Name that battle QUIZ

This thread is about situations or facts of battles in human history =)

So, here it goes:

In which battle the allied lost nearly all involved rangers, so the ranger forces were subsequently disband in this theatre ?

A clue, William O. Darby served as the American Ranger Force commander during this engagement

Regards,
Che.

 

Dieppe? S'only one I can think of with Rangers at all.

 

Nope, sry

 

Somewhere in North Africa during Torch springs to mind, but I couldn't name an actual battle

 

It´s the right geographical direction (MTO), however it was not durin´ Operation Torch and more then a year later =)

Regards,
Che.

 

landing at Salerno, italy during operation Avalanche

 

Yep, that´s the right one, however can you name the special and famous battle in this area ?

 

Hehe, ok here it goes, the battle was

The Battle of Cisterna

During this battle, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th US Army Ranger battalions, the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battlion, and the 2nd Battalion of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which had been brigaded as the 6615th Ranger Force (Provisional), attempted to capture the town of Cisterna, an objective which the US 3rd Infantry Division had failed to take.

The Rangers attempted a night infiltration behind German lines into the town of Cisterna. They moved in the darkness along a drainage ditch in column formation. Although they were able to bypass numerous German positions, at first light they were still short of their objective and needed to cross open ground for the final portion of the approach. At this point the Rangers were attacked by strong German forces including at least seventeen German Panzer IV tanks. The 1st Battalion commander, Major Dobson, personally knocked out one tank by shooting the commander with his pistol, climbing atop the tank, and dropping a white phosphorus grenade down the hatch. Two other tanks were captured by Rangers, but then knocked out by other Rangers who did not know they had been captured. Despite fierce fighting, there was little chance of success once the Rangers were attacked on the open ground. German units put Ranger prisoners in front of their tanks and commanded other Rangers to surrender. Eventually 761 of 767 Rangers were lost. The exact number of killed, wounded and POW is unknown, although historian Carlo D'Este estimated well over 400 Rangers were captured. German casualties reached a similar level. The town remained in German hands until May 1944, and the Ranger forces within Italy were subsequently disbanded. Ranger units continued to serve in northern Europe (spearheading D-Day) and in the Pacific theatre of operations.

wikipedia

Quillin got the best hit, so it´s your turn now, if you like

Regards,
Che.

 

I pass, so, this is an open quiz.

 

hmm, come on lads, a little bit more commitment

..name the last major battle of the ARVN, especially of their paras !

Regards,
Che.

 

Che:
Are you referring to the Battle for Xuan Loc by chance? It was fought between April 9-20, 1975.

A division of ARVN (18th Infantry Division) held off the NVA IV CORPS and 3 diviisons, using tanks, air-support and tenacity. Their resistance was so fierce, and use of close-air support so effective the NVA forces were stunned by the losses inflicted upon them.
(I've heard it stated that in tank vs tank combat... the South Vietnamese tankers were MORE than a match for their NVA opposition.)
At least they went-down in a blaze of glory... and the NVA rolled into Saigon a bit later than originally anticipated.

Tim

 

Che:
I've got one for you.
Name the only instance where US armor engaged NVA armor during the Vietnam War.

Tim

 

The 1st Battalion 69th Armor kicked some PT-76 with their Pattons at Ben Het in 1969. The NVA lost two of them and the US only a damaged M48 (Captain Stovall) which suffered a direct hit. Btw if you lare interessted here comes the site of the 1/69th Armor and their time in vietnam

http://www.rjsmith.com/my_unit.html

You got it, good job. The ARVN performed formidable at Xuan Loc, they destroyed nearly 40 T-54 tanks unfortunately it didn´t stop the NVA.

Best Regards,
Che.

 

The Cisterna action wais not part of the Salerno landing but of the Anzio-Nettuno one, January 1944 and not September 1943/
Regards

 

Che:
Thanks for sharing the link. Lots of good-stuff there!
Yes, you are correct.
It was Ben Het Special Forces Camp. Two PT-76 "light amphib" tanks, and one personnel-carrier were lost by the NVA.
The "direct-hit" on Capt. Stovalls' M-48 killed and injured crew-members who were outside the turret--or exposed in the hatches--but did not put the tank out of action. It continued to fight with new crew-members.
According to the website of the 69th, the only damage inflicted on the M-48 was a broken machine-gun charging handle.

Tim

 

Another one.

When was the FIRST tank-vs-tank battle fought between ARVN and NVA forces... in South Vietnam?
What were the results of this engagement?

Tim

 

@shermanologist on watch
Sry, my fault I confused Operation Shingle with Avanlache, don´t know how this could happen :smok:

Hey Tim,

found a picture of a destroyed PT-76 at Ben Het, guess it had to be an easy job for the 1/69th Armor to defeat the PT-76. I´ve read somewhere that even
a M113 knocked out such a NVA tank, using the .50 cal. ??

http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/Vietnam/m ... ll/F26.jpg

PT-76 at Ben Het

To your question, I think it was during Operation Lam Son 719, when the ARVN destroyed 17 PT-76 and six T-54. The ARVN lost four of their five Walkers and ca. 20 APC´s in 1971, don´t know the concrete day, that was all I found in ma book
Btw it would be a nice diorama with a M-41 passing a knocked out T-54

Regards,
Che.

 

Che:
Trick question. (Note I said South Vietnam.)
Lam Song 719 was the disasterous ARVN foray into LAOS--Feb '71.
---------------
During that campaign the NVA launched a series of tank-infantry attacks against Landing Zone 31. M-41s from Aloui were sent to reinforce, and engaged NVA armor for the first time.
In the battle for the LZ, six T-54s and sixteen PT-76s were destroyed by the ARVN "Bulldogs" without losing a single M-41. While the operation was considered a disaster--with staggering losses of men and materiale--the ARVN tankers certainly served with distinction.

Tim

 

hmm, in South Vietnam :-?
thats a tough question, did I solve the question so far ?* It seems that elements of the ARVN performed very well in the war, perhaps because they had some capable leaders in this fights and not some of the corrupt and incompetent majority.

*If yes, here goes another one. Do you know which famous FSB was overrun by the VC, it was the deadlist attack on a firebase in the Nam ?

Regards,
Che.

 

Che:
OK, look to the Easter Invasion of '72. Specifically, the 20th ARVN Tank Regiment at Dong Ha. Equipped with M-48s, they shot-hell out of opposing NVA armor columns. The ARVN tanikers were clearly superior to their NVA counterparts.
--------------
As to your question... off the top of my head, I'll guess Camp Carroll and the loss of their big 175mm artillery-tubes, which occurred during that same '72 Spring Offensive.

Tim