An Estimated 2,500 VC Soldiers Launched a Catastrophic Assault on Firebase 6

On the night of November 23, 1967, the jungle around Firebase 6 was silent. Inside the wire, 400 Americans of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry waited in the humid darkness. Outside, 2,500 soldiers of the Viet Cong Main Force were cutting the wire.

The defenders believed they were a fortified position. The enemy believed they were a target. But in reality, the men of Firebase 6 were the bait in a massive, industrial trap designed to turn the jungle into a "killing box."

This video is a minute-by-minute breakdown of the Battle of Firebase 6. It dissects the anatomy of a massed night assault, exploring the terrifying physics of "Danger Close" variable-time artillery fuses, the logistical weight of an "Artillery Box" barrage, and the moment a defensive perimeter collapses into hand-to-hand combat.

From the perspective of the Quad-50 gunners whose barrels glowed white-hot, to the artillery commanders forced to call fire on their own coordinates, this story illustrates the brutal calculus of the Vietnam War. It reveals how the US command traded the safety of 400 men for the opportunity to unleash the "King of Battle" on a massed enemy formation.

Firebase 6 was a tactical victory, validated by a lopsided body count. But it was also a harrowing lesson in the limits of human endurance against the scale of industrial warfare. The men on the ground didn't just fight an enemy; they survived a math problem solved by high explosives.

🎖️ FEATURED UNITS & PERSONNEL:

1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment ("Vanguards")

Artillery Batteries (105mm & 175mm Support)

F-100 Super Sabre Tactical Fighter Squadrons

VC Main Force Regiments (War Zone D)

UH-1 "Huey" Gunship Detachments

#VietnamWar #CombatFootage #Artillery #WarZoneD #MilitaryHistory #DangerClose #Infantry #ColdWar #TacticalAnalysis #Firebase6

📚 SOURCES & FURTHER READING:

Official After-Action Report: Battle of Firebase 6

"The Iron Triangle" - Operational Archives

Oral Histories of the 1st Infantry Division

Vietnam Studies: Field Artillery, 1954-1973

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