Key Facts
- Dates
- 19–21 April 1968
- Operation
- Operation Delaware
- Peak elevation
- 4,878 feet (1,487 m)
- Engagement scale
- Company-size
- US unit
- Company E, 52nd Infantry (LRP), 1st Cavalry Division
Strategic Narrative Overview
From 19 to 21 April 1968, elements of Company E, 52nd Infantry (LRP), part of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), engaged PAVN forces on Signal Hill, the 4,878-foot summit of Dong Re Lao Mountain. The densely forested terrain complicated movement and visibility. The engagement was a company-size action fought to secure or contest control of the peak, whose height and position gave significant tactical advantage to whichever side held it.
01 / The Origins
During the Vietnam War, the A Sầu Valley served as a major North Vietnamese infiltration corridor along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Operation Delaware, launched in April 1968, was a US and South Vietnamese effort to disrupt PAVN logistics and supply operations in the valley. Dong Re Lao Mountain, whose peak was designated Signal Hill, commanded the surrounding terrain, making it a critical site for communications and fire support coordination during the operation.
03 / The Outcome
The source document does not record a definitive outcome for the engagement at Signal Hill. Control of the summit was contested in the context of the broader Operation Delaware, which sought to deny PAVN use of the A Sầu Valley. Casualty figures for the engagement are not specified. The operation as a whole temporarily disrupted PAVN activity in the valley before US forces withdrew.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.