BLACK HORSE REGIMENT: 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment BEST COMBAT UNIT in Vietnam 3/3

The Tet Offensive. 1968.

All over South Vietnam, Viet Cong (VC) guerrillas were attacking in all directions; threatening the very cities and civilian population...with the situation growing extremely desperate by every hour. Would the government fall?

The call went out for the 11th ACR to immediately deploy the entire regiment into action.

The 11th ACR used its armored mobility and 360 degree machine gun and heavy cannon firepower and stormed south and moved away from the roads and hit the enemy ambushers in their flanks saving Tan Son Nhut airport, and rescuing the capital city, Saigon. Note the 76mm gun M41 Walker BullDog tanks in use by the ARVN troops. For saving the day, and defeating the VC/NVA's Tet Offensive in the nick of time, the 11th ACR received the valorous unit citation from the Secretary of the Army. Note the unit shoulder patch being approved and the black berets!

http://www.combatreform.org/bberet.htm

After Tet, the 11th ACR fanned out to sweep any remaining enemy from the area to include those hiding underground in tunnels. Roads were swept of mines daily. No BS "IEwhatever" buzz words to make excuses for not being prepared, just hard work to solve the problem.

Many units inspired by the success of the 11th ACR "Gavinized" by getting their own M113s to APC the VC/NVA into submission--the tracked "APC U.S. Army" of the 11th ACR, 173rd ABN BDE, 1st ID (M) and 25th ID (L) would run circles around today's BS wheeled "Humvee truck Army" that can't even get off roads to avoid getting blown up.

http://www.combatreform.org/armoredhmmwvsstrykersfail.htm

Armored, mobile firepower = everything the light infantry lacks--and desperately needs today--we.had it back then and we can have it again today with high technology M113A3/A4 Gavins--so we can be winners like the 11th ACR.

http://www.combatreform.org/itmaneuversabattalion.htm

NONE OF THIS TRACKED COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS CAN BE DONE IN WHEELED STRYKER OR HUMVEE WHEELED TRUCKS. The VC/NVA would kick our asses today if we tried to fight them in our current BS wheeled trucks.

Here's an U.S. Army Command & General Staff College School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) report by Infantry officer, Major William Sutey on the need for cross-country MOBILITY (XCM) from M113 Gavin light tracked tanks to improve LIGHT INFANTRY FORCE mobility, protection and firepower. READ IT.

http://www.combatreform.org/M113GAVINSforLIGHTINFANTRYmajorsutey1993.pdf

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• m113
• gavins
• tanks
• apcs
• tet
• offensive
• vietnam
• armored
• maneuver
• 3d
• warfare
• coin
• counterinsurgency
• iraq
• afghanistan

[pbrucpaul]

We repelled the TET offensive. However the good ole media flashed it back to the USA and showed that we somehow lost the Big advantage of the will of the enemy. Militarily we did our job. But then again through political carelessness and the cruel realization that the conflict initially was designed to be a stalemate, many dedicated soldiers were let down. The timing of this conflict in the '60's was pretty tragic.

[dynmicpara]

@pbrucpaul USMIL at that time KNEW WHAT RIGHT LOOKED LIKE: they were LIGHT MECHANIZED with LIGHT TANKS so they could snatch "victory from the jaws of defeat"--today's USMIL bureaucracy in road-bound, wheeled trucks mouse-clicks LIES and makes excuses for DEFEAT. Don't blame the media for today's USMIL FUBARs.

[jimtraner]

I (along with Slim and Bruce) was on one the first airplane out of Nam to Hong Kong for R & R after Tet. We were warned not to talk to reporters about what we had witnessed. We wondered why they were warning us. Heck, all we saw had been an ass kicking we had layed on the Viet Cong. We didn't even know that there was word for Tet Offensive. All we knew was the 11th had kicked ass. I still don't know what the heck the problem was.

Alllons Brothers

[VickersIndependent]

Those M41s looked awfully like ARVN Bulldogs.

[DemonHide]

6:30-6:38. There's some words that have enormous relevance to the shit we're doing on roads today. It would seem that the most common of common sense would be to not rely on roads whenever possible. And this is being not ignored, but outright opposed by most military "leaders".