Historical Coop Battle of La Drang

DATE: 09/12/2021

TIME (GMT): 19:00

ERA: Vietnam

MAP(S): Prei Khmaoch Luong

TYPE: COOP

GAME: Arma 3

EVENT: Official

AUTHOR(S): Aris for Brothers in Arms

SLOTS: 97 / 98

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RATING: (11)

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The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle between the United States Army and the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN), conducted early in the Vietnam War, at the eastern foot of the Chu Pong Massif in the central highlands of Vietnam, in 1965. It is notable for being the first large scale helicopter air assault .La Drang set the blueprint for the Vietnam War with the Americans relying on air mobility, artillery fire and close air support, while the PAVN neutralized that firepower by quickly engaging American forces at very close range.

Ia Drang comprised two main engagements, centered on two helicopter landing zones (LZs), the first known as LZ X-Ray, followed by LZ Albany, farther north in the Ia Drang Valley.

LZ X-Ray involved the 1st Battalion,7th Cavalry Regiment of 1^st Cavalry Division and supporting units under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore, and took place November 14–16, at LZ X-Ray. Surrounded and under heavy fire from a numerically superior force, the American forces were able to drive back the North Vietnamese forces over three days, largely through the support of air power and heavy artillery bombardment, which the North Vietnamese lacked. The Americans claimed LZ X-Ray as a tactical victory, citing a 10:1 kill ratio.

The battle at LZ X-Ray was documented in the CBS special report Battle of Ia Drang Valley by Morley Safer and the critically acclaimed book We Were Soldiers Once... And Young by Hal Moore and Joseph L. Galloway. In 1994, Moore, Galloway and men who fought on both the American and North Vietnamese sides, traveled back to the remote jungle clearings where the battle took place. At the time the U.S. did not have diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The risky trip which took a year to arrange was part of an award-winning ABC News documentary,They Were Young and Brave produced by Terence Wrong.Randall Wallace depicted the battle at LZ X-Ray in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson and Barry Pepper as Moore and Galloway, respectively.

Joseph Galloway he was decorated with the Bronze Star for helping to rescue a badly wounded soldier while under enemy fire on November 15, 1965, during the Battle of Ia Drang at Landing Zone X-Ray in Vietnam.

We will play as the 1^st Cavalry division representing the first massive disembarkation operation of troops from helicopters that ever took place.