Operation Napoleon/Saline was a multi-Battalion operation conducted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army along the Cửa Việt River south of the DMZ in Quảng Trị Province. The operation ran from 20 January to 9 December 1968.
Background The Cửa Việt River served as a vital supply line for the 3rd Marine Division in northern Quảng Trị Province, running from the Cửa Việt Base to the Đông Hà Combat Base which in turn supported the Marine bases along the DMZ.
Operation Napoleon
The 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion was moved to the Cửa Việt Base at the mouth of the Cửa Việt River in April 1967 and was responsible for securing the base and its vicinity. In November 1967 the Cửa Việt area was split off from the Operation Kingfisher tactical area of operations as Operation Napoleon. The Napoleon area of operations formed a rectangle covering the area above and below the Cửa Việt River extending inland from the coast. The main positions within this area were the Cửa Việt Base and Strongpoint A-1 (). The 1st AMTRAC Battalion was also given responsibility for the construction of Strongpoint C-4 (), part of the Strongpoint Obstacle System 2 km north of the Cửa Việt and supporting the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 2nd Regiment, 1st Division in the construction of Strongpoint A-1 ().
On 10 December 1967 the 1st AMTRAC Battalion and the attached Company F, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines were protecting the movement of building materials to Strongpoint C-4, 2 km north of the Cửa Việt River. As two squads from 2/4 Marines patrolled near the village of Ha Loi Tay they were hit by sniper fire, the Marines engaged their attackers killing 8 People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) soldiers for the loss of 1 Marine killed. The Marines searched the surrounding area and engaged another group of 20-25 PAVN some wearing U.S. military equipment. The squads called for assistance and were reinforced by a platoon and later by another 2 platoons and 2 LVTH-6 howitzer equipped AMTRACs. The Marines then formed a night defensive perimeter. At 06:30 on 11 December the Marines moved back into the area of the previous day's engagement and at 08:00 saw a group of more than 40 PAVN in the area. The Marines attempted to pin the PAVN against an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Battalion at Strongpoint A-1 2.5 km to the west, but the PAVN moved around the Marines and began attacking them from the south, hitting the LVTH-6s with 10 Rocket-propelled grenades to little effect and then with mortar fire before being pushed back after a 30-minute fight. The PAVN launched a renewed assault from the north, northeast and south. The Marines fought back supported by artillery and naval gunfire forcing the PAVN to withdraw leaving 54 dead while the Marines suffered 20 wounded. A search of the area uncovered a large PAVN supply dump which the Marines destroyed before returning to Strongpoint C-4.
On 16 December a PAVN mortar and rocket attack on Cửa Việt Base killed 5 Marines. By the end of 1967 Operation Napoleon had resulted in 87 PAVN dead and 2 captured for the loss of 10 Marine dead.
In January 1968 Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines was attached to the 1st AMTRAC Battalion in place of Company F 2/4 Marines. On the night of 14 January a Marine squad from Company B, 1st AMTRAC Battalion observed a PAVN unit near the village of Tuong Van Tuong southwest of Cửa Việt Base and called in artillery fire, while this fire hit the unit a sweep of the area the following morning failed to find any PAVN dead.
On the morning of 19 January a patrol from Company C, 1/3 Marines engaged elements of the PAVN K400 Main Force Battalion north of Strongpoint A-1, Marine artillery support was soon matched by PAVN artillery fire from across the DMZ and the fight lasted into the afternoon when the Marines withdrew having lost 3 killed, while PAVN losses were 23 killed.
On 20 January PAVN artillery fire targeted U.S. Navy supply boats on the Cửa Việt River forcing the closure of the waterway. The 1st AMTRAC Battalion and the 2nd ARVN Regiment began an operation near the site of the previous day's engagement and soon engaged a PAVN Battalion near the village of My Loc (). PAVN artillery fire was used to cover their withdrawal in the afternoon. Marine losses were 13 dead, while PAVN losses were 40 dead and 2 captured.
At 02:00 on 21 January a 1/3 Marines outpost observed a PAVN unit digging in near the site of the 19 January battle and called in air and artillery strikes. On searching the area in the morning they found 9 PAVN dead. Later that morning a Navy LCM hit a mine on the Cửa Việt River and had to be towed back to Cửa Việt Base.
On the early morning of 22 January a U.S. Navy gunfire support observer at the A-1 Strongpoint observed a 3-500 man PAVN unit in the 19 January battle area and proceeded to call in air and artillery support. An ARVN patrol of the area suggested that more than 100 PAVN had probably been killed. Later that day a Navy LCU hit another mine on the Cửa Việt River and was towed back to the Cửa Việt Base and the river was again closed for demining. III Marine Amphibious Force commander LG Robert E. Cushman Jr. ordered MG Rathvon M. Tompkins to secure the banks of the Cửa Việt River and assigned Shore Landing Force Bravo's Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines for this mission.
Operation Saline On the morning of 23 January the planning for Operation Badger Catch/Saline began and at 19:00 that evening the 3/1 Marines began landing at Blue Beach on the northern mouth of the Cửa Việt River. The Badger Catch operational area extended 5 km north of the Cửa Việt and 7 km inland overlapping with a large part of the Napoleon area. The ARVN would be responsible for securing the area south of the river.
On the morning of 24 January a PAVN command detonated mine sank an LCM on the river and elements of 3/1 Marines were lifted by HMM-165 helicopters to the suspected command site on an island in the river, but were unable to locate any PAVN. Meanwhile, the rest of 3/1 Marines secured the area east of the village of My Loc.
After taking fire from My Loc the previous day, at dawn on the 25th after preparatory artillery fire Company K, 3/1 Marines began an assault on My Loc but was stopped by heavy weapons fire and could only withdraw with tank support, losing 6 dead. At 10:00 PAVN artillery hit 2 LCMs on the Cửa Việt River wounding 5 Americans, U.S. return fire accidentally hit the Company K 3/1 Marines position. From 10:30 until 14:30 air strikes were called in on My Loc and when Company K assaulted the village again they found that the PAVN had withdrawn leaving 20 dead. The PAVN dead were determined to have come from the 803rd Regiment of the 324B Division which had moved its operational area east in an attempt to disrupt Marine supply lines.
On the afternoon of 26 January as it advanced towards the hamlet of Lam Xuan () 1.5 km northwest of My Loc, Company I 3/1 Marines were ambushed by an entrenched PAVN force. Marine tanks and Ontos were sent to support Company I and after a 5 hour long battle managed to disengage from the ambush site losing 8 Marines while killing 17 PAVN and capturing two.
Operation Napoleon/Saline At 14:00 on 27 February operational control of 3/1 Marines was transferred to the 1st AMTRAC Battalion.
On the night of 27 February radar-guided bomb attacks were made on Lam Xuan and then at 08:00 the village was hit by naval gunfire, however these attacks did little damage to the PAVN bunkers because when Company L 3/1 Marines attacked the village later that morning they were met by heavy fire and three tanks were disabled by land mines. Company L pulled back for further air and artillery strikes and in the afternoon Company L and Company K resumed the attack while Company M established a blocking position. At dusk the PAVN began to withdraw under cover of artillery fire from across the DMZ. The following day when the Marines entered Lam Xuan they found 69 dead and capture 2 soldiers, Marine losses were 8 dead.
The Tết truce which was to have come into effect across South Vietnam from 18:00 on 29 January was not observed along the DMZ.
On the early morning of 31 January Company M moved from My Loc to attack PAVN positions south of the hamlet of Mai Xa Thi () while Company K established blocking positions to the north. At 07:00 Company K opened fire on the hamlet and at 07:15 Company M began to advance towards the village. The attack was met by machine gun, mortar and artillery fire and Company L and several LVTs were sent to support Company M but were unable to penetrate the PAVN defenses. At 15:00 the two companies were ordered to pull back to allow air strikes against the village and the assault resumed and 16:00 and made slow progress, securing most of the village by 21:30. The next morning the Marines overran the remaining PAVN positions finding 44 dead and capturing two soldiers for the loss of 12 Marines. The village was found to have been the command post of the 3rd Battalion, 803rd Regiment.
On the afternoon of 1 February, suspecting a PAVN counterattack on Lam Xuan, the Company K commander received permission to abandon the hamlet and move 300m east. The move was carried out after dark and at 02:45 on 2 February PAVN mortar and artillery fire began to hit Company K's former positions in Lam Xuan. The PAVN then assaulted Lam Xuan and were met by fire from Company K's new position and by artillery fire. The PAVN attempted to reorient their attack but were pushed back by artillery fire. Two AMTRACs loaded with ammunition attempted to reach Company K but were forced back and then at dawn, reinforced by Company M and two tanks, they reached Company K's position and counterattacked against the PAVN fighting from hedgerow to hedgerow to overrun their positions. PAVN losses were 141 dead and seven captured while Marine losses were eight dead. The Marines then withdrew from Lam Xuan expecting the PAVN to retrieve their dead and the area was hit by artillery fire throughout the night.
On 24 February the Navy established Task Force Clearwater composed on 20 PBRs plus assorted support ships to keep the Cửa Việt River open. Throughout February PAVN gunners killed seven sailors and damaged 27 vessels on the river.
On 29 February Tompkins merged Operation Napoleon and Saline into one operation under the command of the 3rd Marine Regiment commanded by Col. Milton A. Hull, which moved its headquarters to Cửa Việt Base. The Marines and ARVN claimed over 1000 PAVN killed in area during the month of February.
On 1 March Company M 3/1 Marines supported by two LVTE-1s and two LVTH-6s conducted a sweep of Mai Xa Thi. The LVTEs shot line charges into the hamlet to clear houses along the river's edge while the LVTHs fired Canister shot into the village. As the LVTs moved into the hamlet they were met by heavy weapons fire from the west. Company I was ordered to support the west flank of Company M and they engaged the PAVN in battle until dusk, killing 36 PAVN and capturing three. Sweeping the area over the next 2 days the Marines found a further 83 PAVN dead and captured 1 soldier, Marines losses were 27 dead. Prisoner interrogations revealed that the 52nd Regiment of the 320th Division had moved south of the DMZ to replace 803rd Regiment which had moved south into Thừa Thiên Province.
On 4 March 1/3 Marines joined the operation and the following day BLT 2/4 Marines replaced BLT 3/1 Marines.
On 10 March Cửa Việt Base was hit by PAVN artillery, destroying 150 tons of ammunition, damaging numerous buildings and killing one American.