Colonel William P. Doyle was sleeping on March 28, 1971, when mortar shelling
outside his bunker awakened him. As he tried to figure out what was happening,
tear gas started to choke and blind him. Firebase Mary Ann was under heavy attack,
and the Americans and South Vietnamese allies were taken entirely by surprise.
The savage perpetrators were the infamous group known as the sappers,
North Vietnamese soldiers tasked with undermining their adversary’s strengths and harassing American
bases in South Vietnam with all their might, instilling fear and generating invaluable losses.
The stealthy agents continually wreaked havoc in US facilities
by planting bombs and throwing grenades, then leaving before their victims could respond.
There was nothing the Americans could do when they stumbled upon the sappers but fight back
with all their strength. In the words of senior sapper commander Bach Ngoc Lien,
they sought: (QUOTE) “To allow the few to fight the many; the weak to fight the strong.”
Still, the sappers’ usually relied on inside information to plan their attacks,
and little did the Americans know that most of the times the enemy was well within their ranks…
The Blooming Lotus
The Bo Doi Dac Cong, or soldiers in special forces, were a highly organized, trained, and
equipped organization within the North Vietnamese Army. Known as the sappers, the elite commandos
were specialized troops composed of exceptionally capable men ready to fight a superior enemy.
The group’s name came from the French term meaning ‘to undermine,’ and they were North Vietnamese or
Viet Cong agents trained to break through American defensive lines using tactics similar to raids.
In October of 1969, President Ho Chi Minh realized the need for such types of soldiers
and called upon his people in a military conference: (QUOTE) “Adoption of sapper tactics
must be flexible. Acquaintance must be made with combat techniques. Morale must be stable.
Discipline must be strict. Determination to win and destroy the enemy must be strong.
Be loyal to the party and the people. Accomplish all missions and overcome any difficulties.”
The bravest and most ingenious soldiers were selected among anyone who was loyal to the
Communist party, not just party members. Moreover, high intelligence, discipline,
and organization skills were required abilities to face any type of combat, and a kamikaze mindset
was strictly discouraged. The men should not only complete their missions but also return alive.
A senior sapper commander, Colonel Bach Ngoc Lien, wrote in a Communist Party publication:
(QUOTE) “Sapper fighting is a living symbol of our national character
and soul, our indomitable fighting will, our creative energies.”
Even though the strategy was similar to classic guerilla fighting,
the North Vietnamese didn’t see it as such. While guerrilla fighting involved reduced
units attacking small and isolated enemy formations, sappers executed well-thought
commando attacks against numerically superior forces inside enemy lines.
The “blooming lotus” tactic, as the North Vietnamese called it,
allowed them to penetrate a fortified area and perform a devastating outward assault.
Never Miss A Trick
In 1968, the Communists launched their infamous Tet Offensive throughout South Vietnam.
Before that, the Viet Cong controlled the sappers in the South, which were independent of the
North Vietnamese Army. But the appalling losses the Viet Cong suffered during the
offensive forced a necessary change in the internal structure of the Communist forces.
From then on, all sapper operations in the South would be under the supervision of the
429th Sapper Group, which answered directly to the Sapper High Command,
part of the North Vietnamese Army in Hanoi.
Training differed for soldiers in regular units and raiders who would have to operate outside
the formal military structure. However, a crucial part of the program was political indoctrination,
which was the responsibility of party officials and commissars.
On the other hand, practical training included the reading of maps and compasses,
as well as identifying enemy defenses, guard routines, command centers,
fuel depots, and ammunition dumps.
The trainees were also experts in camouflage methods and stealth techniques,
from tiptoeing to crawling. They could traverse any type of terrain and maneuver through barbed
and concertina wire. In addition, they had to learn to disassemble mines but also to make bombs.
There were three branches within the group: naval, urban, and field.
Naval sappers would undermine water supply routes and coastal infrastructure. Urban sappers raided
cities but also spread propaganda, and conducted sabotage and intelligence gathering. And field
sappers comprised the largest branch and were responsible for infiltrating enemy
positions and destroying targets while also training conventional infantrymen in perimeter
penetration and shock attack. Needless to say, sappers were outstanding close-combat fighters.
A sapper attack would usually herald a regular attack, and sappers would sometimes
participate in conventional infantry assaults by breaching a defensive line through which
regular units could then cross. Unfortunately, this tactic would regularly thin sapper ranks.
Also, some sapper units were more heavily armed than conventional ones, and their arsenal included
AK-47 rifles, TNT satchel charges, B40/41 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Bangalore
torpedoes, light machine guns, hand grenades, mines, pistols, mortars, and flamethrowers.
It was uncommon for sappers to chase moving targets,
as their tactics required careful planning, and moving units were unpredictable. Instead,
they dedicated plenty of time to study the enemy’s position,
as withdrawing from field fights was much more difficult than from urban terrains.
After 3 to 7 days dedicated to careful reconnaissance, the attack would finally
take place. Typical raiding parties consisted of security, assault, fire support, and reserve.
Together, they could infiltrate an enemy base using mainly the surprise element and diversion.
Other than using external sources like guerilla fighters, sappers would collect intelligence
from inside agents, and that was their strategy when they put their sights on Firebase Mary Ann.
Low Guard
Before the attack on Firebase Mary Ann,
the Americans were warned about Communist operatives passing as South Vietnamese allies.
Their suspicions increased when one morning, a South Vietnamese First Lieutenant inquired
about the easiest way to leave the perimeter. The Americans were puzzled by the question,
but the officer insisted that his men wanted to go fishing.
He was then told that they should cross through the south end.
The following morning, on March 28, 1971, an estimated 50 sappers from
the 2nd Company 109th Viet Cong Main Force Sapper Battalion neared the remote base,
which stood in the western highlands of the Quang Tin Province in Military Region I.
A complement of 231 Americans and 21 South Vietnamese soldiers were on post that evening.
With the ongoing war, no one expected that such an insignificant position could be targeted.
In the words of Infantryman John Pastrick:
(QUOTE) “There was a false sense of security at Mary Ann. It was very lax all the time.”
Still, concealed by the fog, the North Vietnamese platoon quietly slipped through
their perimeter - their bodies covered with charcoal and grease to blend in with the dusk.
The expert sappers then carefully cut through the first of two concertina wire barriers
surrounding the base and tied the second one with bamboo strips. They were now inside.
As previously planned, the sappers then split into squads, and by 2:30am,
the assault teams opened fire on the Tactical Operations Center and the Command Post.
The few American mortar and artillery positions on the base were also under attack.
Just as the infiltrators had anticipated, the Americans were mostly immobilized by confusion.
Colonel William P. Doyle, the battalion commander,
was awakened and knocked down several times by satchel explosions.
As he put himself together, the badly-hurt Colonel stumbled upon Captain Paul S. Spielberg.
As the TOC burned, the night duty officer panicked: (QUOTE) “We gotta get outta here!” But
Doyle insisted on waiting. The junior officer then began sobbing and shouted that they were not going
to make it. Doyle wouldn’t allow his men to break down, so he slapped him and told him to shut up.
At 2:51am, Spielberg contacted the nearby friendly base Landing Zones Mildred and asked for artillery
support around Mary Ann. The Captain had realized that external help was the only way to save the
surviving Americans. The trapped men were then forced out of the TOC and lost radio contact, but
Doyle and Spielberg were able to reach the Command Post. However, they would find another inferno.
The sappers had already struck, and the defenders were unable to mount any type of counterattack.
The assault lasted about an hour, and the reinforcements arrived too late.
Aftermath
The attack resulted in 30 casualties and 82 wounded, while Spielberg and Doyle survived their
injuries. Spielberg would eventually earn a Silver Star for his actions that day, but Doyle was not
given any honors. In truth, he was reprimanded for allowing the infiltration in the first place.
Meanwhile, it was reported that 15 sappers perished during the confrontation,
but blood trails indicated that several more had been dragged back into the jungle.
By that point in the war, American units were being replaced by the South Vietnamese, and the US
was about to abandon the firebase altogether. Why the North Vietnamese attacked Mary Ann is unclear.
Still, the tale would be a hard lesson for the coming generations. As Specialist 4 Edward L.
Newton put it: (QUOTE) “It was poor intelligence and gross negligence - plain and simple.”
The Mary Ann attack would prove one of many confrontations with the North Vietnamese sappers,
which would outwit numerically and technologically superior forces until the end of the war,
when they infiltrated spearheads during the final Ho Chi Minh Campaign and seized several roads,
bridges and installations, helping pave the way for the PAVN’s advance.
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