Good morning, Vietnam -  (FSBs)

During the time of its involvement in the Vietnam War, the US Army developed many different types of tactics and employed a wide range of weaponry in an effort to defeat the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. It would be a huge task of enormous proportions and dragged on for years. At one end of the scale, there was the bombing campaign using B-52 aircraft, but it was at the other of the scale, represented by the man on the ground conducting foot patrols through the dense jungle, that would deliver results which could be better measured.
Until 1965, the role of the US military presence in South Vietnam was limited to an advisory capacity, but the arrival of US Marines in June of that year signalled the deployment of the first US troops in a direct combat capacity. By the end of the year there would be over 180,000 military personnel based in the country.

The first fire support base?
One of the units to arrive in Vietnam around that time was the First Cavalry Division, which established a new type of installation in the Pleiku Province, known as a Fire Support Base (FSB), designed to provide support to troops conducting patrols.
Over 60 years earlier, during the Boer War, the British army had constructed something similar in the form of 8,000 structures, known as ‘blockhouses’, to provide mutually supporting firepower, so the idea was not new. The major difference lay in the amount of firepower that would come to be located at these FSBs and the fact they could be supplied by helicopters. The early type of FSBs established in Vietnam were meant to be temporary locations where a battery of artillery, such as 105mm howitzers, could be sited from where fire missions could be directed against targets. The original idea was for these bases to be operational for a few days only, before moving to a new location.
An FSB was established after careful reconnaissance to select the best operational site, after which construction would commence early in the day so that perimeter defences were established by the time darkness fell. A circular area measuring about 500 feet in diameter would be cleared to create a location that could be held by a company-sized garrison. Crews for the artillery and the guns would be flown in by helicopter, along with other equipment and weaponry, to be joined by other specialist troops such as medics.
Beyond the perimeter wire, more vegetation would be cleared, to deny cover to any approaching enemy units. Heavy-lift helicopters, like the CH-54 Tarhe, were used to fly in earth-moving equipment to dig gun positions and bunkers, while the CH-47 Chinook could airlift prefabricated 20ft towers to provide platforms for observation. Being circular, the base could lay down all-around defensive fire using mortars and machine guns, with neighbouring FSBs adding the weight of their artillery against any attacker. 

Re-enacting the FSB
Trying to recreate such a scenario from the Vietnam War at a re-enactment show would be a huge task, even if several groups combined their resources. Also, because space is limited at venues, the best that can be achieved, given the time and work involved, is to present a scaled-down version concentrating on a single gun position and its immediate defences. That is what happened some years ago when the War and Peace Show was presented by Rex Cadman and his team at Beltring, when the American Infantry Preservation Society (AIPS) and Rolling Thunder, two of the leading re-enactment groups depicting Vietnam, co-operated to produce a compressed version of an FSB.
Looking back at the photographs taken at the time, it is obvious to see that it involved a lot of hard work and organising to bring all the parts together. Making much use of what the groups involved had collected, including radios, weapons, kit, and equipment, they put together a display that resembled a film set and it was probably as close as possible, given their resources, to how the real thing might have looked. For anyone who saw the display, the result was amazing and unforgettable.

The FSB’s firepower
Preparing the positions for each of the weapons took time, and because blank rounds were going to be fired, safety was important. The main weapon was an example of the M101 105mm howitzer, weighing over two tons, which had to be manhandled into position. In reality, this weapon would have been air-lifted to the FSB and then manoeuvred into its firing position, just as the re-enactors had done. The M101 dated from WWII and was mounted on a split trail wheeled carriage. It was capable of firing up to four HE rounds per minute out to ranges of 12,500 yards. For authenticity, discarded used shell cases were littered to depict rounds fired, while stacks of complete inert rounds were placed ready for use.
In Vietnam, a crew of eight served the weapon, which could also fire smoke, illuminating and canister rounds. The barrel could be depressed to very low angles, allowing it to be used in the direct fire role to engage vehicles, for which anti-tank rounds were developed. The presentation included the gun being loaded and fired, which created a lot of smoke for added realism. The infantry, with their 5.56mm M16 rifles, took up defensive positions in readiness to engage and attack, and teams with M60 7.62mm calibre machine guns were also deployed.
Mortars were also emplaced at FSBs and an example of an 81mm calibre mortar, complete with sighting posts and stockpiles of ammunition, was included in the display. All the members of the groups participating in the action-packed display were wearing helmets, flak jackets, and uniforms, and each of these items had to be sourced and collected, representing attention to detail. Stage by stage the scenario was played out, and even included radio operators relaying orders and messages, just as they would have done for real.
Such levels of concentrated firepower in small areas made FSBs formidable targets to attack, but that did not deter the Viet Cong. In fact, there are many recorded instances where intense firefights developed at these locations, such as ‘Mary Ann’, which was attacked by the Viet Cong in March 1971, with over half the 231 men of the garrison becoming casualties.
Some FSBs were expanded, and defences were strengthened, and the larger bases, such as Khe Sanh, were termed as Combat Support Bases, being equipped with heavy artillery, including 155mm calibre weapons, armoured fighting vehicles, and airstrips to take C-130 cargo aircraft.

Teamwork
Throughout the war, the smaller FSBs would remain an important strategy, with some being garrisoned by troops of the South Vietnamese army using American-supplied weapons. Such battle re-enactment displays depicting FSBs demonstrate how the equipment and weapons, normally seen as part of a static display, were put to use in combat situations. For collectors and military history enthusiasts, such demonstrations, while being fascinating, show what can be achieved when groups come together to use their collections and combine resources to produce a remarkable display.