A Shau Valley
Encyclopedia
The A Shau Valley is a valley in Vietnam
's, Thừa Thiên
province
, west of the city of Huế
along the border with Laos
. The valley was one of the key entry points into South Vietnam
for men and matériel brought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail
by the communist forces and was the scene of heavy fighting during the Vietnam War
.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
's, Thừa Thiên
Thua Thien-Hue Province
Thừa Thiên-Huế is a province in the North Central Coast of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quang Tri Provice to the north and Da Nang City to the south, Laos to the west and the South China Sea to the east. The province has 128 km of coastline, 22,000 ha of...
province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
, west of the city of Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
along the border with Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. The valley was one of the key entry points into South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
for men and matériel brought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ho Chi Minh trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
by the communist forces and was the scene of heavy fighting during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
External links
- Mystique of the Valley by Major Richard L. Horvath
- The Summer Offensive in the A Shau Valley by Lt. Frank Hair
See also
- Battle of A Shau
- Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord
- Battle of Hamburger HillBattle of Hamburger HillThe Battle of Hamburger Hill was a battle of the Vietnam War which was fought by the United States and South Vietnam against North Vietnamese forces from May 10–20, 1969. Although the heavily fortified Hill 937 was of little strategic value, U.S. command ordered its capture by a frontal assault,...
- Dong Ap BiaDong Ap BiaDong Ap Bia is a mountain on the Laotian border of South Vietnam in Thua Thien-Hue Province. Rising from the floor of the western A Shau Valley, it is a looming, solitary massif, unconnected to the ridges of the surrounding Annamite range. It dominates the northern valley, towering some 937 metres...
- Loren HaganLoren D. HagenLoren Douglas Hagen was a United States Army Special Forces officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions during the Vietnam War as Recon Team leader of a small special reconnaissance unit "RT Kansas", manned by USASF "Green Berets"...
and Recon TeamSpecial reconnaissanceSpecial reconnaissance is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organisations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detection by the enemy. As a role, SR is distinct from commando operations,...
Kansas (MACV-SOG) versus the NVA 304th & 308th Divisions.