Operation Lincoln (Vietnam)
| Operation Lincoln | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Vietnam War | |||||||
An M48A3 Patton of 1st Battalion, 69th Armor advancing during the operation | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States | North Vietnam | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
MGen Harry Kinnard Col John J. Hennessey | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
1st Cavalry Division Company B, 1st Battalion, 69th Armored Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division | 18B Regiment | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1,000+ | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 43 killed |
US body count: 477 killed 232 estimated killed | ||||||
Operation Lincoln was an operation conducted by the 1st Cavalry Division west of Pleiku, lasting from 25 March to 8 April 1966, with the goal of locating suspected North Vietnamese and Viet Cong bases to disrupt any planned offensives during the monsoon season.
Following multiple inconclusive skirmishes from 25 to 29 March, American scout helicopters landed in the middle of a North Vietnamese way-station in the immediate vicinity of 1000 soldiers. American forces lost two helicopters to North Vietnamese fire, but ultimately secured the area and declared the operation success as North Vietnamese soldiers withdrew toward the Cambodian border.