page_title: 1971 in the Vietnam War
section_title: January
hierarchical_section_title: 1971 in the Vietnam War / January
caption_attribution_description: Defoliant spray run, part of Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War by UC-123B Provider aircraft.
context_page_description: 1 January
  U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam totaled 334,600 on 31 December 1970.
  1 January - May 1971
  Project Copper was an unsuccessful operation to use three Central Intelligence Agency-trained Cambodian irregular force battalions to interdict the Sihanouk Trail. One battalion deserted, one mutinied during training and the third suffered extensive casualties and had to be withdrawn to assist in the defense of Phnom Penh.
  5 January
  The United States Congress adopted the revised Cooper-Church Amendment which prohibited the introduction of U.S. ground troops or advisers into Cambodia and declared that U.S. aid to Cambodia should not be considered a commitment to the defense of Cambodia.
  5 January - 11 February
  Operation Silver Buckle was a Royal Lao Army offensive staged in Military Region 4 of Laos and was the deepest RLA penetration to date of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
context_section_description: 1 January
  U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam totaled 334,600 on 31 December 1970.
  1 January - May 1971
  Project Copper was an unsuccessful operation to use three Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-trained Cambodian irregular force battalions to interdict the Sihanouk Trail. One battalion deserted, one mutinied during training and the third suffered extensive casualties and had to be withdrawn to assist in the defense of Phnom Penh.
  5 January
  The United States Congress adopted the revised Cooper-Church Amendment which prohibited the introduction of U.S. ground troops or advisers into Cambodia and declared that U.S. aid to Cambodia should not be considered a commitment to the defense of Cambodia.
  5 January - 11 February
  Operation Silver Buckle was a Royal Lao Army (RLA) offensive staged in Military Region 4 of Laos and was the deepest RLA penetration to date of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Reaching the Trailside village of Moung Nong, the forward two companies attacked the rear of the 50,000 man People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) garrison on 8 February 1971, just as Operation Lam Son 719 was launched by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and diverted at least six PAVN battalions away from the ARVN assault.
  5 January to 30 May
  The ARVN launched Operation Toàn Thắng TT02 which culminated in the Battle of Snuol against PAVN and Viet Cong (VC) forces in the Snuol District of Cambodia. The PAVN/VC lost 1,043 killed while the ARVN lost 37 killed, 74 missing and more than 300 captured. The operation rendered the ARVN 5th Division combat ineffective. 
  6 January
  United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird said that the "Vietnamization" of the war was running ahead of schedule and that the combat mission of the U.S. troops would end in summer 1971.
  7 January
  The last herbicide spraying by the United States to defoliate forests in South Vietnam and kill crops used to feed communist soldiers and supporters was carried out in Ninh Thuan province. Operation Ranch Hand was finished.
  17 January
  300 ARVN paratroopers with U.S. air support and advisers raided a suspected camp holding American prisoners of war in Cambodia. No POWs were in the camp, but 30 PAVN soldiers were captured.
  13 to 25 January
  The ARVN 4th Armor Brigade and 4th Ranger Group and the 2nd Marine Brigade together with Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) forces launched Operation Cuu Long 44-02 to reopen Route 4 in Cambodia. The operation resulted in 211 PAVN and 16 ARVN killed.
  21-2 January
  PAVN sappers attacked Pochentong Airfield near Phnom Penh and destroyed or damaged 69 Khmer National Aviation (AVNK) aircraft and killed 39 AVNK personnel, effectively destroying the AVNK.
  24 January
  NBC reported that soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade stationed at Landing Zone English were buying heroin from a Vietnamese house on the base and the South Vietnamese then proceeded to demolish the house.
caption: Operation Ranch Hand mission
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