The Battle of Ia Drang was the first battle of the Vietnam War for America. It took place from Nov. 14-15, 1965. Although Lt. Col. Harold Moore’s 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was surprised when it landed at Landing Zone X-Ray and had to survive attacks from more numerous North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, in the end the defense was successful and the battle has rightfully been declared an American victory. What the public was not informed about was that two days later, America suffered its first loss of the war. That might come as a surprise to you, but the “we lost the war, but never lost a battle” claim is not true. Because the Battle of Landing Zone Albany was most certainly an ass-whipping.
After the fighting at LZ X-Ray ended, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. Robert McDade relieved 1/7 on Nov. 16. Since a B-52 strike was planned for the next day, 2/7 needed to move to another landing zone to be helicoptered home. At 9:10 on the morning of Nov. 17, the unit began the 3-mile march to LZ Albany. The Americans expected an uneventful march. After 4 hours, as the column neared its destination, two enemy soldiers were captured at the head of the column.. McDade made his way from the back to interrogate the prisoners. He called forward all the company commanders to discuss the situation. Alpha Company secured the landing zone. The rest of the companies stayed in place, waiting to resume the march. Many took the opportunity to take a nap. Some had not slept for 60 hours. The column was 550 yards long on a trail surrounded by heavy vegetation, but so far, so good. What nobody realized is they had kicked a hornet’s nest.
Two PAVN (North Vietnamese Army) battalions happened to be in the area. Some of the soldiers had fought at LZ X-Ray. It was payback time. At 1:15, the 16- hour battle began with withering machine gun and mortar fire along the entire column. The Americans were in a classic L-shaped ambush. McDade and Alpha Company were cut off from the other companies. Since the area was covered with chest-high elephant grass, American soldiers could not see their enemy and the enemy could get to the Americans under cover (unlike at LZ X-Ray). The Reds had learned from the Battle of Ia Drang that if they grabbed the Americans by their belt buckles, they could avoid the artillery and air support that was their enemy’s best defense. The battle became a hand-to-hand slugfest. The GIs were tired not only from the march, but they were sleep-deprived. This caused mental exhaustion that created a fog of war. Plus, their leaders were all with McDade and they had taken their radio operators. Things got so desperate that A-1 Skyraiders dropped napalm danger close. Some Americans were killed by this or artillery fire. The fighting was possibly the most hellish that any American unit encountered in the war. Without leadership, order broke down and it was every man for himself.
At 4:30 PM, Bravo Company of 2/5 reached the LZ to reinforce. It then attempted to reach the column, but encountered heavy fire. The Bravos could see enemy moving around finishing off wounded Americans. No quarter was given. As night approached, Bravo settled in as part of the LZ perimeter. Flares prevented the PAVN from renewing the attack. They withdrew during the night and the battle was over. 155 Americans were dead and 124 were wounded. Note that the dead outnumbered the wounded, a very unusual situation. This oddity was created by so many wounded being killed where they lay. Nov. 17, 1965 was probably the bloodiest day in the Vietnam War for the US Army. The Army claimed 400 enemy killed, but this was clearly an overestimate.
The lesson learned from the Battle of Ia Drang was that American firepower would win battles with PAVN. The Battle of LZ Albany’s lesson was that if the enemy could get danger close, they could negate that firepower. The American’s learned that if a unit is strung out on a trail surrounded by tall grass, you should not call all of your leaders together.
https://www.army.mil/article/213669/the_tragedy_of_lz_albany_teaching_the_lessons_of_a_battle_lost
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/1st-cavalry-unit-ambushed-in-the-ia-drang-valley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ia_Drang
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