Battle Of Hamburger Hill Essay

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Battle of Hamburger Hill The Battle of Hamburger Hill was a 10 day assault of Hill 937 in the A Shau valley one mile east of Laos in the Vietnam war. Known for its loss of life on both sides, the battle amassed bad publicity in the United States despite the 1:10 kill ratio of friendly to foes (72:630). The hill became popularized as “Hamburger Hill” in grim reference to the Battle of Pork Chop Hill from the Korean war because they said people were “chewed up like a hamburger” and amount of life lost for insignificant terrain. This would be one of the last battles in Vietnam before the United States withdrew. The Battle of Hamburger Hill was in part of the larger Operation Apache Snow. Operation Apache Snow was sweep of the A Shau valley by the 186th, 501st, and 506th Infantry regiments of the 101st Airborne division (commanded by Major General Melvin Zais), 9th Marine regiment, and the 1st AVRN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) for a total of 10 battalions. Previous sweeps of the A Shau valley, Operation Delaware and Operation Dewey Canyon, yielded high enemy casualties but failed to remove the NVA (North Vietnam Army) from the valley. The purpose of the operation …show more content…
This location and area was important because it was suspected that the NVA was using route designated as route 548 for supply and troop movement from Laos into Southern-Vietnam. The Hill overlooked the surrounding A Shau valley at an altitude of 937 meters, hence the name Hill 937. The vegetation in the area is thick and heavily restricts movement. The valley is characterized as a 3-cannopy jungle with dense brush. Along the ridge line approaching Hill 937 is steep cliffs and sharp inclines. The NVA took to this to their advantage by setting up concentric rows of heavily fortified bunkers down the hill. The weather was characterized by afternoon thunderstorms which halted American air
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