Operation Crimp

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Operation Crimp was the name of a joint U.S.-Australian military operation during the Vietnam War.

Operation Crimp had as its objective to locate the political-military headquarters of the Vietcong's 4th Military Region in the Ho Bo Woods of Tay Ninh Province. This headquarters was believed to control the activities of Vietcong units in much of South Vietnam.

The operation began on January 7, 1966 and ended six days later. Conducted by approximately 8,000 troops from the US 1st Infantry Division, U.S. 173d Airborne Brigade, and the Royal Australian Regiment, it was at the time the largest military operation mounted in South Vietnam. Searching units were unable to locate Vietcong units and yet experienced a significant number of sudden engagements and ambushes, indicating that the Vietcong were using tunnels for movement and concealment. The objective of the operation then became to locate, clear, and seal or destroy the tunnel complexes. Australian troops actually searched a tunnel leading to the headquarters objective, but did not learn how close they had come to succeeding until decades after the war ended.

At first U.S. troops used smoke, chemical agents, and explosives to clear tunnels, while Australian units actually sent troops into tunnels they located. U.S. units soon adopted the tactic, and as a result of Operation Crimp, later renamed Operation Buckskin, U.S. Army units created tunnel-clearance teams, popularly known as Tunnel Rats.

[edit] References

• Mangold, Tom, and Penycate, John. The Tunnels of Cu Chi, (1986) ISBN 0-425-08951-7