Binh Tay I
Written April 2013, edited May 2019
Operation
Dates:
6 May 1970 - 16 May 1970
Area of Operation:
Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia (northeastern Cambodia)
Allied Units:
US Army 4th Infantry Division, 3d Battalion 506th Airborne Infantry 101st Airborne Division; ARVN 40th Regiment 22d Division 2d Ranger Group, 23d Division 2d Ranger Group, 2d Armored Brigade
Allied Casualties:
43 KIA, 118 WIA
Enemy Units:
NVA
Enemy Casualties:
212 KIA, 7 POW
Objective(s):
To clear Base Area 702 as part of the Cambodian Incursion.
Significance/Notes:
Part of a number of operations under the Cambodian Incursion which aimed to clear NVA troops out of the eastern regions of Cambodia.
"Binh Tay" means "Taming the West" and this operation was the northernmost of the Cambodian Incursion. American forces discovered an abandoned NVA camp, and overall the operation seized nearly 900 weapons, destroyed 500 tons of rice and 2,000 huts, and captured documents as well. These documents indicated that NVA command anticipated an allied attack and directed forces to avoid contact wherever possible.
US Army Specialist 4 Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the operation.
Sources:
The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History edited by Spencer C Tucker
Vietnam War Almanac by James H. Willbanks
The Vietnam Center And Archive (at Texas Tech University)
Further Reading:
Operation Binh Tay I After Action Report - Vietnam Center and Archive
Operation Binh Tay I After Action Report - 35th Infantry Regiment Association
