page_title: Operation Scotland II
section_title: January–February 1969
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Scotland II / Operation / January–February 1969
caption_attribution_description: English: 1/4 Marines move to board a CH-46 at Vandegrift Combat Base during Operation Scotland II
context_page_description: Operation Scotland II was a U.S. Marine Corps security operation that took place in northwest Quảng Trị Province from 15 April 1968 to 28 February 1969.
context_section_description: On 31 December 1968, the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion was landed west of the former Khe Sanh base to commence Operation Dawson River West. On 2 January 1969 the 9th Marines and the 2nd ARVN Regiment were also deployed on the Khe Sanh plateau supported by the newly established Fire Support Bases Geiger (16.674°N 106.636°E) and Smith (16.62°N 106.677°E); the three-week operation found no significant PAVN forces or supplies in the Khe Sanh area.
  The PAVN generally avoided contact throughout January as the Marines conducted sweeps across the Scotland II area to try to locate the PAVN and disrupt their logistical preparations. On 10 January a large bunker complex was discovered north of Firebase Neville indicating that the PAVN were preparing for operations in the area and on 1 February elements of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and 2/4 Marines swept the southern half of the DMZ north of Neville discovering further caches but without gaining any useful intelligence on PAVN plans.
  In mid-January the 9th Marine Regiment began Operation Dawson River South (later renamed Operation Dewey Canyon) against the Đa Krông and A Sầu valleys.
  In the early foggy morning of 25 February 1969 200 sappers from the PAVN 246th Regiment attacked Firebase Neville killing 12 Marines from Company H, 2/4 Marines and Battery G, 3/12 Marines and 2 Navy corpsmen for the loss of 36 PAVN dead. On the same morning the PAVN 27 Regiment attacked Firebase Russell 10 km east of Firebase Neville killing 29 Marines and Corpsmen for the loss of 25 PAVN. The PAVN remained deployed around Firebase Neville and continued to hit it with mortar fire for several more days despite air and artillery support, until swept from the area by Company G, 2/4 Marines.
caption: 1/4 Marines move to board a CH-46 at Vandegrift Combat Base
exif: {}