Combat· Vietnam War
Lam Son 719 Phase II
The second phase of Lam Son 719 was the main South Vietnamese drive into Laos itself, the heart of the operation, in which South Vietnamese ground forces pushed west across the border along Route 9 toward Tchepone to sever and destroy the enemy's supply network on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. American support was substantial but confined to airpower, helicopter lift, and fire support, since United States ground troops were barred by law from entering Laos, leaving the South Vietnamese to do the fighting on the ground as a major test of Vietnamization. The drive met fierce resistance from North Vietnamese forces who had prepared for such an incursion, massing armor, artillery, and infantry against the advancing columns. The Marine role in the operation was limited, the fighting falling to South Vietnamese and supporting American aviation. This phase saw the offensive reach toward its objectives against mounting and increasingly dangerous enemy opposition.
Record no. 708