NOVEMBER 2013AWOA HISTORICAL CASE STUDYADMINISTRATIVE DATATITLE: The Battle of Hamburger HillWRITTEN BY: ________________________________________________________________REVISED BY:_________________________________________________APPROVED BY:_________________________________________________November 2013TABLE OF CONTENTSThe Battle of Hamburger HillPAGEINTRODUCTION 1 1HISTORY 1 EXE COUTION & ACTION 2AFTER ACTION 6LESSONS LEARNED 7REFERENCES 9SUPPORTING REFERENCES 10THE BATTLE OF HAMBURGER HILLIntroductionThe Battle of Hamburger Hill proved to be one of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War due to the large number of casualties in such a short period of time . Under the command of Major General Melvin Zais, with the assistance of elements of the 101st Airborne Division and a small contingent of Vietnamese Army soldiers, Allied forces led an offensive against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) to gain control of Hill 937. The successful capture of Hill 937 would ultimately contribute to the end goal of controlling the Ashau Valley, which had become a major supply route for the NVA. Although the battle lasted only 10 days, the grueling battle ended with 72 American soldiers dead and an additional 420 wounded. History The entire Ashau Valley had been used extensively by the NVA and Viet Cong as a route entry and exit for their soldiers. supplies to and from Laos. "Enemy forces usually infiltrated through Laos and stationed themselves in safe sanctuaries just on the other side... middle of paper ...... 00 soldiers injured. The number and effectiveness of Allied airstrikes and artillery is demonstrated by the enemy troop destruction ratio of 10:1. By the end of May 1969, almost all Allied forces had abandoned Hill 937, which led many American troops and media to question the purpose of the battle if we were to just abandon it. “Well, first of all, it overlooks a lot of the Ashau Valley. On the other hand, you move backwards and Charlie (the North Vietnamese army) will definitely follow you and hit you… We don't really go out for a piece of land. We go out to hit him, and that's what we did. Ultimately, the strategic objective was not to capture and hold Hill 937, but rather to destroy the NVA 29th Regiment which occupied the hill and used it as a supply/transit base.