Operation Starlite
Operation Starlite (also known in Vietnam as Battle of Van Tuong) was the first major offensive action conducted by a purely U.S. military unit during the Vietnam War from 18 to 24 August 1965. The operation was launched based on intelligence provided by Major general Nguyen Chanh Thi, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) I Corps commander. III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) commander Lieutenant General Lewis W. Walt devised a plan to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Viet Cong (VC) 1st Regiment to nullify their threat to the vital Chu Lai Air Base and Base Area and ensure its powerful communication tower remained intact.
| Operation Starlite | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Vietnam War | |||||||||
Vietcong prisoners (or civilians) await transport during Operation Starlite | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| United States | Viet Cong | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
LG Lewis W. Walt Col. Oscar F. Peatross |
Lê Hữu Trữ (commanding officer) Nguyễn Đình Trọng (commissar) | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines 1st Battalion, 7th Marines 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines |
1st Regiment 52nd Company One company of the 45th Weapons Battalion | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 5,500 | ~1,500 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
45 killed Viet Cong claim: 919 killed and wounded |
U.S body count: 614 killed 9 captured 42 suspects detained 109 weapons recovered Viet Cong report: 200-300 killed, wounded or captured | ||||||||
The operation was conducted as a combined arms assault involving ground, air and naval units. U.S. Marines were deployed by helicopter insertion while an amphibious landing was used to deploy other Marines. The VC used a variety of tactics to counter the Marine assault, fighting from prepared positions and then withdrawing as the Marines gained local superiority and ambushing a lost supply column. The VC were unable to withstand the weight of the Marine assault and U.S. firepower losing 614 killed and nine captured for U.S. losses of 42 killed.