CHAPTER V

The Hammer Strikes

Action proceeded in the Iron Triangle and Thanh Dien forest as the hammer continued its swing toward the anvil. On the morning of 11 January, General Seaman sent a message to the commanding generals of the 1st and 25th Divisions. After congratulating them on achieving initial surprise and on the encouraging results of the operation, he concluded by saying '. . . I want a thorough search to be made of the area of responsibility. . . . I particularly desire that the Iron Triangle be completely covered.' It was in the spirit of this message that Operation CEDAR FALLS was conducted until its termination sixteen days later.

The operation was characterized by numerous small unit actions with both the hammer and anvil forces continuing to uncover increasingly large amounts of supplies. The men of the 1st and 25th Divisions searched meticulously, stripping the Iron Triangle and the surrounding area of all they could find that might be of value to the enemy. The enemy's defenses were weak and disorganized and had evidently been shattered by the mass and surprise of the attack. Mines, booby traps, and snipers were encountered, but there were no organized defenses or counterattacks. The enemy had evidently ordered units to disperse and try to escape. Because of the tight seal around the triangle, this was not always easy.

25th Infantry Division

Forces of the 25th Infantry Division continued search and destroy and search and clear operations along the Saigon River. The action was typified by company-size sweeps of assigned areas of operations. An entry in the 2d Brigade's after action report summarizes the activities of the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry, on 17 January, which were fairly illustrative of the activities of the other units:

CO. A 1/27 conducted S&D [search and destroy] operations between AP NHA VIEC and the Saigon River. B 1/27 continued road clearing operations in sector. C 1/27 continued to outpost Saigon River. At 0947 hours A 1/27 destroyed one sampan, one bunker. At 1223 hours C 1/27 located 600 pounds rice. At 1350 hours C 1/27 destroyed four bunkers, and