Atlas of Battles

battle, major, Cold War

Battle of Ap Bac

Battle of Ap Bac was a battle fought on 2 January 1963 in what is now Vietnam. It was part of the Vietnam War, which ran from 1955 to 1975. The recorded result: Viet Cong victory. Recorded strength: 350 guerrillas against 1,400 troops; 13 M113 APCs; 10 CH-21 Shawnees; 5 UH-1C Iroquois; 1 L-19 Bird Dog.

See it on the globe Read the article

A map of the battlefield of the First Battle of Ấp Bắc.
A map of the battlefield of the First Battle of Ấp Bắc.. Department of the Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought2 January 1963
WhereVietnam10.438N, 106.195E
OutcomeViet Cong victory
BelligerentsViet CongagainstSouth Vietnam; United States
Part ofVietnam War1955 to 1975

Where it sits in the Vietnam War

North Vietnamese invasion of Laos, 1958Operation Sunrise, 1962Battle of Ap Bac, 1963Battle of Go Cong, 1963Battle of Nam Dong, 1964Battle of An Lao, 1964Operation Quyet Thang 202, 1964Gulf of Tonkin incident, 1964Operation Pierce Arrow, 1964Battle of Binh Gia, 1964Operation Starlite, 1965Battle of Dong Xoai, 1965Battle of Ba Gia, 1965Battle of Song Be, 1965Battle of Dương Liễu–Nhông Pass, 1965Operation Flaming Dart, 1965Attack on Camp Holloway, 1965Operation Market Time, 1965Battle of Núi Thành, 1965Siege of Plei Me, 1965Operation Hump, 1965Battle of Gang Toi, 1965Battle of Ap Bau Bang, 1965Battle of Ia Drang, 1965Operation Harvest Moon, 1965Battle of Xa Cam My, 1966Battle of A Shau, 1966Operation Marauder, 1966Operation Lam Son II, 1966Operation Crimp, 1966Operation Masher, 1966Battle of Bong Son, 1966Operation Shed Light, 1966Operation Double Eagle, 1966Operation Mastiff, 1966Battle of Suoi Bong Trang, 1966Operation New York, 1966Operation Utah, 1966Operation Silver City, 1966Operation Oregon, 1966Operation Texas, 1966Operation Lincoln, 1966Operation Harrison, 1966Operation Fillmore, 1966Operation Abilene, 1966Operation Birmingham, 1966Operation Georgia, 1966Operation Crazy Horse, 1966Operation Davy Crockett, 1966Operation El Paso, 1966Operation Hardihood, 1966Operation Nathan Hale, 1966Operation Jay, 1966Operation Hastings, 1966Operation John Paul Jones, 1966Operation Paul Revere, 1966Battle of Long Tan, 1966Operation Colorado, 1966Operation Amarillo, 1966Operation Seward, 1966Operation Thayer, 1966Operation Sea Dragon, 1966Operation Macon, 1966Operation Geronimo, 1966Operation Fairfax, 1966Battle of Tra Binh Dong, 1967Battle of Tam Quan, 1967Operation Bolo, 1967Operation Deckhouse Five, 1967Operation Cedar Falls, 1967Operation Prairie, 1967Operation Gadsden, 1967Operation Pershing, 1967Operation Enterprise (Vietnam), 1967Operation Bribie, 1967Operation Junction City, 1967Battle of Prek Klok I, 1967Battle of Prek Klok II, 1967Operation Prairie II, 1967Battle of Ap Bau Bang II, 1967Battle of Suoi Tre, 1967Operation Desoto, 1967Operation Lejeune, 1967Operation Prairie III, 1967Battle of Hill 881, 1967Operations Malheur I and Malheur II, 1967Operation Beaver Cage, 1967Operation Union, 1967Operation Prairie IV, 1967Operation Union II, 1967Operation Akron, 1967Operation Concordia, 1967Operation Buffalo, 1967Operation Hong Kil Dong, 1967Operation Diamond Head, 1967Operation Hood River, 1967Battle of Suoi Chau Pha, 1967Operation Wheeler / Wallowa, 1967Operation Swift, 1967Operation Bolling, 1967Operation Francis Marion, 1967Battle of Ong Thanh, 1967Operation Medina, 1967Operation Osceola, 1967First Battle of Loc Ninh, 1967Operation Kingfisher, 1967Operation Kentucky, 1967Operation Lancaster, 1967Operation Neosho, 1967Battle of Dak To, 1967Operation Kien Giang 9-1, 1967Operation Byrd, 1967Operation Manchester, 1967Operation Yellowstone, 1967Operation Auburn, 1967Battle of Saigon, 1968Operation Niagara, 1968Operation Sealords, 1968New Year's Day Battle of 1968, 1968Battle of Khe Sanh, 1968Operation Jeb Stuart, 1968Battle of Ban Houei Sane, 1968Operation Dragnet, 1968Tet Offensive, 1968Battle of Quang Tri, 1968Tet Offensive attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base, 1968Tet Offensive attacks on Bien Hoa and Long Binh, 1968Battle of Lang Vei, 1968Tet Offensive battle of Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack, 1968Operation Coburg, 1968Action of 1 March 1968, 1968Battle of Hue, 1968Battle of Lima Site 85, 1968Operation Hop Tac I, 1968Operation Patrick, 1968Battle of An Bao, 1968Battle of Kham Duc, 1968Battle of Coral–Balmoral, 1968Operation Delaware, 1968Operation Carentan, 1968May Offensive, 1968Operation Thor, 1968Operation Pocahontas Forest, 1968Operation Somerset Plain, 1968Phase III Offensive, 1968Operation Mameluke Thrust, 1968Operation Burlington Trail, 1968Operation Lancaster II, 1968Operation Speedy Express, 1968Battle of Hat Dich, 1968Operation Dewey Canyon, 1969Operation Purple Martin, 1969Battle of Hamburger Hill, 1969Operation Oklahoma Hills, 1969Battle of Binh Ba, 1969Operation Apache Snow, 1969Operation Virginia Ridge, 1969Operation Freedom Deal, 1970Battle of Kompong Speu, 1970Battle of Prey Veng, 1970Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord, 1970Operation Maeng Da, 1970Operation Pickens Forest, 1970Operation Imperial Lake, 1970Operation Jefferson Glenn, 1970Operation Texas Star, 1970Operation Ivory Coast, 1970Operation Lam Son 719, 1971Battle of FSB Mary Ann, 1971Battle of Snuol, 1971Battle of Long Khanh, 1971Battle of Nui Le, 1971First Battle of Quảng Trị, 1972Battle of Loc Ninh, 1972Battle of Đồng Hới, 1972Operation Pocket Money, 1972Battle of Kontum, 1972Second Battle of Quảng Trị, 1972Easter Offensive, 1972Operation Linebacker II, 1972Battle of Cửa Việt, 1973Battle of the Paracel Islands, 1974Battle of Kampot, 1974Battle of Svay Rieng, 1974Battle of the Iron Triangle, 1974Battle of Phuoc Long, 19741975 spring offensive, 1975Battle of Ban Me Thuot, 1975Hue–Da Nang Campaign, 1975Battle of Xuan Loc, 1975Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base, 1975Operation Frequent Wind, 1975Fall of Saigon, 197519581975Battle of Ap Bac, 1963
194 placed engagements of the Vietnam War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date2 January 1963
PlaceVietnam
10.438N, 106.195E
KindBattle, Cold War
Strength350 guerrillas1,400 troops; 13 M113 APCs; 10 CH-21 Shawnees; 5 UH-1C Iroquois; 1 L-19 Bird Dog
Casualties and losses18 killed; 39 woundedSouth Vietnamese: 86 killed; 108 wounded; American: 3 killed; 8 wounded; 5 helicopters destroyed
Commanders
  • Võ Văn Hoàng
  • Đặng Minh Nhuận
  • Bùi Đình Đạm
  • Huỳnh Văn Cao
  • John Paul Vann
Battle of Ap BacBattle of Ap BacBattle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài MútCapture of My ThoBattle of Tri PhapBattle of Bến TreCapture of Vinh LongBattle of Tri PhapBattle of Bến TreCapture of Vinh LongHo Chi Minh CityPhnom PenhCan ThoBiên HòaLong XuyenRạch GiáSóc TrăngBạc Liêu100 km10.438N, 106.195E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Ap Bac
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Ap Bac today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-12-21. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 3 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -2 to 14 m, 16 m of relief, flat country and today it is 60% cropland, 35% tree cover, 3% built-up.

cropland: 60%tree cover: 35%built-up: 3%cropland 60%tree cover 35%built-up 3%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 9 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 10 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1963

Battle of Ap Bac is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 269 in present-day Vietnam.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q280468, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Ap Bac, revision 1384386918, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.