1966 in the Vietnam War
← 1965 1967 →
Location Vietnam
Belligerents
Anti-Communist forces:  South Vietnam  United States  South Korea  Australia  Philippines  New Zealand Kingdom of Laos Republic of China	Communist forces:  North Vietnam Viet Cong Pathet Lao  People's Republic of China  Soviet Union  North Korea
Strength
South Vietnam: 735,900 United States: 485,300 South Korea: 45,566 Thailand : 244 Australia: 4,525 Philippines: 2,061 New Zealand: 155	Viet Cong and North Vietnam: 282,000[1]: 145
Casualties and losses
US: 6,350 killed[2] South Vietnam: 11,953 killed[1]: 275  Australia 63 killed[3]	Viet Cong and North Vietnam: casualties 71,473-55,524 killed[4]: 77–8

At the beginning of 1966, the number of U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam totaled 184,300.^[5]: 149 South Vietnamese military forces totaled 514,000 including the army (ARVN) and the Regional Force and Popular Force (the "Ruff-Puffs") militias.^[6]: 36 The North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) numbered 400,000, most still in North Vietnam. 50,000 PAVN cadre and soldiers infiltrated South Vietnam during 1965. Group 559, charged with transporting supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to supply PAVN troops in both South Vietnam and Laos, numbered 24,400 personnel.^{[7]: 164–71} The U.S. estimated the number of Viet Cong (VC) and PAVN soldiers in South Vietnam at nearly 280,000 by June 1966, including part-time guerrillas.^[8]: 63 A pause in the bombing of North Vietnam by U.S. warplanes had been announced by President Johnson on 24 December and remained in effect.

January

Writing in Harper's Magazine retired U.S. general James M. Gavin proposed an enclave strategy where U.S. forces would defend coastal enclaves where most of the population and economic activity was concentrated and act as a strategic reserve, leaving the ARVN to fight the PAVN/VC further inland. This strategy was designed not to achieve victory, but rather to create a stalemate forcing the PAVN/VC to seek a negotiated solution. In later years the "Gavin Plan" would become known as "light at the top, heavy at the bottom" reflecting the population concentration of South Vietnam.^[9]

"The Ballad of the Green Berets" by Staff sergeant Barry Sadler is released. It became the No. 1 hit in the U.S. for the five weeks spanning March 1966.^[10]

1–8 January

Operation Marauder was conducted by the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) in the Plain of Reeds, Mekong Delta. The operation resulted in 114 VC and three U.S. killed.^[11]: 86

3 January

The PAVN bombarded a Special Forces Civilian Irregular Defense Group camp at Khe Sanh Combat Base near the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with 120mm mortars, the heaviest weapon they had used in the war. Defending the combat base were American and South Vietnamese Special Forces, Nung and Bru (Montagnard) irregulars and militia forces.^[12]

In his message to the Tricontinental Conference, Che Guevara called for creating "two, three many Vietnams." to fight imperialism in the southern hemisphere.^[13]

6 January

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) became the first African-American civil rights organization to publicly oppose the war.^[14]

7 January

Commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam General William Westmoreland is Time magazine's Man of the year.^[15]

A Claymore mine exploded at Tan Son Nhut International Airport gate, killing two persons and injuring 12.^[16]

8–14 January

Operation Crimp was a joint US-Australian military operation in the Ho Bo Woods, 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Cu Chi in Binh Duong Province, about 56 kilometres (35 mi) north-east of Saigon.^[17]: 280 The operation was conducted by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade and 1 RAR resulted in 128 VC killed and 92 captured and 14 U.S. and 8 Australians killed.^{[18]: 442–3}

9-11 January

Operation Flying Tiger VI was an ARVN and ROK Capital Division search and destroy operation in Bình Định Province. The operation resulted in 192 VC and 11 ARVN/ROK killed.^[19]

12 January

In his State of the Union Address President Lyndon Johnson told Congress and television viewers that the nation could afford both the funding of the cost of social programs and an ongoing war, saying "I believe that we can continue the Great Society while we fight in Vietnam."^[20]

15 January - 25 February

Operation Van Buren was a harvest security operation conducted by the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division and the South Korean 2nd Marine Brigade in the Tuy Hòa Valley, Phú Yên Province. The operation resulted in 346 PAVN killed and 33 captured, 55 U.S. and 45 Koreans killed.^{[21]: 185–9}

17 January

VC in Kien Tuong Province detonated a mine under a highway bus, killing 26 civilians, seven of them children. Eight persons were injured and three missing.^[16]

25 January

A USAF C-123K lost power and crashed after take-off from An Khe, en route to Bong Son killing all 46 persons on board.^[22]

26 January

In a meeting with Johnson Republican senator John Sherman Cooper urged him to forgo his announced plan to resume bombing of North Vietnam and negotiate a settlement instead.^[23]

28 January

The U.S. Selective Service System announced that it would change its guidelines for conscription of college students and college-bound high school graduates, by barring "Class 2-S" draft deferments for students whose grades were in the lower half of their freshman class, the lower one-third of their sophomore class or the lower one-fourth of their junior class.^[24]

28 January - 17 February

Operation Double Eagle was conducted by U.S. 1st Marine Division and ARVN 2nd Division in Quảng Ngãi Province. The operation resulted in 312 VC killed and 19 captured and 24 Marines killed.^{[25]: 19–34}

28 January - 6 March

Operation Masher was a combined U.S., ARVN and Republic of Korea Army operation in Bình Định Province conducted by the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, ARVN 22nd Division and ROK Capital Division. The name "Operation Masher" was changed to "Operation White Wing", because Masher was deemed too crude for 'nation-building' by the White House. The operation resulted in 2,150 PAVN/VC, 288 U.S. and 10 Koreans killed.^{[21]: 214–5} Masher failed to result in any decisive victories by the allies, but temporarily disrupted PAVN/VC control of the rural areas of the province. Masher and subsequent operations in Binh Dinh created large numbers of refugees who fled their homes to escape the fighting.^[26]

29 January

The VC killed a Catholic priest, Father Phan Khac Dau, 74, at Thanh Tri, Kien Tuong province. Five other civilians, including a church officer, were also killed.^[16]

31 January

After a 37-day moratorium that had started on 24 December 1965, the U.S. resumed Operation Rolling Thunder, the bombing of North Vietnam. Among the first targets destroyed were a bridge at Đồng Hới, a highway ferry complex in Thanh Hóa Province and barges near the city of Vinh.^[27]

February

2 February

At Belmore Park in Sydney, three young Australian men became the first persons to burn their draft registration cards as a protest against Australia's participation in the war.^[28]

Special Forces Master Sergeant Donald W. Duncan appeared on the cover of Ramparts under the caption "I quit". He was one of the first service members to speak out against the war.^[29]

A VC squad ambushed a jeep of South Vietnamese information workers, killing six and wounding one in Hậu Nghĩa Province.^[16]

4 February

Senator J. William Fulbright, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations began a series of hearings on the war. Johnson took Fulbright's criticism of the war as a personal betrayal by his former friend.^[30]: 486

6 February to 6 March

Operation Thừa Thiên 177 was an ARVN 1st Division operation in Thừa Thiên Province. The operation resulted in 183 PAVN/VC and 17 ARVN killed.^[19]

7 February

In an apparent attempt to upstage the Fulbright Hearings, Johnson and Premier Nguyễn Cao Kỳ of South Vietnam convened with other officials at Camp H. M. Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii to discuss the course of the war.^[31]

Television was broadcast in South Vietnam for the first time, as the United States Navy used "Stratovision" sending a C-121 Constellation to carry transmitting equipment, videotape machines and a small television studio aloft. The C-121 took off from Tan Son Nhut Air Base, climbed to 10,500 feet (3,200 m), then flew in a slow oval pattern at 170 miles per hour (270 km/h) and, at 19:30, transmitted the first THVN programs to outdoor television sets that had been tuned to Channel 9.^[32]

7 February - May 1972

The USAF begins Operation Shed Light to develop night and adverse weather strike capabilities to interdict PAVN/VC operations.

10 February

The People's Republic of China (PRC) accused the Soviet Union of forcing North Vietnam into peace negotiations with the U.S.^[5]: 155

13 February

A USAF Firebee 147E unmanned aircraft with electronic intelligence monitors was sent on a one-way mission to be shot down by the SA-2 antiaircraft radar and missile defense system being used by North Vietnam. The drone was picked up by the radar and destroyed, but not before "finally acquiring the long-mysterious command uplink and downlink signals" that were used in the SA-2 operation and relaying the data back to a nearby DC-130 aircraft; acquisition of the signal led to developing methods to jam it as well.^[33]

Operation An Dan 14/66 was an ARVN operation in Long An Province. the operation resulted in 150 VC and 21 ARVN killed.^[19]

14 February

Two mines exploded beneath a bus and a three-wheeled taxi on a road near Tuy Hòa, killing 48 farm laborers and injuring seven others.^[16]

15-21 February

Operation Thang Long 234 was an ARVN operation in Darlac Province. The operation resulted in 270 VC and 62 ARVN killed.^[19]

16-19 February

In the First Battle of Nakhang the PAVN attacked the Royal Lao Army (RLA) garrison at Lima Site 36 in Na Khang. The attack was successful but U.S. air support inflicted heavy losses on the PAVN.^[34]: 152

17 February

The "Three-point Proposal" for ending the war was presented at the United Nations headquarters in New York by a spokesman for Secretary-General U Thant, calling for cessation of bombing of North Vietnam by the United States, a scaling down of military activities and an agreement by all sides to enter into discussions with representatives of the VC.^[35]

18 February

The PRC consulate in Phong Saly, Laos, was heavily strafed by gunfire and the Beijing government charged that four American fighter jets had attacked "with more than 600 bullets", as well as dropping eight bombs to the east of the city, 20 miles (32 km) from the border with China.^[36]

Second Lieutenant Carol Ann Drazba and Second Lieutenant Elizabeth Ann Jones were among seven killed in a helicopter crash northeast of Tan Son Nhut Air Base. They were the first of eight women in the U.S. military killed in Vietnam.^[37]

19 February

U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy became the first member of the Senate to break with President Johnson in proposing that the VC be allowed "a share of power and responsibility" in peace talks with the United States.^[38]

19 February to 1 March

Operation Double Eagle II was conducted by the BLT 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines and 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines in the Quế Sơn Valley. The operation resulted in 125 VC killed and ten captured for the loss of 6 Marines killed.^{[25]: 34–5}

21-5 February

Operation Mastiff was conducted by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division in Dầu Tiếng District against the PAVN 9th Division. The operation resulted in 61 PAVN and 17 U.S. killed.^[21]: 175

22 February to 2 March

Operation Lam Son 235 was a search and destroy operation conducted by two regiments of the ARVN 1st Division in Quảng Trị Province. The operation resulted in 444 PAVN/VC and 35 ARVN killed.^[39]: 248

23-4 February

The Battle of Suoi Bong Trang was fought on the night of 23–24 February 1966 between the U.S. 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and Australian 1 RAR and PAVN/VC. The battle occurred during Operation Rolling Stone, a major American security operation to protect engineers building a tactically important road in the vicinity of Tan Binh, in central Binh Duong Province, 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Bien Hoa Air Base. The battle resulted 154 PAVN/VC killed and 15 captured and 11 U.S. killed.^{[21]: 180–1}

23 February - 29 March

The 1st Marine Division deployed to South Vietnam, establishing its headquarters at Chu Lai Base Area.^{[25]: 9, 128}

25 February to 24 March

Operation Garfield was conducted by the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Darlac Province. The operation resulted in 124 PAVN/VC and 17 U.S. killed.^[19]

26 February - 3 March

Operation New York was a sweep operation conducted by the U.S. 3rd Marine Division northwest and east of Phu Bai Combat Base. The operation resulted in 120 VC killed and seven captured and 17 Marines killed.^[25]: 52

26 February - 25 March

Operation Harrison was conducted by the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division in Phú Yên Province. The operation resulted in 288 PAVN killed and 35 captured and 43 U.S. killed and two missing.^[21]: 193

March

3-8 March

Operation Cocoa Beach was conducted by the U.S. 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division along Highway 13 near Lai Khê. The operation resulted in 199 VC and 15 U.S. killed.^[21]: 178

4-7 March

Operation Utah was conducted by the 1st Marine Division and three battalions of the ARVN Airborne Division northwest of Quảng Ngãi. The operation resulted in 600 PAVN killed and five captured and 98 Marines and 30 ARVN killed.^[25]: 119

7 March

HMM-164 arrived in South Vietnam making the first combat deployment of the CH-46A Sea Knight.^[40]: 77

7-23 March

Operation Silver City was conducted by the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Biên Hòa Province. The operation resulted in 353 PAVN/VC and 11 U.S. killed.^[21]: 183

9–10 March

The Battle of A Shau was waged between the PAVN and U.S. and ARVN. The battle began on March 9 and lasted until March 10 with the fall of the special forces camp of the same name. The battle resulted in an estimated 800 PAVN killed, five U.S. missing and 196-288 ARVN killed or missing.^[41]

10 March

South Vietnamese Premier Kỳ relieved General Nguyen Chanh Thi as ARVN commander in I Corps in the northern city of Huế. Thi was accused of "siding with the Buddhists" in their long-standing dispute with the South Vietnamese government.^[42] Thi was relieved after several days of demonstrations by Buddhists led by Thich Tri Quang and Thich Tam Chau. The Buddhists protested against economic conditions, corruption, and American influence and demanded that President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and Kỳ resign. The Buddhist Uprising was called the Struggle Movement. U.S. Ambassador in Saigon, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. did not object to Thi's dismissal.^{[1]: 128–30}

15 March

I Field Force, Vietnam was activated with its headquarters at Nha Trang. II Field Force, Vietnam was activated with its headquarters at Long Binh Post^{[43]: 53–4}

18 March

A VC mine explosion killed 15 civilians on a country road 8 km west of Tuy Hòa.^[16]

19-23 March

Operation Oregon was conducted by the 1st Marine Division on the Street Without Joy approximately 36 km northwest of Huế. The operation resulted in 48 VC killed and eight captured and 11 Marines killed.^[25]: 69

20-4 March

Operation Cuu Long 15 was an ARVN operation in Kien Tuong Province. The operation resulted in 219 VC and three ARVN killed.^[19]

20-5 March

Operation Texas was a 1st Marine Division and ARVN 2nd Division and Airborne Division operation northwest of Quảng Ngai. The operation resulted in 283 PAVN/VC and 99 U.S. killed.^[25]: 127

20-8 March

Operation Kings was a 1st Marine Division operation 25 km southwest of Da Nang. The operation resulted in 58 VC and six U.S. killed.^{[25]: 78–97}

21 March

Operation Lê Lợi 15 was an ARVN Special Forces operation in Darlac Province. the operation resulted in 134 VC and 10 ARVN killed.^[19]

23-7 March

Operation Maeng Ho V was an ROK Capital Division search and destroy operation in Bình Định Province. the operation resulted in 349 VC and 17 ROK killed.^[19]

24-6 March

Operation Dan Chi 211/B was an ARVN operation in Ba Xuyen Province. The operation resulted in 245 VC and 17 ARVN killed.^[19]

25 March - 8 April

Operation Lincoln was a 1st Cavalry Division west of Pleiku to locate suspected PAVN/VC bases and disrupt any planned offensives during the monsoon season. The operation resulted 477 PAVN and 43 U.S. killed.^[21]: 243

26 March

Protesters in dozens of American cities demonstrated against the war. In New York 20,000 marched down New York City's Fifth Avenue after a rally in Central Park, while a crowd of 2,000 paraded down State Street in Chicago.^[44] Marches also took place in Boston, Washington, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Hartford.^[45]

26 March - 6 April

Operation Jackstay was a 1st Battalion, 5th Marines and Republic of Vietnam Marine Division operation in the Rung Sat Special Zone. The operation resulted in 63 VC and five U.S. killed.^{[46]: 102–3}

26 March - 21 July

Operation Fillmore was conducted by the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division in Phú Yên Province. The operation resulted in 134 PAVN and eight U.S. killed.^[21]: 194

26 March to 23 September

Operation Su Bok was an ROK Capital Division operation in Bình Định Province. the operation resulted in 299 VC and 23 ROK killed.^[19]

28-9 March

Operation Indiana was a 7th Marine Regiment and ARVN operation near Vinh Loc (2) northwest of Quảng Ngai. The operation resulted in 169 VC and 11 Marines killed.^{[25]: 127–8}

29 March to 5 April

Operation Circle Pines was a U.S. 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment and ARVN 7th Regiment operation in the Ho Bo Woods, Hậu Nghĩa Province. The operation resulted in 170 VC and 32 U.S./ARVN killed.^[19]

30 March

Following several weeks of Buddhist anti-government and anti-American demonstrations in the northern cities of Huế and Da Nang, U.S. Ambassador Lodge and COMUSMACV General Westmoreland advised the South Vietnamese government to take strong action to end the Buddhist Uprising.^[1]: 131

31 March

The U.S. Navy relieved Marcus Aurelius Arnheiter of command of USS Vance, his relief begins the so-called "Arnheiter Affair" including a book by Neil Sheehan which Arnheiter attempted to have suppressed.^[47]

April

Operation Cuu Long 7 was an ARVN 7th Division search and destroy operation in Kien Tuong Province. The operation resulted in 140 VC and 11 ARVN killed.^[48]

Operation Lam Son 255 was an ARVN 1st Division operation in Quảng Tín Province. The operation resulted in 33 VC killed.^[48]

Operation Nevada/Operation Lien Ket 34 was a 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, ARVN 2nd Division and VNMC search and destroy operation on the Batangan Peninsula, Quảng Ngãi Province. The operation resulted in 68 VC and three ARVN killed.^[49]

1 April

General Pham Xuan Chieu, a member of South Vietnam's 10-man military junta who was appearing as an emissary of Prime Minister Kỳ to seek popular support in Da Nang, was surrounded by a mob of 1,000 students and Buddhist activists as he arrived at city government offices. The group then held him captive, transported him around the city in a cycle rickshaw, forced him to make a speech at the local radio station and then released him unharmed.^[50]

The VC bombed the Victoria Bachelor Officer's Quarters in Chợ Lớn killing three U.S. servicemen and four South Vietnamese.^[5]: 160

1-11 April

Operation Orange was a 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines search and destroy operation near Thường Ðức, 40 km southwest of Da Nang. The operation resulted in 57 VC and 18 Marines killed.^[48]

2 April

Ten thousand protesters (including 2,000 South Vietnamese soldiers and sailors in uniform) marched through the streets of Da Nang and denounced both the United States and the Kỳ government.^[51] Da Nang Mayor Nguyen Van Man, who had allowed protesters free use of city offices, motor vehicles and printing facilities, was accused of treason by Kỳ, who said that he planned to have Man executed by a firing squad.^[52]

2-13 April

Operation Bun Kae 66-5 was an ROK Capital Division operation in Bình Định Province. the operation resulted in 292 VC and 23 ROK killed.^[19]

4 April

Kỳ sent five battalions of ARVN Rangers and South Vietnamese marines to Da Nang to quell the Buddhist uprising. The U.S. transported the soldiers and marines. Westmoreland ordered all American soldiers in Da Nang be confined to their billets.^{[1]: 131–2}

5 April

Kỳ personally attempted to lead the capture of the restive city of Da Nang before backing down.^[53]

6-8 April

Operation Kahuku was a U.S. 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment and ARVN 49th Regiment search and destroy operation west of Cu Chi. The operation resulted in 26 killed.^[49]

9 April

A platoon of U.S. Marines blocked the passage of a convoy of pro-Buddhist ARVN soldiers en route to take over Da Nang Air Base. The armed confrontation was resolved after negotiations between the two sides. Over the next few days the tense situation in Da Nang and Huế quieted down, although control of the two cities was still contested between the government and the Buddhists.^[42]

The Buddhist uprising causes debate within the Johnson Administration with George Ball recommending a halt to further troop deployments and a scaling back of operations and bombing of the North, while other advisers recommend continuing the current incremental approach.^[5]: 160

The USAF announced a new policy that flight crews will be rotated out of the combat zone after the earlier of 12 months or 100 combat missions.^[5]: 160

11 April

The conservative newsweekly U.S. News & World Report became the first American news magazine to characterize the Vietnam War as a "stalemate" with neither side likely to defeat the other.^[54]

11 - 12 April

The Battle of Xa Cam My was fought over two days. Originally planned as a U.S. search and destroy mission intended to lure out the "crack" VC D800 Battalion in the rubber plantations of Xa Cam My, approximately 42 miles (68 km) east of Saigon. During this battle, 134 men of Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division were ambushed by the VC. The battle resulted in 41 VC and 36 U.S. killed.^[21]: 306

12 April

For the first time, North Vietnam was bombed by American B-52 Stratofortress bombers when 29 B-52s dropped 585 tons of bombs on the Mụ Giạ Pass through the Annamese Mountain Range, in an attempt to break the supply line that was nicknamed the "Ho Chi Minh trail".^[55] Although the objective was to create landslides that would close off the pass completely, a reconnaissance mission the next day found that the North Vietnamese had cleared the area, filled the craters in the road, and were driving their trucks through the pass once more. After a second wave of intensive bombings and an equally intensive clearing of the pass, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) appraisal would later note that the "Communists will spare no effort to keep it open".^[56] Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=1966_in_the_Vietnam_War
Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia.