Landing Zone Leslie

Landing Zone Leslie
Coordinates 15°38′20″N 108°10′37″E / 15.639°N 108.177°E / 15.639; 108.177 (Landing Zone Leslie)
Type Army
Site history
Built 1967
In use 1967-8
Battles/wars
Vietnam War
Garrison information
Occupants 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division

Landing Zone Leslie (also known as Firebase Leslie or Hill 138) was a U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base located in the Quế Sơn Valley southwest of Hội An, Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam.

History

The base was located in the Quế Sơn Valley along Route 535, approximately 33 km northwest of Tam Ky.[1]

The base was occupied by D Company and a platoon from A Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry when on the early morning of 3 January 1968 the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 3rd Regiment, 2nd Division attacked four U.S. firebases in the Quế Sơn Valley, launching ground attacks against Leslie and Firebase Ross. At Leslie the PAVN penetrated the base, attacking bunkers with flamethrowers and satchel charges before being pushed out in the afternoon. Losses were 15 U.S and 63 PAVN.[2] The PAVN emplaced heavy machine guns around Leslie and over a nine-day period shot down 7 1st Cavalry helicopters and damaged a further 26.[3]

Current use

The base has reverted to jungle.

References

  1. ↑ Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. pp. 5–295. ISBN 978-1555716257.
  2. ↑ Krohn, Charles (2008). The Lost Battalion of Tet: Breakout of the 2/12th Cavalry at Hue. Naval Institute Press. p. 28. ISBN 9781591144342.
  3. ↑ Shulimson, Jack (1997). US Marines in Vietnam: 1968 The Defining Year. History and Museums Division Headquarters United States Marine Corps. p. 100. ISBN 9781494285715.


Army Reporter information for 3 BDE 1 CAV 23 INF DIV For date 680120 3 BDE 1 CAV was a US Army unit 23 INF DIV was a US Army unit Primary service involved, US Army South Vietnam Location, LZ ROSS Description: �The following is an edited version of an article titled "Killing 287 NVA Soldiers Americal Div Stops Attacks" dated 20 Jan 1968 and includes a map of battle, LZ Ross, LZ Leslie, Ly Ly River. Elements of two NVA regiments tried to overrun two Americal Division positions and suffered heavily in their unsuccessful attempts. Two hundred eighty-seven NVA soldiers lost their lives in their abortive attacks. The enemy fired intense mortar, recoilless rifle and artillery rocket fire into LZs Ross and Leslie. They followed these attacks with ground attacks against the perimeters of the fortified LZs. At one point the enemy forces penetrated the perimeter at LZ Leslie, but they were driven out by the defenders. The barrels of 105mm howitzers were lowered to the horizontal and artillery fire was delivered point-blank into the attacking enemy. Although two other landing zones near by received mortar attacks, the enemy concentrated his ground attacks on Ross and Leslie. Throughout the action, the soldiers of the 3rd Bde, 1st Cav Div who defended the two landing zones were supported by artillery, helicopter gunships and Air Force tactical aircraft. Besides losing 287 soldiers, the NVA also lost 80 individual (rifles, carbines, and sub-machineguns) and 20 crew-served (machineguns, mortars, and recoilless rifles) weapons. The source for this information was 6801AR.AVN supplied by Les Hines

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