Battle of A Shau The Battle of A Shau was waged in early 1966 during the Vietnam War between the North Vietnamese Army and the forces of the United States and South Vietnam . The battle began on March 9 and lasted until March 10 with the fall of the U . S . Army ' s Special Forces camp of the same name . Background . The A Shau Special Forces Camp was located in the A Shau Valley , about 30 miles ( 50 km ) southwest of Huế in Thừa Thiên Province . The valley was strategically important for the North Vietnamese Army as a major infiltration route because it was adjacent to the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Laos . Defending the camp were 10 Green Beret s from the 5th Special Forces Group and 210 South Vietnamese Civilian Irregular Defense Group , supported by Air Commando units equipped with vintage A - 1 Skyraider s and AC - 47 Spooky gunships . The camp was routinely harassed by small Vietcong formations leading up to the battle . Throughout February and March , 1966 , platoon - sized troops from the camp were sent out to conduct reconnaissance patrols in the surrounding area . On March 5 , two defectors from the North Vietnamese Army turned up at the camp . Under interrogation , they indicated that four battalions of the North Vietnamese 325th Division were planning to attack the camp . Based on that information , night patrols were dispatched to confirm the enemy positions but no sightings were made . However , Air Commandos conducting reconnaissance flights observed large build - ups of North Vietnamese troops along with anti - aircraft emplacements . As a result , airstrikes were ordered against enemy positions . On March 7 , the A Shau camp was reinforced with seven U . S . Special Forces personnel , nine interpreters , and a MIKE Force Company in anticipation of the North Vietnamese attack . Battle . On March 8 , the camp was placed on general alert and the camp ' s defenders had taken up their positions . During the night an enemy assault was launched but thrown back . Because of poor weather conditions that would hinder tactical air and resupply efforts , the North Vietnamese decided to continue more forcibly . The second attack began during the early morning hours of March 9 with mortar bombardment , damaging communications and reducing defensive positions to rubble . At 13 : 00 hours an AC - 47D " Spooky 70 " from the 4th Air Commando Squadron , circling the camp , fired on attacking North Vietnamese formations but was shot down and crashed about five kilometers north of the camp . All six crewmen survived , but were attacked by NVA troops . Three crewman were killed but the other three were eventually rescued by a USAF HH - 43 . Between 16 : 30 and 17 : 00 hours , supplies of ammunition were flown in by C - 123 and CV - 2 aircraft , but the resupply drops often landed outside of the camp and could not be retrieved . At the same time , helicopters were called to evacuate the wounded . However , reinforcements from Huế and Phu Bai could not be deployed because of the bad weather , so the camp ' s defenders repaired their defensive wall and dug in for the night . On the morning of March 10 , the North Vietnamese Army launched another attack with mortar and recoilless rifle fire . At 05 : 00 hours an assault team penetrated the east wall of the camp , where hand - to - hand combat took place for three hours . By 08 : 00 hours the defenders had withdrawn to the camp ' s north wall . Throughout the day USMC and VNAF bombers strafed North Vietnamese positions around the camp , but as fighting continued the situation deteriorated with ammunition supplies running short . As a result , a decision was made to evacuate all personnel . At 17 : 00 hours all communication equipment was destroyed . The survivors carried out their evacuation orders and destroyed all abandoned weapons and withdrew further to the north wall . Leading the evacuation effort were fifteen H - 34 helicopters from HMM - 163 supported by four UH - 1 B gunships . Panic - stricken Vietnamese mobbed the evacuation helicopters and overwhelmed U . S . Special Forces troops as they abandoned the camp . The evacuation further complicated by heavy enemy anti - aircraft fire , and two H - 34s were lost . Aftermath . American control ceased at the camp at 17 : 45 hours when overrun by enemy troops . In the evacuation the U . S . suffered five more killed and twelve wounded . With their position consolidated , the North Vietnamese Army heavily fortified the area with bunkers , antiaircraft guns , and artillery . During the Tet Offensive the A Shau Valley provided Communist troops an important sanctuary from which to launch attacks at South Vietnamese cities , especially Hue and Phu Bi .