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Operation Cedar Falls was conducted by the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War on January 8 – January 26, 1967 to rout out Viet Cong base camps in the so-called Iron Triangle. The operation involved nearly 16,000 American and 14,000 South Vietnamese troops. The Viet Cong chose not to fight and melted away into the jungle. In response, tunnel rats were introduced to root them out. This was the first time they were used.
Casualties U.S. and South Vietnamese forces accounted for nearly 750 confirmed enemy dead and 280 prisoners. Enemy equipment losses were 23 crew-served weapons, 590 individual weapons, and over 2,800 explosive items such as mines, grenades, and mortar and artillery rounds. Some 1,100 bunkers, 525 tunnels, and over 500 structures were destroyed. U.S. battle losses totaled 72 killed and 337 wounded; those for the South Vietnamese, 11 killed and 8 wounded. U.S. equipment lost included 1 tank and 3 armored personnel carriers. Damage was sustained by 3 tanks, 9 APC's, 1 tankdozer, 2 jeeps and 2 light observation helicopters. The South Vietnamese lost 3 individual weapons. Salvage Over 60,000 rounds of small arms ammunition were captured, as were many miscellaneous items of equipment, including over 7,500 uniforms. Captured were also 3,700 tons of rice, enough to feed 13,000 troops for a full year, and more than a half million pages of assorted documents. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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