Largest Artillery Barrage at Con Thien
September 19, 1967 - September 27, 1967
As Communist forces prepare for a general offensive and uprising, they launch large-scale diversionary attacks in remote areas to lure U.S. troops out of major cities and towns. In the fall of 1967, North Vietnamese regular troops attack U.S. Marine positions in northern Quang Tri Province with infantry, rocket and mortar barrages, and heavy artillery from North Vietnam. North Vietnamese troops besieging the U.S. Marine battalion at Con Thien initiate one of the heaviest artillery assaults of the war against American troops. Between September 19 and 27, Communist artillery fires approximately 3,000 shells and rockets on the outpost.
Heavy fighting continues at Marine-manned outposts near the DMZ. In response, MACV commander General William C. Westmoreland augments U.S. forces under the III Marine Expeditionary Force to counter North Vietnamese army pressure in I Corps. While it drives the North Vietnamese back, it also leaves U.S. forces dispersed outside of the cities.1