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massive onslaught that was unleashed. Tactical surprise was complete. The enemy had not left the area, nor had he reinforced or prepared his defenses. The heliborne assault forces were not greeted with heavy anti-aircraft fire but rather only with small arms fire from a few individuals. Nowhere in evidence were the heavy machineguns from the three antiaircraft battalion-size units known to be in the area. While later evidence showed that while some strategic preparations had been made hedging against a possible allied thrust, the enemy tacticians had not taken steps to counter an air assault. Airmobility had again caught the enemy off-balance. The results were evident, as noted in the following official excerpts of the day's activities:
The 1/9 Cav had a field day catching small groups of NVA trying to evade, resulting in a record total of 157 NVA killed by helicopter.
TAC Air in another record setting day put a total of 185 sorties on hard targets which resulted in 109 NVA KBA in the ARVN Airborne AO alone.
Among the ARVN Airborne forces, the 5th Battalion was outstanding with 27 NVA killed and 8 prisoners taken during the day. The prisoners were later identified as members of the 250th Convalescence Battalion, the 50th Rear Service Group and the 1st Battalion, 165th Regiment, 7th NVA Division.
The 3d Company, 3d ARVN Airborne made the first significant cache discovery at 1720 hours when they found a large medical cache of up to 6,000 pounds. The cache included the finest in modern surgical equipment and had been imported from western Europe via Air France, possibly through Phnom Penh.
The ground contact of Company H of the 2/11 ACR was the highlight of the 11th ACR operations during the day. After passing through a regimental-size base camp, a large enemy force was encountered in trenches to the north. The ensuing battle left 50 enemy dead versus 2 U.S. KIA, the only U.S. combat fatalities of D-day.
The next few days of operations were characterized by a continuation of maneuvers begun on D-day. The enemy made strenuous efforts to avoid contact and to determine the extent and placement of the Allied forces. His command and control apparatus was completely disrupted and he was caught off guard and ill prepared. The High Command scattered in two's and three's and a large exodus of trucks going in all directions was noted by the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry.
On 3 May Task Force Shoemaker was reinforced with elements of the 2d Brigade. Multiple small caches were being discovered by the ground units while the first large weapons cache was observed from the air by A Troop of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry. This area was engaged with gunships and Tactical Air resulting in the