Operation Kings

The 9th Marines were responsible for the southern approaches to Da Nang. The regiment's commander, Col. Edwin H. Simmons, planned a series of operations designed to eradicate the Viet Gong infrastructure from within his TAOR. The first was Operation Kings, launched on 18 March. The operation's AO lay south of Route 4 and north of the Ky Lam River, about ten kilometers south of Da Nang. Although reported to MACV as a search and destroy mission, Operation Kings was actually designed to be a long-term occupation of the area.

Originally controlled by 2/9's commander, Lt. Col. William F. Donahue, Kings initially concentrated on the AO's eastern reaches. When enemy contact there proved sparse, the troops moved westward. As they did, command of the operation passed to 3/3's Lt. Col. Joshua W. Dorsey III.

Although enemy contact was rare, the VC weren't about to let the incursion go unnoticed. On the night of 24-25 March, Company E, 2/9, under the operational control of 3/3, was set up in a night defensive position about one kilometer north of Route 4 and three kilo meters north of the hamlet of Phong Thu. At 0030 sentries detected a small force of VC trying to enter the company's perimeter. Rifle fire and grenades drove them off. Thirty minutes later a seventyfive round enemy mortar barrage pounded the Marines' perimeter. Then two companies of VC attacked out of the night. The intense firefight raged for more than an hour. Eventually, under a blistering barrage of supporting artillery fire, the VC pulled back. Although five Marines died in the fight, at least forty VC were also killed.

The next day two companies from 3/3 were helicoptered in to pursue the remnants of the attackers. Companies L and K landed at dawn about four kilometers southwest of Company E's position. Moving northeast, the fresh companies met heavy resistance from VC occupying well prepared positions. Stopped cold, the Marines needed close air support before the resistance ended.

On 27 March, the two companies continued their attack. Once again heavy enemy fire stopped them. Superb close air support again broke the back of the VC defenses. The following day the two units from 3/3 reached Route 4, their final objective. With that goal attained, Operation Kings ended.

Because of the continuing political crisis in Da Nang during the spring months, government troops were frequently pulled from the field and sent to the city. In several instances, in displays of solidarity with the dissidents, ARVN units simply walked away from their out posts. As a result, the VC quickly reentered many of the areas cleared during Operation Kings. Some even armed themselves with weapons left behind by the ARVN.

Originally, the 9th Marines had planned to follow Operation Kings with a one-battalion operation near An Hoa, south of the Ky Lam River. Not until late April, though, was 3/9 assigned to Operation Georgia. On 21 April the Marines, supported by ARVN and PFs, arrived at An Hoa. Battalion commander Lt. Col. William W. Taylor divided the region into company-sized TAORs. Working with the ARVN, the Marines conducted numerous County Fair and Golden Fleece operations throughout the area.

Only moderate enemy resistance was encountered during most of Operation Georgia. However, heavy fighting did break out on the afternoon of 3 May when Company M stumbled on two enemy companies holding a hamlet north of An Hoa. Four hours of intense ground fighting, supported by air and artillery, raged before the Marines drove off the VC. The Marines lost five dead and fifty-four wounded.

Operation Georgia officially ended on 10 May. However, in reality it, like Operation Kings, was part of a continuing effort to expand the Marines' TAOR around Da Nang. Colonel Simmons's next step in this effort began on 4 May, when he ordered a renewal of search and destroy missions in the area north of the Ky Lam River. Still demonstrating the type of tactical thinking that worked in World War II and Korea but failed miserably in South Vietnam, Simmons planned three distinct phases for his Ky Lam campaign. First, his forces would spend the month of May clearing the area south of Da Nang to the La Tho River. Then, in June, the Marines would push south five kilometers to the Ky Lam River. The final phase would