page_title: Operation Lancaster II
section_title: June–November
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Lancaster II / Operation / June–November
caption_attribution_description: View of the U.S. Marine Corps Ca Lu Combat Base on the Quang Tri river, south of "The Rockpile" on Highway 9, Quang Tri province, Vietnam, in 1968.
context_page_description: Operation Lancaster II was a U.S. Marine Corps security operation that took place in northern Quảng Trị Province from 20 January to 23 November 1968 during the Vietnam War. The operation followed on directly from Operation Lancaster. The Marines patrolled aggressively. The response of the People's Army of Vietnam was mixed; Prolonged lulls alternated with fierce fighting. Broadly the Marines felt that they were successful in maintaining the supply route to Ca Lu, at the terminus of Route 9, and in, at least intermittently, disrupting PAVN communications.
  The operation ended with the Lancaster operational area being absorbed into the Scotland II and Kentucky operational areas. By the close of the operation the Marines had lost 359 killed; they calculated that PAVN fatalities were in excess of 1,800.
context_section_description: On 9 July 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines arrived at LZ Stud to replace the 1/4 Marines. On 10 July the 3rd Marine Regiment assumed responsibility for the Lancaster sector. On 11 July Task Force Hotel took control of 1/3 Marines at LZ Stud and they were transported by helicopter to Hill 715, west of LZ Stud which was the suspected base area of the PAVN 8th Battalion, 29th Regiment. One CH-46 was shot down during the assault with no Marine losses. 1/3 Marines swept the area over the next 4 days locating abandoned PAVN positions and suffering loses due to sniper fire and command-detonated mines before returning to LZ Stud on 15 July. On 25 July 1/3 Marines returned to Hill 715 to recover the bodies of 2 Marines killed in the earlier operation, they were met by heavy PAVN fire, mines and booby-traps but were unable to close with any PAVN forces, after recovering the 2 dead Marines and destroying PAVN supplies they returned to LZ Stud on 4 August. Also on 25 July BLT 2/4 Marines was landed on Hill 679 12km west of LZ Stud to patrol the area to the north. On 29 July as 2/4 Marines approached Hill 606 (16.722°N 106.765°E) 4km north of Hill 679 they walked into a PAVN ambush losing 4 Marines killed. After securing Hill 606 2/4 Marines then searched the Khe Giang Thoan Valley locating PAVN rocket launch site and destroying 20 tons of supplies. An attack on Company G's night defensive position resulted in 4 Marines killed. On 6 August 2/4 Marines was extracted and returned to LZ Stud, now renamed Vandegrift Combat Base.
  In mid-June Task Force Hotel received intelligence that the PAVN were infiltrating the area north of the Rockpile and began planning a sweep of the area, however due to a shortage of forces an operation could not be launched until mid-July. On 17 July 2/3 Marines, 2/9 Marines and 3/9 Marines were landed in "Helicopter Valley" while 1/9 Marines established blocking positions to the east and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 1st and 2nd Battalions, 2nd Regiment established blocking positions in the Cam Lộ Valley northwest of the Rockpile. As Company K 9th Marines moved north from its landing zone towards Mutter's Ridge they were engaged by an entrenched PAVN company-sized force, following airstrikes the Marines overran the position killing 38 PAVN for the loss of 9 Marines. On 21 July as 2/9 Marines moved north towards the DMZ they were hit by mortar fire killing 1 Marine, they subsequently located the mortar team killing 20 with small arms and airstrikes. Denied permission to enter the DMZ the Marines swept the area locating PAVN bunkers and supplies including 2 75mm pack howitzers. On 27 July 1/3 Marines and 3/3 Marines were landed at Landing Zones Margo, Joan and Becky in the upper Cam Lo basin and on Dong Ha Mountain, establishing Firebase Fuller there, but the PAVN avoided contact. The unnamed "July Action" operation concluded on 3 August and was regarded as a success as the Marines adopted new more mobile tactics aimed at disrupting PAVN supply lines rather than being tied to the defense of large bases along the DMZ. 
  From September to November apart from mines on Route 9 and the occasional mortar attack on the large bases, most of the PAVN activity in the Lancaster area was centered on Landing Zones Mack and Sierra on Mutter's Ridge. On 21 November 1/3 Marines was redeployed from its positions on Mutter's Ridge to Strongpoint C-1 north of the Cửa Việt River.
caption: Ca Lu Combat Base
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