The Military History Thread

[rupertramjet]

At risk of sounding a total philistine, the Gothic belief makes sense, after all a son must be younger than the father. :-)

[Mal Hombre]

Sense has never played a great part in Religion..

[scoundrel]

The teachings of Arius were fiercely denounced as "The Arian Heresy" and anyone who openly believed in them or followed them was violently persecuted for it by the Nicean Christians. But discussions of the Trinity rapidly become complicated to absurd levels and the concept of God the Father and Christ the Son is much simpler and more relate-able.

I am no expert on the Goths, but I find most of what I read about them much more attractive than the Roman Empire, which was not IMHO a civilisation at all, merely technically advanced barbarism. For example:

The fall of Rome in AD410 was remarkable for the moderation shown, nothing like as bad as a typical sacking of a conquered city after a siege. The gold and silver got nicked, the slaves were set free, some public buildings were burned down, but the population surrendered at discretion and not a lot happened to them really. I read one story which did amuse me, of a Roman maiden who fled to the roof when the enemy broke down the door and looted the house. She intended to throw herself off to escape the Fate Worse Than Death, but the Goths offered her terms. If she surrendered, she would be held prisoner for ransom, but the Goth captain promised her than neither he nor any of his men would lay one finger on her unless she herself wanted him to. Eventually she was ransomed but she didn't leave. She asked the Gothic captain to marry her and he said yes.

Incidentally, it was common, almost normal for captive women to marry into the Goth tribes. It is widely thought by historians that the Goths gradually converted to Christianity because they permitted captive women freedom of worship and were won over by the witness of faith they saw in the women.

In AD478, the Gothic King Odoacer had defeated the last vestige of the Western Empire and gave orders that the last Emperor was to be killed and his head brought as proof. But Odoacer's soldiers found the Emperor hiding under his bed - he was eight years old. They brought him alive to King Odoacer, just to make sure he really wanted the boy killed, and King Odoacer decided to let him off. This is not something many Roman Emperors would have done; the only parallel example I can think of is when the Romans decided to spare the life of the British chieftain Caractacus after they had captured him.

The Goths banned gladatorial games. The Goths had no problem with killing people but didn't do it for sport. In this they were much classier than the Romans.

The Goths ran a secure, prosperous and peaceful society in Italy for well over 40 years until the Byzantinians decided to ruin it for everyone.

[Ennath]

May 12, 1809
2nd Battle of Oporto

In the 1st Battle of Oporto (March 28, 1809), the French under Marshal Nicholas Soult defeated the Portuguese outside the city. Soult then stormed it. While Soult was in Oporto, a detached force operated to the east under Maj-Gen. Louis Loison. Initially, this force included Henri Delaborde's infantry division and Lorge's cavalry division. A Portuguese force under Maj-Gen. Francisco Silveira captured the French garrison of Chaves and blocked Soult's communications with Spain by blockading the area around Amarante. Loison was held here for weeks (see posting, Defense of Amarante). By May, the French Marshal feared he was outnumbered and drew up plans for retreat. Julien Mermet's division had already been sent off with the baggage and the artillery train. Soult retained 10,000 infantry and 1200 cavalry.

After coming up from Lisbon, the Anglo-Portuguese army of Lord Wellesley fought a skirmish with the French at Grijó on May 11. Arriving at the Douro, Wellesley was unable to cross the river because Soult's army had either destroyed or moved all the boats to the northern bank. He had 18,400 troops.

On the morning of May 12, Col. John Waters was reconnoitering the river east of Oporto. He was approached by a Portuguese barber who led him to a point on the bank hidden by brush where there was a skiff, a prior of the convent and 3 or 4 peasants. Partly at Waters' entreaties and partly at the urging of the Prior, the peasants got into the skiff with the British officer and crossed the 500-yard wide river, bringing back 4 unguarded wine barges from the opposite bank. Immediately, a company of the 3rd Foot crossed the river and occupied a walled seminary overlooking the landing site. By the time the French realized that Wellesley's forces were on the north bank, the entire battalion of the Buffs, of Hill's brigade, had already been sent into the seminary.

Soult, who was asleep at the time, remained unaware of these developments. Brig-Gen. Maximilien Foy, who was the first to see the British crossing, requisitioned 3 battalions of the 17th Light Infantry and led an attack on the seminary around 11:30 AM. Foy was wounded and his soldiers beaten back with heavy losses. Reinforced later in the day by 3 more battalions, the French attacked again. By this time, however, 3 more battalions had occupied the seminary and surrounding buildings, and the French were defeated once again.

Soult withdrew the troops guarding the Oporto boats in order to reinforce Foy. As soon as the French left the riverside, the people of Oporto immediately set out in "anything that would float" and ferried more British troops over; 4 British battalions crossed immediately and attacked the French from the rear. The French, already planning a leisurely evacuation of the city, instead fled precipitously northeastward.

In order to cut off the French retreat, Maj-Gen. John Murray's 2900-man brigade, with the 14th Light Dragoons, had been sent across the Douro at a ferry 5 miles to the east. Murray stood aside and failed to block the French escape route, though there was a skirmish. The 14th, however, sped after the retreating French. They charged and succeeded in cutting off about 300 Frenchmen, securing many prisoners. Out of 110 horsemen, 35 were killed in this action.

The British lost 125 men. In the battle for the seminary. In addition to 1800 captured the French suffered 600 casualties which included Foy who was wounded.

Due to Murray's error and the bulk of Wellesley's army being on the south side of the Douro, the French escaped. However, Loison failed to clear Silveira's force away from Soult's planned path of retreat to the northeast, so Soult was compelled to abandon all his equipment and take footpaths over the hills to the north. Soult's and Loison's forces met at Guimarães, but Wellesley's army marched north. The British reached Braga (northwest of Guimarães) before the French, forcing Soult to retreat to the northeast again. Meanwhile, Beresford and Silveira were maneuvering to block Soult's escape route in that direction. After escaping from several tight spots, Soult slipped away over the mountains to Orense in Spain. During the retreat, Soult's corps lost 4500 men, its military chest and all 58 guns and baggage.

[Ennath]

91 BC
Italian Social War

The main cause of the Social War was the denial of Roman citizenship to her Italian allies. As the Republic expanded, 3 categories of citizenship had developed. At the top were the Roman citizens themselves, a group not just restricted to the citizens of Rome herself, but also including large areas of central Italy. Next came the Latini, originally members of the defeated Latin League, but eventually used to describe anyone who held Latin Rights; these gave the possessor the right to trade on the same basis as Roman citizens, the right to marry and the right to move around Italy without losing their status. At the bottom came the Allies, or socii, semi-independent states across Italy, allied to Rome by a perpetual treaty of military alliance. The socii were not citizens and had no say in the government of Rome, but at the same time provided a sizable part of every Roman army.

In 95 BC the Romans made a major mistake in their handling of the situation, when the consuls Lucius Licinus Crassus and Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex passed the Lex Licinia Mucia, aimed at prosecuting anyone falsely claiming Roman citizenship. As this group probably included many of the wealthier allies, it was bound to cause more anger. Late in 91 BC the tribune Marcus Livius Drusus put forward a law that wound have granted Roman citizenship to all the Italian allies. Drusus had close connections with the Italians, and was a friend of the Marsi Quintus Poppaedius Silo, soon to be one of the main Italian leaders in the war. Silo may have planned a march on Rome at the head of 10,000 men, to try and put some pressure on the Romans, and a plot was developed to assassinate the 2 consuls. This was foiled when Drusus discovered it, and reported it to the consul Philippus. Soon after this Drusus's earlier laws were repealed, and Drusus himself was assassinated.

We don't know how long the allies had been preparing for war, but their plans were clearly at an advanced stage by 91 BC. The Romans began to suspect that something was in the air, and sent out envoys. One of these discovered that a hostage was being sent from Asculum, in southern Picenum, to another town. The unnamed envoy passed this news to the praetor C. Servilius, who was serving as a proconsular governor in the area. He went to Asculum, and threatened the people during a festival. They assumed that the plot had been discovered and murdered Servilius, his legate and then every Roman citizen in the town.

According to Appian, the Marsi, Peligni, Vestini and Marrucini declared war first. This placed the revolt dangerously close to Rome - the Marsi lived around Lake Fucinus in the Apennines east of Rome, and the Vestini, Peligni and Marrucini took the revolt across to the Adriatic. Next were the Picentines (to the north) and a group of tribes further - the Frentani (south of the Marrucini), Hirpini (southern Samnites), Pompeiians, Venusini, Apulians, Lucanians, and Samnites. The Allies formed a new league. Its headquarters were at Corfinium, in the territory of the Peligni. The city was renamed Italia. They chose 2 consuls, 12 praetors and created a Senate. The two consuls were Poppaedius Silo, the Marsic leader and Papius Mutilus, the Samnite leader. The new league issued its own coinage, a sign of its serious intent. Both sides began with war with field armies of about 100,000 men, with more guarding their communities. The Italians were able to mobilize the forces that would normally have served with the Romans, while the Romans had their own citizens, the Latin allies and those Italian allies who remained loyal.

Appian's account of the events of 90 BC begins with a victory for Vettius Scato over the consul Lucius Julius Caesar, followed by the start of an Italian siege of Aesernia, a city on the Apennine route between the two halves of the Italian alliance. Orosius adds a relief effort by Sulla, which may have temporarily lifted the siege, or at least got supplies into the city, but couldn't prevent it from falling. The Italians also captured Venafrum (about 20 miles southwest of Aesernia), defeated Perpenna at an unknown location and defeated Licinius Crassus near Grumentum in Lucania in the south of Italy.

In Campania Mutilus took Nola by treachery, then moved south, captured Stabiae, Surrentum and Salernum, and plundered the area around Nuceria (all in the area south of Pompeii). He then returned north to besiege Acerrae, between Nola and Naples. Caesar attempted to lift the siege, but retreated after an attack on his camp. In the east Canusia, Venusia and much of Apulia were convinced to join the Italians by Vidacilius.

On the Marsi front, the consul Publius Rutilius Lupus and his legate Gaius Marius were attacked by Vettius Scato on either the Liris. Rutilius refused to accept Marius' advice to train up his troops, and was caught and killed in an ambush. Marius restored the situation by attacking Scato's camp, forcing him to retreat on the day after the battle. No new consul was elected, and command of Rutilius' army was split between Quintus Caepio and Marius. Caepio was then lured into a trap by Silo and killed with part of his army. Marius was given command of the combined army.

Back in Campania, Caesar had raised a new army, but lost most of this in an ambush in a rocky defile. He escaped to Teanum, where he received reinforcements, and moved south to try and lift the siege of Acerrae. Caesar and Papius Mutilus camped close to each other, but neither was willing to risk battle. After this we don’t hear any more of the siege of Acerrae.

Appian then moves on to a major victory for Marius and Sulla over the Marsi, at an unnamed location somewhere in Marsic territory. Appian's focus then turns north, to Picenum, where the rebels held Asculum. Pompey Strabo (father of Pompey the Great), attempted to besiege the city, but was defeated at Mt. Falernus, somewhere to the north, and had to withdraw east to Firmum. He was besieged there until news arrived that another army was approaching (Appian doesn't say whose side this was on, but as it triggers an attempt at a breakout it was probably Italian reinforcements). Pompey sent his legate Sulpicius to attack the besieging forces from the rear, while he attacked from the front. Sulpicius was able to burn the Italian camp and the siege was lifted. The surviving Italians fled south to Asculum, and Pompey laid siege to the city. Vidacilius, who had been one of the commanders at Firmum, and who was from Asculum, decided to try and save his home town. He managed to break into the city at the head of 4000 men, but his orders for a sally had been ignored. He was greatly discouraged by what he found in the city, and after killing his political opponents he committed suicide.

Appian now introduces a somewhat confusing element. For most of his account Pompey Strabo was the Roman commander at Asculum, but he now introduces 2 new commanders. First is Sextus Caesar, one of the consuls for 91 BC and now serving as a proconsul. Sextus is credited with winning a victory over 20,000 Italians while they were changing their camp, and then dies of disease while besieging Asculum. He was replaced by Gaius Baebius. These events might belong to 89 BC, when Pompey was consul, with wider responsibilities, and suggest that Sextus Caesar and then Gaius Baebius conducted the day to day management of the siege. It is also possible that they were in charge while Pompey was in Rome for the elections, or while he was dealing with an Italian army heading for the Etruscan coast (see below). In either case Pompey appears to have been in command of the siege when Asculum fell (probably in the following year), although frustratingly Appian doesn't actually mention the end of the siege.

The most important event of the year probably came in the autumn, after Lucius Caesar had returned to Rome. The Etruscans and Umbrians, who had not yet joined the revolt, were becoming increasingly agitated. In order to prevent them from rebelling, the Romans gave in to the original Italian demands for citizenship. The Lex Iulia de Civitate Latinis Danda granted Roman citizenship to all Latin communities and to all Italian communities that had not yet joined the revolt.

The consuls for 89 BC were Pompey Strabo and Lucius Porcius Cato. At the start of the year Strabo was still engaged in the siege of Asculum. Cato operated against the Marsi in the area to the east of Rome. Sulla held the main command in Campania, where he fought the Samnites. The threat of trouble amongst the Etruscans must have been fairly significant, for the Italians on the Adriatic coast sent 15,000 men across the mountains to try and assist them. Pompey Strabo intercepted this army, killed 5000 and forced the survivors into a costly retreat across the mountains. Early in the year Cato was killed in a battle on Lake Fucinus, only 50 miles east of Rome.

Appian then moves on to Sulla's activities in Campania and against the Samnites. First he moved into the hills near Pompeii, which was under siege. Lucius Cluentius camped nearby, and an impatient Sulla attacked before his army was united, Cluentius won this first clash, but was defeated in a second clash after Sulla's army was reunited. Cluentius then received Gallic reinforcements, but was heavily defeated in a third clash, and fled north towards Nola. Cluentius and 20,000 of his men were said to have been killed outside the city. Nola was apparently too strong to attack, and would remain in Samnite hands for the rest of the decade. Sulla took his troops east into the mountains, where he quickly captured Aeclanum, and forced the Hirpini to surrender. He then turned on the Samnites, ignoring the most obvious routes, which were guarded by Papius Mutilus. Instead he took a longer route, surprised Papius and defeated him at yet another unnamed location. Papius fled to Aesernia, 55 miles northwest of Aeclanum. Sulla’s next target was Bovianum, 15 miles southeast of Aeclanum, where the Italians had their common council (Corfinium presumably having been abandoned after earlier Roman successes). Bovianum also fell to Sulla, who then returned to Rome to stand for consul.

Pompey completed the conquest of the Marsi, Marrucini (on the Adriatic coast around Chieti) and Vestini (in modern Abruzzo). In Apulia the praetor Gaius Cosconius captured Salapia (in northern Apulia), captured Cannae and then besieged Canusium. The Samnites defeated him there, but were then defeated in turn at a battle between Canusium and Cannae. The survivors retreated to Canusium. Cosconius then overran the territory of Larinum, Venusia (on the northern and western edges of Apulia) and Asculum (in Apulia) and received the surrender of the Poediculi (western and central Aupilia). The final battle of the war came at River Teanus, probably also in Apulia. The Roman army was probably commanded by Metellus Pius, described as the successor of Cosconius as praetor, who defeated the Apulians. Poppaedius Silo was killed in the battle. After this battle only the Samnites and Lucanians were still in arms against the Romans, and their fate would be tied up with the Sullan civil wars.

The end of most of the fighting in the Social War didn’t see the return of peace at Rome. This time the cause of the war was the rivalry between Sulla and Marius. Sulla led this army against Rome, and occupied the city (see posting, Sulla’s 1st Civil War). Sulla's allies soon lost control of Rome. In 87 BC the consul Cinna attempted to overturn some of Sulla's reforms and was expelled from the city. He gathered an army, and besieged Rome. The Senate ordered Metellus Pius to make peace with the Samnites, but he refused to accept their terms. Marius, who had returned from a brief exile in Africa, offered to accept the Samnite terms, and they supported Cinna. This marked the real end of the Social War. Although the Samnites still held Nola, they were now allies of the anti-Sullan Romans. When Sulla returned to Italy in 83 BC (see posting, Sulla's 2nd Civil War), the Samnites supported the Marian camp. They attempted to raise Sulla's siege of Praeneste (82 BC), and when this failed launched a desperate attack on Rome. Sulla arrived just in time to save the city, and in the aftermath of his victory massacred thousands of Samnite prisoners. During his time in power Sulla proscribed or banished most of the surviving Samnite leaders, and Strabo reported that most of their cities had decayed into villages.

The Social War is an almost unique example of a war in which the defeated side got what it wanted. The Italian allies gained Roman citizenship, although the details of their new status would continue to cause problems for the rest of the Republic. At first they were placed into new tribes, each reflecting one of their tribal groupings. As the tribes voted in order of seniority, their votes would thus rarely ever count. Over the next few decades a series of attempts were made to place the new voters in the existing Roman tribes, each of which caused a political crisis in Rome. Unfortunately for the Italians, they gained their new status in the dying days of the Republic. After the victory of Octavian/Augustus, the political significance of Roman citizenship disappeared as the traditional magistrates of the Republic lost their power, although most of the legal benefits did remain. The Social War ended the patchwork of different levels of rights that had covered Italy since the original Roman conquests, and turned most free Italians and Latins into Romans.

[Ernesto75]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

Odoacer's soldiers found the Emperor hiding under his bed - he was eight years old. They brought him alive to King Odoacer, just to make sure he really wanted the boy killed, and King Odoacer decided to let him off. This is not something many Roman Emperors would have done; the only parallel example I can think of is when the Romans decided to spare the life of the British chieftain Caractacus after they had captured him.

Tacitus records a version of his speech in which he says that his stubborn resistance made Rome's glory in defeating him all the greater:
"...if you preserve me safe and sound, I shall be an eternal example of your clemency."

According to Tacitus, he made such an impression that he was pardoned and allowed to live in peace in Rome.


But alas, it was not the case for Vercingetorix who got executed after Julius Caesar's triumph.


Who was better : Caesar the Dictator or the Emperor Claude ?

[Mal Hombre]

Julius was a General,An Author and a Statesman,Claudius was a ridiculous sadist and pervert,Who only got to the Purple because the Praetorians needed an Emperor and Caligula's German guards were running amok..

[Ernesto75]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

Julius was a General,An Author and a Statesman,Claudius was a ridiculous sadist and pervert,Who only got to the Purple because the Praetorians needed an Emperor and Caligula's German guards were running amok..

Sorry to disagree.
Julius Caesar was a general, a good author, a statesman and a DICTATOR.
When he died from assassination he was Dictator in title.

Emperor Clodius got to the Purple because the Praetorians needed an Emperor and Caligula's German guards were running amok.., that it's true.
But he had played the role of an idiot to stay alive.
He was not an idiot and he proved it by being a moderate chief of state.
His reign was rather a good one compared to his predecessor, Caligula.

He is not celebrated like his uncle Julius Caesar, but at least he was not a mass murderer.
At least one million Gauls perished during Caesar's War of Gauls.

Clodius bad reputation has its origins in Tacitus who tried to please the senators.

The Roman senators did all they could to present the first Emperors badly.

Later Emperors were often as bad as the first ones (except Augustus).

[crinolynne]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

Sense has never played a great part in Religion..

On the contrary, religion codified a wide ranging set of social norms and gave structure to their administration. It also provided share history and mythology which are necessary for societal cohesion. In the absence of scientific fact and analysis, a relatively recent phenomena (and currently under attack by less than rationale people in the US but I digress), taken in the contexts of time and place, religion made good sense.
Returning to my digression, I would grant you that "sense" has a close to zero part in those peoples' religions, undefinable such as they are.

[Ennath]

May 13, 1972
Battle of Kontum

North Vietnam began its Easter Offensive at the end of March 1972. One of the targets would be the Central Highlands (II Corps). The first stage of this drive would be the ARVN bases at Tan Canh and Dak To and the 5 fire support bases (FSBs) that stretched southwest from Tan Canh towards Kontum along a backbone of mountains nicknamed Rocket Ridge. These were all the responsibility of 42nd Regiment of ARVN 22nd Division. It would be reinforced by 47th Regiment and elements of 2 cavalry regiments, with M41 light tanks. John Paul Vann, the civilian "general" of the American II Corps, had received intelligence that a major battle was coming. Lt. Gen. Ngo Dzu responded by bringing 23rd Division into the Tan Canh/Kontum area.

The assault on the FSBs began in the early morning of April 4 along Rocket Ridge. Massed infantry attacks took heavy loss, but finally, on April 21, FSB Delta was taken. Several other bases had to be given up soon after. On April 23, NVA 2nd Division started its attack on Tan Canh by hitting ARVN tanks with AT-3 “Sagger” missiles. The attack involved T-54 tanks. By the 25th, the area had fallen, 22nd Division had ceased to exist as a fighting unit, the Division commander and his entire staff had disappeared and the NVA had captured 30 guns and large supplies of ammunition and stores. With the loss of the main camps, the remaining firebases along Rocket Ridge were abandoned and the NVA had a clear approach to Kontum. However, the NVA did not pursue their advantage. Instead of pushing on 25 miles to Kontum, the North Vietnamese waited for almost 3 weeks.

Vann took direct control of ARVN II Corps. Dzu was replaced by Maj. Gen. Nguyen Van Toan. Vann also coordinated the replacement of the 22nd with 23rd ARVN Division (Col. Ly Tong Ba). He also unified the 23rd with its regiments that had been stationed elsewhere. In Kontum, Col. John Truby, acting Senior Advisor for the 23rd (awaiting the arrival of Col. Rhotenberry), had the task of tactical coordination of the defense. Outlying units were brought into the city. A perimeter defense was implemented. The ARVN soldiers, believing that the T-54s were unstoppable, were trained on how to attack them with M72 LAWs.

In early May the NVA turned its attention to the Polei Kleng Camp which blocked the way to Kontum and to Ben Het Camp which threatened its supply lines. Both came under heavy fire on May 6, destroying bunkers. The Polei Kleng base was abandoned on the 9th, but an attack on Ben Het failed, with the loss of 11 tanks.

On May 13, 1st Combat Aerial TOW Team (Hawk’s Claw) pilots noticed signs of a large buildup to the north. At 2230 hours that night there were reports of lights moving down Route 14. At 0530, the NVA attacked Kontum without the heavy artillery preparation that had been used at Tan Canh and drove straight down Route 14. 48th Regiment and 203rd Tank Regiment attacked the city from the northwest. 28th Regiment came from the north and 64th and 141st Regiments attacked from the south. The ARVN artillery began targeting the T-54s moving down Route 14. This separated the tanks from their supporting infantry and allowed the ARVN tank killers to do their work. 2 T-54s were destroyed. The sky was overcast and tactical air support was not possible. However, Hawk's Claw had arrived on the scene. Their helicopters and Jeeps had TOW missiles, which were powerful enough to penetrate a T-54. They found the tanks before they could find cover in the jungle and destroyed 2 more. By 0900 hours, the attack had been stopped.

At 2000 on the 14th, the NVA launched a second attack. There were two B-52 strikes scheduled and Col. Truby asked Vann if those strikes could be used to target the NVA battalion that was already very close. Truby called Lt. Col. Tom McKenna, senior advisor to 44th Regiment, and told him to pull his men back and have his troops find deep foxholes. As the hour for the strike approached, ARVN troops laid down cover fire to allow those in close proximity to the NVA to be pulled back. At the same time 44th was holding its own along its perimeter with the aid of AC-130s and helicopters. The two B-52 strikes were close enough that as McKenna stated, "it was like they [the bombs] came from the center of the earth - just like the bowels of the earth exploding." The NVA forces pulled back after significant casualties. On May 15, the attack continued, but the 44th held its positions.

On the night of May 16, attacks pushed the 53rd from its positions and the perimeter was partially penetrated. Col. Ba blocked the spearhead by ensuring that the 53rd's reserve force was put in proper location; but he did not want to move an additional blocking force through Kontum at night. There was considerable risk that enemy units would break through and capture the city. A new B-52 strike was requested for the base of the penetration. This was denied by MACV because the intended strike area was too close to a small village shown on the map. After considerable debate and analysis by the advisory staff, Truby suggested to Col. Ba that the troops at the nose of the penetration be withdrawn 500 yards despite the obvious difficulty of such a nighttime maneuver. This would clear the threat to the town. Truby and Ba convinced Vann that if the ARVN forces could be pulled back during darkness, their safety concerns could be met. The request was approved and the new strike was adjusted by the B-52 in flight while ARVN artillery continued heavy fire to hold enemy forces in place. The strike was delivered with devastating results as NVA forces had massed to break through. For the first time since Tan Canh, the NVA momentum had been broken. The 3 weakened NVA divisions regrouped in the jungle surrounding Kontum. They still had superior numbers.

During this period, Col. Rhotenberry, the advisor originally assigned to work with Col. Ba, arrived. Vann returned Col. Truby to his original job of overseeing other actions within II Corps. During the next 2 weeks, the forces tested each other. The ARVN forces responded to artillery attacks with their own artillery or by calling in Hawk's Claw helicopter fire. B-52 sorties were again used. However the NVA knew not to mass troops as they had while trying to break the perimeter. At 0345 hours on May 20, 53rd ARVN Regiment was attacked by the first of 3 all-out assaults from the north. In the attack last the 53rd was pushed from their positions. Throughout that day its tried to regain its position but the NVA was now dug in. Finally, 9 M41 tanks, backed by helicopter gunships, restored the front. Three additional assaults were made in the early morning hours. Each was pushed back after fierce hand-to-hand combat.

In the early hours of the May 25, NVA fire increased enough to indicate preparation for a major attack. In the south, the fire kept 23rd Division in their bunkers. NVA sappers, some dressed in ARVN uniforms, moved into the buildings south of the airfield. Early on the 26th, the NVA attacked from the north with tank/infantry teams. At first light, Hawk's Claw was able to destroy 9 tanks. This effectively stopped the momentum of the attack. Later in the day Col. Ba threw in a battalion of 44th Regiment. This limited enemy penetrations. After dark, attacks on ARVN 45th and 53rd Regiments increased with the 45th facing the heaviest action. Rhotenberry was able to divert 2 B-52 strikes scheduled for 0230 hours on May 27. This blunted the attack. That same morning ARVN 44th Regiment woke to discover NVA tank and infantry within their perimeter. The area hadn't been properly secured and T-54s were within 50 yards of the bunkers. The defenders were able to use M-72 fire to slow the tanks. By dawn, Hawk's Claw helicopters with TOWs arrived from Pleiku. With helicopters to neutralize the tanks, the ARVN infantry was able to stop the advance. The battle see-sawed back and forth on May 28. The PAVN occupied bunkers and buildings in sections of the city and were too well fortified to be destroyed by air or artillery attacks.. However, their ability to launch a sustained attack seemed to be gone. With US and VNAF air superiority, NVA troops could not receive adequate food and supplies from their bases in the jungle.

In June 6, the NVA's B3 Front Command mobilized their last reserve unit, 66th Regiment to cover the withdrawal of all troops remaining within the town. On June 9 the city of Kontum was declared fully secure by Col. Ba, who had been promoted to Brigadier General. That night, John Paul Vann was killed in an air crash. Vann had been a key in developing a more subtle and flexible approach, one based on winning over the hearts and minds of the local population while using the US military's traditional strengths. His death was a huge loss.

The Battle of Kontum was virtually ignored in the US. The victory was written off simply as an example of B-52 power. Certainly the hundreds of missions between February and June were a major element of the success. But the NVA had neutralized this advantage in large part by using the jungle and attacking at night. The other keys to success were the close integration of US advisers and their ARVN counterparts and the edge provided by aviation units flying in support of the ARVN forces. If the ARVN forces had not been able to hold their ground, the battle would have been lost. The 23rd's determined defense forced the NVA to compensate by attempting a breakthrough of the perimeter. This exposed them to a decisive strike which killed a great many soldiers. Without these 2 elements, the 23rd might not have pulled itself together and successfully resisted 3 divisions of battle-hardened soldiers and armor units.