Hamburger Hill - A Shau Valley: Articles & Documents

The battle at Dong Ap Bia (Hamburger Hill) occurred during Operation APACHE SNOW, a XXIV Corps directed operation in the Northern Ashau Valley. This operation was initiated on 10 May 1969 with the specific purpose of destroying North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) forces believed to be grouping in the Ashau Valley, blocking enemy routes of egress into Laos, interdicting enemy lines of communication and locating and destroying known enemy caches. Allied forces participating in the operation consisted of elements of the 101st Airborne Division, 3d Marine Division, and the 1st ARVN Division. Table of contents includes a background, the Battle at Dong Ap Bia (fire support, enemy losses, and U.S. casualties summaries), consideration of allegations by Senator Stephen M. Young, and a draft insert for congressional record.

Major General Melvin Zais, a second generation Russian American, orchestrated the battle between the 29th Regiment of the People's Army of Vietnam and the 101st Airborne Division around Dong Ap Bia (Hamburger Hill), Vietnam.

See Chapter 24, "The Battle of Hamburger Hill: Battle Command in Difficult Terrain Against a Determined Enemy" for a discussion of the battle command of LTC Weldon Honeycutt.