ABSTRACT

In January 1966, the North Vietnamese Army laid the foundations of their plan to seize Quang Tri and Thua Thien provinces by transferring responsibility for military operations from Military Region 4, which operated in South Vietnam which comprised the southern part of North Vietnam. During the war in Vietnam elements of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps collaborated routinely at low echelons of command. The only extensive operation involving substantial forces of all four services took place during the first week of July 1968. The NVA since 1966 had been seeking to "place the two provinces within North Vietnam's boundary as a bargaining point in any peace negotiations." The coast of South Vietnam tends northwesterly for 130 kilometers, then at the 17th parallel turns abruptly straight north for 14 kilometers to form Cap Mui Lay before resuming the northwesterly tendency.