Battle of Dak To - Prelude

Prelude

By early October, U.S. intelligence reported that the North Vietnamese were withdrawing regiments from the Pleiku area to join those in Kontum Province, thereby dramatically increasing the strength of local forces to that of a full division. In response, the 4th Infantry began moving the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry and the 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry into Đắk Tô to launch Operation MacArthur. On 29 October, the 4/503 of the 173rd Airborne Brigade was returned to the area as a reinforcement. The battalion was moved west of Đắk Tô to the CIDG camp at Ben Het to protect the construction of Fire Support Base 12 on 2 November.

On 3 November, Sergeant Vu Hong, an artillery specialist with the 6th PAVN Regiment, defected to the South Vietnamese and was able to provide U.S. forces with detailed information on the disposition of PAVN forces and their objectives, both at Đắk Tô and at Ben Het, 18 kilometers to the west. The North Vietnamese had fed approximately 6,000 troops into the area, most of which made up the 1st PAVN Division. The 66th PAVN Regiment was southwest of Đắk Tô preparing to launch the main attack while the 32nd PAVN Regiment was moved south to prevent any counterattacks against the 66th. The independent 24th PAVN Regiment held positions northeast of Đắk Tô to prevent reinforcement of the base from that direction. The 174th PAVN Regiment was northwest of Đắk Tô, acting as a reserve or an offensive force as the situation dictated. In addition, the 1st PAVN Division was supported by the 40th PAVN Artillery Regiment. The goal of these units was the taking of Đắk Tô and the destruction of a brigade-size American unit.

The communist actions around Đắk Tô were part of an overall strategy devised by the Hanoi leadership, primarily that of General Nguyen Chi Thanh. The goal of operations in the area, according to a captured document from the B-3 Front Command, was "to annihilate a major U.S. element in order to force the enemy to deploy as many additional troops to the Central Highlands as possible." As the Americans quickly discovered, the area had been well prepared by the North Vietnamese. The number and elaborateness of defensive preparations found by U.S. and ARVN troops indicated that some had been prepared as much as six months in advance. As General Peers noted:

Nearly every key terrain feature was heavily fortified with elaborate bunker and trench complexes. He had moved quantities of supplies and ammunition into the area. He was prepared to stay.

After contact with the PAVN forces on the 4th and 5th of the month, General Schweiter received orders to move the rest of his brigade back to Đắk Tô. The immediate goal of the paratroopers was first to establish a base of operations and bolster the defenses at Ben Het. They would then begin to search for the headquarters of the 66th PAVN Regiment, which U.S. intelligence believed to be in the valley stretching south of FSB 12. Simultaneously, most of the remaining elements of the 4th Infantry Division moved into the area around Đắk Tô. They were joined by two First Air Cavalry battalions (the 1/12 and 2/8th Cavalry) and ARVN forces consisting of the four battalions of the 42nd Regiment and the 2nd and 3rd Airborne Battalions. By this time, the village and airstrip had become a major logistical base, supporting an entire U.S. division and airborne brigade and six ARVN battalions. The stage was set for a major pitched battle.