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Regular formations were sent to South Vietnam from 1965 onwards; the 325th Division's 101B Regiment and the 66th Regiment of the 304th Division met U.S. forces on a large scale, a first for the PAVN, at the Battle of Ia Drang in November 1965.
On 1 November elements of the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry located a PAVN hospital area and killed 99 or more soldiers at a cost of 11 Americans dead and 47 wounded. On 3–4 November, the Americans ambushed (and were in turn counter-ambushed) an element of the newly arrived PAVN 66th Regiment, killing an estimated 72 PAVN at a cost of 4 American dead.
The Division was formed on 20 December 1965 from the PAVN 32nd, 33rd, 66th and 320th Regiment was under the control of the PAVN B3 Front in the Central Highlands. [1]: 156 [2] The Division's 33rd and 66th Regiments were engaged in the Battle of Ia Drang from 14-18 November 1965, losing 1070-1753 killed. [2]: 145–50
On 4 April, the 1st Battalion 9th Marines attacked the 66th Regiment on Hill 471 south of the Combat Base, with the U.S. reporting 16 PAVN killed for the loss of 10 marines. The following morning the 66th Regiment counter-attacked, losing 140 killed and five captured while the Marines lost only one killed. [6]: 285
The PAVN had fed approximately 6,000 troops into the area, most of which made up the 1st Division. The 66th Regiment was southwest of Đắk Tô preparing to launch the main attack, while the 32nd Regiment was moved south to prevent any counterattacks against the 66th. The independent 24th Regiment held positions northeast of Đắk Tô to ...
[18]: 269 In late February, ground sensors detected the PAVN 66th Regiment, 304th Division preparing to mount an attack on the positions of the 37th Ranger Battalion on the eastern perimeter of the base. On the night of 28 February, the base unleashed artillery and airstrikes on possible PAVN staging areas and routes of advance.
The PAVN 66th Regiment attacked Firebase 6 overrunning the base. Lieutenant Brian Thacker team leader of an Integrated Observation System would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. ARVN reinforcements were flown in and recaptured the base although PAVN units remained in force in the surrounding area.
PAVN T59 Tank captured by South Vietnamese 20th Tank Regiment, south of Dong Ha. The search and destroy approach. Defenders of "search and destroy" maintain that the Communist shift to Phase 3 warfare required "big battalion" activity to remove the most pressing conventional threats to the Saigon regime.