 After joining a South Vietnamese Marine battalion, the tank regiment moved north from Ái Tử along Highway 1 towards Đông Hà.Poor traffic control and refugees congesting the route forced the regiment to move cross-country to the southwest of Đông Hà, and in so doing it surprised and routed a PAVN ambush along Route 9.Prisoners taken during this action were dismounted members of a PAVN tank unit whose mission was to seize and man South Vietnamese armored vehicles expected to be captured in the offensive.