Siege of Plei Me

Siege of Plei Me
Part of the Vietnam War

Special Forces camp at Plei Me in 1965
DateOctober 19–25, 1965
Location
13°37′03″N 107°55′03″E / 13.6175°N 107.9175°E / 13.6175; 107.9175
Plei Me, Pleiku Province, South Vietnam
Result South Vietnamese-American victory
Belligerents
 South Vietnam
 United States		 Vietnam North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
Vĩnh Lộc
Charles Beckwith		 Chu Huy Mân
Strength
South Vietnam 1,400 ARVN and 450 CIDG
United States 12 U.S. Special Forces
United States U.S. Air Force and TF Ingram		 33rd and 320th PAVN Regiments (~4,200)
Casualties and losses
South Vietnam 16 ARVN killed
South Vietnam 14 CIDG killed
United States 3 killed[1]

U.S. body count: 326 killed during siege [2]

U.S. estimate: 850 killed during siege and pursuit[3]

The siege of Plei Me (Vietnamese: Bao vây Plei Me; 19–25 October 1965) was the beginning phase of the first major confrontation between soldiers of the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The lifting of the siege by South Vietnamese forces and American air power was followed by the pursuit of the retreating North Vietnamese from 28 October until 12 November, setting the stage for the Battle of Ia Drang.

  1. ^ 5th Special Forces Group, CIDG in Camp Defense (Plei Me), 31 December 1965.
  2. ^ Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report #160 – Special Report: The Siege of Plei Me – 19–29 October 1965, 24 February 1966, Folder 0279, Box 0001, Vietnam Archive Collection, The Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech University. Accessed 9 Apr. 2015.<http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=F031100010279>
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Time was invoked but never defined (see the help page).