Ia Drang: The Battle Of Vietnam

The first major battle between the soldiers of the United States Army and the troops from the People’s Army of Vietnam was the Battle of Ia Drang. This particular battle, held between November 14 and November 18, 1965, was especially significant because it included a wide arrow of strategic guerrilla warfare tactics all the way to using air support to an advantage. The 4-day battle deepened the United States’ involvement with South Vietnam against the North Vietnamese forces. North Vietnam showed that they were ready to fight the United States and demonstrated the ability to adapt to the tactics used by their adversaries. However, in the Battle of Ia Drang, the American force proved to have superior tactics over the Vietnamese using air mobility, artillery fire, and air support which led to an overall U.S. victory in the Vietnam War.
Considering that The Battle of Ia Drang was the first battle of the Vietnam war, it is important to explain why the war started in the first place. Many factors derived from the symptoms and results of the Cold War. Before World War II, Vietnam had been a part of the French nation. However during the war, the French lost possession of Vietnam as it was overrun by the Japanese. Eventually, the Japanese retreated and the people of Vietnam began to build up their own government system …show more content…
They were able to inflict major damage upon their enemies using minimal troops. Also, the American army practiced the ability to replenish both resources and troops as their troops would jump out of the choppers onto a landing zone. Also, the American were able to get accurate body counts in order to obtain information of casualties and to plan where to allocate their resources. Using this information, they were able to again, replenish their troops in the different areas of the