The bridge was started on the 8th; since it was 210 feet long it was necessary to construct a concrete center pier for support. By noon on the 12th the bridge was open for traffic. By 18 March- the opening of Phase II- Route 246 had been opened and in fact improved to a distance of just over 6 kilometers west of the bridge site to the turnoff to Sroc Con Trang. By the 18th the jungle had been cleared from 1,800 feet of the runway, shaping and compact-ing of the subgrade continued, and 400 feet of runway had been completed. Phase II could begin.

The II Field Force mission for the second phase remained the same as for the first; all that changed was the focus of activity. During this phase, Lieutenant General Bruce Palmer, Jr., suc-ceeded General Seaman as the commanding general of II Field Force, Vietnam.

The mission of the Big Red One for Phase II was to continue security of the bridge site and Routes 246 and 244 within the zone; to construct and secure the Special Forces and Civilian Irregular Defense Group camp and airfield; and to place two brigades astride the two enemy routes of communication in eastern War Zone C and have them conduct search and destroy operations. For resupply purposes it was also necessary to keep Route 13 open from Lai Khe to Quan Loi most of the period.

In addition to its organic 1st and 2d Brigades (Colonels Cald-well and Grimsley), the 1st Division would have available the 1st Brigade, 9th Division (Colonel Maurice W. Kendall who was suc-ceeded by Colonel Donald A. Seibert during the period), which would remain attached until 29 March; the 173d Airborne Brigade (General Deane), attached from 20 March to 13 April; and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (-) (Colonel Cobb), attached from 1 through 15 April. One of the squadrons of the 11th would be attached for the entire phase.

The mission of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division would con-tinue to be the security of Route 246, the bridge site, the camp and airfield, and some of the twelve fire support patrol bases the division would establish (stretching from Lai Khe north to Quan Loi, west to Sroc Con Trang, and south on Route 244 from its junc-tion with 246). The 1st Brigade, 9th Division, except for one week, would be responsible for keeping Route 13 open from Lai Khe to Quan Loi, for escorting convoys along it, and for defending as-signed fire bases in its operational area. (One such fire base at Ap Bau Bang was attacked on 20 March.) It would also conduct considerable searching and destroying-with some success- adjacent to Route 13. On 1 April the 11th Armored Cavalry Regi-ment (-) was to be attached to the 1st Division and would assume