operation it was frightening. Operation Starlite was conceived to nullify the Viet Cong threat to the Chu Lai Air Base and Base Area. In August of 1965 the U.S. mounted an offensive against the 1st Viet Cong Regiment south of the U.S. air base in Chu Lai. Der Betrieb Starlite (auch in Vietnam bekannt als Schlacht von Van Tuong) war die erste große Offensive Regiments-Größe Aktion durch eine rein durchgeführt US militärische Einheit während des Vietnam - Krieges.Die Operation wurde auf Basis von Intelligenz von der gestartet Major General Nguyen Chanh Thi, die Armee der Republik Vietnam (ARVN) commander in Nord- Korps - Bereich. At the end of the six day battle, over 600 Viet Cong were killed and their enclave destroyed. Operation Piranha; Part of Vietnam War: Map of Operation Piranha: Date: 7 - 10 September 1965 : Location: Batangan Peninsula, Quảng Ngãi Province, South Vietnam.

U.S. Marine and Navy veterans recall their experiences from Operation Starlite during the Vietnam War. Operation Starlite (also known in Vietnam as Battle of Van Tuong) was the first major offensive regimental size action conducted by a purely U.S. military unit during the Vietnam War. I was there during Operation Starlite and until I started my research, I was oblivious to so many aspects of that operation it was frightening.

III Marine Amphibious Force commander Lieutenant General Lewis W. Walt devised a plan to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Viet Cong 1st Regiment to nullify their threat to the vital Chu Lai Air Base I have read thousands of pages and viewed numerous photographs of that event in military history. On Aug. 18, 1965, more than 5,000 Marines descended in force upon a Viet Cong base near Van Tuong, Vietnam, in the first major offensive action of regimental size conducted solely by U.S. military units during the Vietnam War, called Operation Starlite., This is an ongoing project and will be updated accordingly. Operation Starlite was the first offensive military action conducted by a purely U.S.military unit during the Vietnam War.The operation was launched based on intelligence provided by Major General Nguyen Chanh Thi, the commander of the South Vietnamese forces in northern I Corps area. The operation, code-named Starlite, would be a classic marine encounter, combining land and sea forces, including an amphibious landing and coordination with the navy. I searched for any resemblance of what could be considered a good map of the battle. It took place over six days, from August 18th to the 24th of 1965. There is none to be found, that is until now. Operation Starlite was the first offensive military action conducted by a purely U.S.military unit during the Vietnam War. Operation Starlite (also known in Vietnam as Battle of Van Tuong) was the first major offensive regimental size action conducted by a purely U.S. military unit during the Vietnam War. The operation was originally called Satellite, but a power blackout led to a clerical error and a clerk working by candlelight typed \"Starlite\" instead.

Marines lost at least 45 men and 203 wounded. The operation was launched based on intelligence provided by Major General Nguyen Chanh Thi, the commander of the South Vietnamese forces in northern I Corps area.
Operation Starlite was the first full scale, regimental size battle for U.S. Marines and American forces in the Vietnam War. A deserter from the Vietcong 1st Regiment informed General Thi of a major build-up of enemy Main Force units in the Van Tuong village complex, twelve miles southeast of Chu Lai along the coast.

It would be a very different battle for the Vietcong, accustomed to fighting with their backs to the sea, knowing that against South Vietnamese forces the water could always be used as an avenue of escape.
In accordance with General Westmoreland's strategy of taking the fight to enemy main-force units in the mountains and jungles, it was a search-and-destroy operation.