The
Battle of Ấp Bắc was a major battle fought on January 2, 1963, during the
Vietnam War. It was fought in
Định Tường Province (now part of
Tiền Giang Province),
South Vietnam. On December 28, 1962, US intelligence detected the presence of a radio transmitter along with a sizable force of
National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF/Viet Cong) soldiers, reported to number around 120, in the hamlet of Ap Tan Thoi in Dinh Tuong Province, home of the
Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN)
7th Infantry Division. To destroy the NLF force, the South Vietnamese and their US advisers planned to attack Ap Tan Thoi from three directions by using two provincial Civil Guard battalions and elements of the 11th Infantry Regiment, ARVN 7th Infantry Division. The infantry units would be supported by artillery,
M-113 armored personnel carriers and helicopters.