 On the morning of 6 May, trucks from the 48th Transportation Group carried the infantrymen over the Newport Bridge and through the heart of Saigon before depositing them at their destinations.The brigade’s forward command post and the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant colonel Kenneth W. Hall, occupied Firebase Horseshoe Bend () on the shoulder of Highway 4, two kilometres southwest of Phu Lam, while the 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. William Mastoris Jr., manned Firebase Stephanie () on Route 10 two kilometers west of Phu Lam.Six 105mm howitzers from Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 40th Artillery Regiment, four M109 howitzers from Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 35th Artillery Regiment and mechanized Troop D, 17th Cavalry Regiment, strengthened the position at Stephanie.