Operation Cedar Falls was a military operation of the Vietnam War conducted primarily by US forces. The aim of this massive search and destroy operation was to eradicate the so-called "Iron Triangle", an area located in close proximity to Saigon which had become a major stronghold of the communist National Liberation Front (NLF) or Vietcong. The operation began on January 8, 1967 and ended on January 28, 1967.Operation Cedar Falls was the single largest ground operation of the Vietnam war Larry H. Addington, America"s War in Vietnam. A Short Narrative History (Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2000), p. 100: Two Army divisions, one infantry and one paratrooper brigade, as well as one armored cavalry regiment participated in the operationShelby L. Stanton, The Rise and Fall of an American Army. US Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1965-1973 (New York: Ballantine Books, 1985), p. 142; altogether, Operation Cedar Falls involved 30,000 US and South Vietnamese troops.Addington, America"s War, p. 100 The Vietcong, however, chose to evade this massive military force by either fleeing across the border to Cambodia or hiding in a complex system of underground tunnels. Nevertheless, the allied forces uncovered and destroyed some of the tunnel complexes as well as large stockpiles of Vietcong supplies. In the course of the operation, so-called tunnel rats Cold War Files were introduced for the first time to infiltrate Vietcong tunnel systems.In an attempt to permanently destroy the Iron Triangle as a Vietcong stronghold, Operation Cedar Falls also entailed the complete deportation of the region"s civilian population to so-called New Life Villages, the destruction of their homes, as well as the defoliation of whole areas.Most senior officers involved in planning and executing the operation later evaluated it as a success. Most journalists and military historians, however, paint a bleaker picture. They argue that Cedar Falls failed to achieve its main goal since the Vietcong"s setback in the Iron Triangle proved to be only temporary. Moreover, critics argue that the harsh treatment of the civilian population was both morally questionable as well as detrimental to the US effort to win Vietnamese hearts and minds driving many into the ranks of the NLF instead. Therefore, some authors cite Operation Cedar Falls as a major example for the misconceptions of the American strategy in Vietnam and for its morally troublesome consequences.



Background



The "Iron Triangle"

The planning for Operation Cedar Falls evolved out of the broader strategic aims which MACV, the United States" unified command structure for its military forces in South Vietnam, had formulated for 1967. Following the Vietnam War"s earlier stages, in which the insertion of major US ground troops had averted the collapse of the South Vietnamese regime and during which the Americans had build up their forces, MACV commander Gen. William C. Westmoreland planned to go on the offensive during 1967. In particular, he planned to clear major North Vietnamese or Vietcong strongholds and to push communist forces into South Vietnam"s lightly populated border regions where US forces would be able to make more lavish use of their fire power Stanton, Rise and Fall, pp. 131-135.A region thus targeted by American military planners was War Zone C, a major hotbed of communist activity located north of Saigon. On Gen. Westmoreland"s order, Lieutenant General Jonathan O. Seaman, Commanding General, II Field Force, Vietnam, began planning for an operation code named Operation Junction City aimed at eradicating this NLF sanctuary. When the strength of Gen. Seaman"s troops built up, however, he suggested to additionally target another major Vietcong stronghold: the so-called "Iron Triangle". This was the nickname for an area of approximately 155 square kilometers located some 20 kilometers north of Saigon which, being bounded by the Saigon River to the southwest, Than Dien Forest to the north, and the Song Thi Thinh River to the east, had a roughly triangular shape. Virtually since the beginning of the Second Indochinese War, this area had become a major communist staging ground and rear area which, by 1966, South Vietnamese government officials or military forces had not dared to enter in years. Due to the Iron Triangle"s location, shape, and the scope of Vietcong activity there, it had been called a "dagger pointed at the heart of Saigon."Stafford T. Thomas, “Operation Cedar Falls”, in James S. Olson, Dictionary of the Vietnam War (New York: Greenwood Press, 1988), p. 328.. Westmoreland agreed and so it was decided that Operation Junction City was to be preceded by Operation Cedar Falls.Bernard William Rogers, Cedar Falls-Junction City. A Turning Point (Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 1974), pp. 17-22. Retrieved on 2008-07-28Since earlier efforts to clear the Iron Triangle from Vietcong forces had failed, Operation Cedar Falls was intended to achieve nothing less than its complete eradication as an enemy sanctuary and base of operations. Therefore, Operation Cedar Falls was to involve not only an assault on regular Vietcong forces and their infrastructure, but also the deportation of the area"s entire civilian population, the complete destruction of their homes, the area"s defoliation, and its categorization as a specified strike zone where any individual encountered would be presumed to belong to the Vietcong (so-called "free-fire zone"). Rogers, Cedar Falls-Junction City, p. 19.

Opposing Forces and Terrain

American intelligence indicated that the NLF"s Military Region IV headquarters were located in the Iron Triangle; their destruction thus was a principal aim of Operation Cedar Falls. Moreover, the 272d Regiment, the 1st and 7th Battalions of Military Region IV under the 165th Viet Cong Regiment, the Phu Loi Local Force Battalion, plus three local force companies, as well as the 2d, 3d, and 8th Battalions of the 165th Viet Cong Regiment were suspected to operate in the Iron Triangle.To strike against this enemy force, II Field Force organized the single largest ground operation of the American War in Vietnam involving the equivalent of three US divisionsPhilipp B. Davidson, Vietnam at War. The History 1946-1975 (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1988), p. 428, some 30,000 US and South Vietnamese troops. The US units involved were the 1st Infantry Division and 25th Infantry Division, the 196th Infantry Brigade, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, as well as the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Throughout the operation these units were supposed to bear the brunt of the fighting; South Vietnamese troops were planned to search villages in the region, perform logistical tasks, as well as organizing the deportation of the civilian population.Jonathan Schell, The Real War. The Classic Reportings on the Vietnam War (New York: Pantheon Books, 1987), pp. 97-98.As often during the Vietnam War, the terrain of the area of operations constituted a major problem for military planners. Indeed, the reason why the Vietcong were able to establish the Iron Triangle as a major sanctuary was that its terrain made it difficult for larger military forces to access this region. Therefore, another major aim of the operation was to destroy large parts of the vegetation through defoliants and bulldozers in order to make the Iron Triangle more easily accessible for future operations.

Battle Plan

Operation Cedar Falls was planned as a "hammer and anvil" operation. Under the cloak of deceptive deployments on seemingly routine operations, the 25th Infantry Division with the 196th Infantry Brigade attached to it was to assume blocking positions west of the Iron Triangle, along the Saigon River, whereas one brigade of the 1st Infantry Division was assigned the same task along the Song Thi Tinh River east of the area of operations. The remaining units were then supposed to "hammer" the Vietcong against this "anvil" by rapidly moving through the Iron Triangle, scouring it for enemy troops and installations, and clearing it of civilians. A tight encirclement of the area was to prevent communist units from retreating.Operation Cedar Falls was scheduled to begin on January 5, 1967 when weather conditions were most favorable. It was divided into two distinct phases. During preparatory phase I, January 5-9, the "anvil" was set up by positioning the relevant units along the Iron Triangle"s flank, and an air assault on Ben Suc, a key fortified Viet Cong village, was to take place on January 8 (D-day). These operations were to be succeeded by the completion of the area"s encirclement as well as a concerted drive of American forces through the Iron Triangle (the "hammer") from both the south and the west in phase II. Rogers, Cedar Falls-Junction City, p. 23.