 10th, 1969 and last for 10 days. Operation Apache Snow called for the insertion of 10 battalions of American and South Vietnamese troops into the valley as phase two of the three-phase operation to disrupt and destroy enemy forces; four battalions were U.S. Major General Zais, commander of the 101st Division ordered …show more content…
to move into the valley and start destroying the enemy. Colonel Conmy had very little intelligence on the strength and location of the enemy and encountered many obstacles that his troops weren’t prepared for, causing many losses. Lieutenant Colonel Honeycutt attempted to coordinate attacks with other companies to advance up the hill but was finding that to be difficult. Colonel Honeycutt believed the enemy was occupying the mountaintop with a platoon or even a company, yet he still pushed his battalion on. During the 11th attack, U.S. troops and South Vietnamese soldiers were able to capture the hill from the North Vietnamese, only to find that most of the enemy troops had already fled the area. Allied forces suffered 70 dead and 372 wounded soldiers. The PAVN suffered at least 630 killed, but the total