NOVEMBER 2013 HISTORICAL CASE OF THE AWOACD ADMINISTRATIVE DATA TITLE: The Battle of Hamburger Hill WRITTEN BY: ___________________________________________________________ REVIEWED BY: ____________________________________________________ APPROVED BY: ___________________________________________________ November 2013 INDEX The Battle of Hamburger Hill PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 1 HISTORY 1 EXECUTION & ACTION 2AFTER ACTION 6LESSONS LEARNED 7REFERENCES 9SUPPORTING REFERENCES 10THE BATTLE OF HAMBURGER HILLIntroductionThe Battle of Hamburger Hill proved to be one of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War due to the large number of casualties in such a short period of time. Under the command of Major General Melvin Zais, with the help of elements of the 101st Airborne Division and a small contingent of Vietnam Army soldiers, the Allied forces led an offensive against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) to gain control of Hill 937. The successful capture of Hill 937 would ultimately aid the ultimate goal of controlling the Ashau Valley, which had become an important supply route for the NVA. Although the battle lasted only 10 days, the grueling battle ended with 72 American soldiers dead and another 420 wounded. History The entire Ashau Valley had been used extensively by the NVA and Viet-Cong as an entry and exit route for their soldiers to move supplies in and out of Laos. “Enemy forces routinely infiltrated through Laos and set up safe sanctuaries just in front of... middle of paper... 00 wounded soldiers. The number and effectiveness of Allied air and artillery attacks are demonstrated by the 10:1 kill ratio of enemy troops. By the end of May 1969 nearly all Allied forces had abandoned Hill 937, leading many troops and the American media to question the purpose of the battle if we were even going to abandon it. “Well, for one thing, it overlooks much of the Ashau Valley. Besides, you stand back and Charlie (the North Vietnamese army) will definitely follow you and hit you… We don't really go out for a piece of ground. Let's go beat him up, and that's what we did. In conclusion, the strategic objective was not to capture and hold Hill 937, but rather to destroy the 29th NVA Regiment which was occupying the hill and using it as a supply/staging base.