Operation PIRANHA From date 650907 to 650910 for 7 MARINES 3 MARINES 4 ARVN REG MAG-16 7 MARINES was a US Marine Corps unit 3 MARINES was a US Marine Corps unit 4 ARVN REG was a Vietnamese Army unit MAG-16 was a US Marine Corps unit Primary service involved, US Marine Corps Operation PIRANHA Quang Ngai Province, I Corps, South Vietnam Location, Batangan Peninsula Description: A search and destroy follow-up to operation STARLITE aimed at the remnants of the 1st VC Regiment. Its secondary purpose was to shut down reported places of entry for a VC network of seaborne infiltration. MAG-16 used 40 UH-34D's to assault the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines into LZ OAK, four miles inland from the amphibious landing of another battalion. This assault took three hours. Then 16 UH-34D's went to Quang Ngai and began shuttling two South Vietnamese battalions into LZ BIRCH and PINE escorted by four Army gunships. At these LZs, the Marine helicopters received fire but it was not serious. The next day, the Marines found a large VC force in a cave which they flew after attempting to convince the enemy to surrender. They counted 66 VC bodies in the cave. Sadly two Marines died of oxygen starvation in the same cave. The SLF was off shore as the reserve. Casualties: US 2 KIA, 14 WIA; ARVN 5 KIA, 33 WIA; VC 183 KIA and 360 POWs 
Operation Piranha began on the 7th of September 1965, with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines coming ashore by landing craft on the Batangan Peninsula. It's sister unit, the 3rd Battalion, was brought to the objective area by helicopter. Support came from South Vietnamese units while the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines acted as the reserve force during the engagement. Results were less than expected and less spectacular than Starlite, as the Marines found no large concentrations of enemy personnel. Operation Starlite began on the 18th of August 1965 as a combined amphibian-helicopter assault on enemy fortified positions on the Van Tuong Peninsula, with major ground units being the 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines, 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, and 3rd Battalion 7th Marines. Marines landed behind enemy lines and drove them to the sea. The classic encirclement was successful in that the units of the 1st Viet Cong Regiment were forced to stand and fight. After seven days the enemy was severely mauled and decisively defeated Having eliminated the threat posed to the Chu Lai base by the 1st VC Regiment, intelligence sources indicated that its remnants had withdrawn to the Batangan Peninsula. Walt considered the time oppurtune to complete the destruction of the enemy Regiment. Col. Peatross once again was to be the commander of the landing force, two Marine Battalions, LtCol. Kelley's 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and Muir's 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines would be embarked on ships, Muir's Marines to remain at sea as a floating reserve. LtCol. Bodley's 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines would conduct a heliborne assault of the objective area. Participating Vietnamese battalions, the 2nd Battalion, 4th ARVN Regiment, and the 3rd Vietnamese Marine Battalion would be moved by helicopter south of Bodley's position. The Battle: By 0500 on the morning of 7 September , all amphibious forces were in position with the exception of the reserve Battalion of Marines which arrived later in the day. From 0555 to 0615 Marine Air strafed the landing beach, and a single A-4 laid a smoke screen. Eight F-4s and four A-4s dropped "Daisy Cutter" bombs to prep the helicopter landing zones. The first waves of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines landed at 0635 with the entire Battalion ashore within 20 minutes. The 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines was heli-lifted to their objective four miles to the west of LtCol. Kelley's Marines on the beach, the Marines encountered no opposition and completed the helilift in less than three hours. After inserting the Marines the helicopters moved the Vietnamese troops to their landing zones. Two of the Marine helicopteers were hit by ground fire, as the Vietnamese troops moved out the firing stopped. During the three day operation, only the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines found a significant number of the enemy. On 8 September, a VC field hospital was discovered in a large Cave. The Marines captured four prisoners but then came under fire from other VC in the cave. Eventually explosives were placed in the cave and after the detonation the Marines counted 66 bodies inside. They also found medical supplies, some small arms, and ammunition. The Aftermath: During Piranha, allied forces killed 178 VC, captured or detained 360 enemy or suspects. Allied losses were two Marines and five South Vietnamese killed, 14 Marines and 33 Vietnamese wounded. Considering the magnitude of the allied effort the operation hardly could be called a success. Local villagers told the Marines that units of the target 1st VC Regiment had been in the area but left less than 24 hours before Operation Piranha started. Operation Piranha USS Princeton LPH-5 September 7, 1965 - September 10, 1965 Seeking to complete the destruction of the Viet Cong unit that had withdrawn further south to the Batangan Peninsula Operation Piranha began on September 7, 1965, with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines coming ashore by landing craft on the Batangan Peninsula. Its sister unit, the 3rd Battalion, was brought to the objective area by helicopter. Support came from South Vietnamese units while the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines acted as the reserve force during the engagement. Results were less than expected and less spectacular than Operation Starlite, as the Marines found no large concentrations of enemy personnel. The 2nd Battalion in Qui Nhon, who's main task was defense of the airfield, port, and American installations, was re-deployed in November 1965 to Chu Lai, where the remainder of the regiment was situated. The regiment, with it's responsibility of defending installations in and around Chu Lai, continued to expand its TAOR through aggressive patrolling, counter guerrilla activities, and battalion or multi-battalion operations. By the end of 1965, the number of encounters with regular North Vietnamese Army units had become increasingly more common. The Viet Cong, however, still remained the primary adversaries in the regiment's area of responsibility. Having eliminated the threat posed to the Chu Lai base by the 1st VC Regiment, intelligence sources indicated that its remnants had withdrawn to the Batangan Peninsula. Walt considered the time opportune to complete the destruction of the enemy Regiment. Col. Peatross once again was to be the commander of the landing force, two Marine Battalions, Lt. Col. Kelley's 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and Muir's 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines would be embarked on ships, Muir's Marines to remain at sea as a floating reserve. Lt. Col. Bodley's 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines would conduct a hellebore assault of the objective area. Participating Vietnamese battalions, the 2nd Battalion, 4th ARVN Regiment, and the 3rd Vietnamese Marine Battalion would be moved by helicopter south of Bodley's position. By 0500 on the morning of September 7, all amphibious forces including the USS Princeton were in position with the exception of the reserve Battalion of Marines which arrived later in the day. From 0555 to 0615 Marine Air strafed the landing beach, and a single A-4 laid a smoke screen. Eight F-4s and four A-4s dropped "Daisy Cutter" bombs to prep the helicopter landing zones. The first waves of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines landed at 0635 with the entire Battalion ashore within 20 minutes. The 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines was heli-lifted to their objective four miles to the west of Lt. Col. Kelley's Marines on the beach, the Marines encountered no opposition and completed the heli-lift in less than three hours. After inserting the Marines the helicopters moved the Vietnamese troops to their landing zones. Two of the Marine helicopters were hit by ground fire, as the Vietnamese troops moved out the firing stopped. During the three day operation, only the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines found a significant number of the enemy. On 8 September, a VC field hospital was discovered in a large Cave. The Marines captured four prisoners but then came under fire from other VC in the cave. Eventually explosives were placed in the cave and after the detonation the Marines counted 66 bodies inside. They also found medical supplies, some small arms, and ammunition. During Operation Piranha, allied forces killed 178 VC, captured or detained 360 enemy or suspects. Allied losses were two Marines and five South Vietnamese killed, 14 Marines and 33 Vietnamese wounded. Considering the magnitude of the allied effort the operation hardly could be called a success. Local villagers told the Marines that units of the target 1st VC Regiment had been in the area but left less than 24 hours before Operation Piranha started. The Enemy Refuses to Give Battle: September-November Operations Operation PIRANHA-Much Ado About CS, Operation STOMP-October-November Operations Operation PIRANHA After Operation STARUTE, HI MAF entered a new stage of operations aimed at striking at enemy main force units. Having eliminated the threat posed to the Chu Lai base by the 1st VC Regiment, General Walt considered the time opportune to complete the destruction of the enemy regiment. His intelligence sources indicated that its remnants had withdrawn to the Batangan Peninsula, eight miles south of Van Tuong. After consulting with General Thi, General Walt issued a warning order on 26 August to Colonel Peatross for the 7th Marines to plan for a coordinated operation in the area. * In contrast to STARUTE, the planning and preparations for the new operation were extensive. From 31 August through 2 September, Marine and naval commanders travelled between Da Nang and Chu Lai. They were briefed by the in MAF staff and prepared detailed plans. Captain McKinney and Colonel Peatross once more were to be the respective commanders of the amphibious task force and landing forces. They coordinated their activities with the the South Vietnamese and on 3 September the plans were complete. That date, the 7th Marines published Operation Order 423-65, codenamed PIRANHA. The concept of operations for PIRANHA was similar to that of STARLITE. Two Marine battalions, Lieutenant Colonel Kelly's 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and Muir's 3d Battalion, 3d Marines, would be embarked on Seventh Fleet shipping, while another battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Bodley's 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, would conduct a heliborne assault of the objective area.** On D-Day, Kelly's battalion would land across WHITE Beach, north of the Batangan Peninsula, and push south, while Bodley's helilifted Marines would set up blocking positions 4,000 meters inland. Muir's battalion would remain at sea as a floating reserve. Participating Vietnamese battalions, the 2d Battalion, 4th ARVN Regiment and 3d Vietnamese Marine Battalion, would be moved by helicopter into the region south of Bodley's position. There the South Vietnamese would conduct a search and clear mission on the An Ky Peninsula which was separated from Batangan by the Sa Ky River. On 6 September, Captain McKinney's task group, consisting of the attack transport Bayfield, two dock landing ships, Belle Grove and Cabildo, and three tank landing ships, sailed for the amphibious objective area. They arrived early the following morning and were joined by the naval gunfire ships, the cruiser Oklahoma City (CLG 5), and two * Colonel Wyckoff, the 3d Marine Division G-3 at the time, recalled that following STARUTE, he worked closely with Major Charles T. Williamson, the Division G-2, to locate the 1st VC Regiment: 'The Division G-2 staff sought for indicators in two general areas: the eastern edge of the mountains coming down toward Chu Lai and the cave-dotted Batangan Peninsula. In the latter they found a 'V of older field fortifications pointing inland with its open end toward the sea. Kept under visual and photographic surveillance, a second 'V of new positions, inland of the older ones showed under development. A series of transparent overlays was made up, showing the progression of activity over several days. General Walt concurred in the analysis and a staff team was flown down to Saigon to brief General Westmoreland, using the same set of maps and overlays.' Col Don P. Wyckoff, Comments on draft MS, dtd 160ct76 (Vietnam Comment Pile). |