Battle of the Iron Triangle Battle of the Iron Triangle The Battle of the Iron Triangle took place from 16 May to 20 November 1974, when the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 9th Division captured Rach Bap and An Dien The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) regained the lost towns in a series of costly counterattacks. The Iron Triangle was an important strategic location, bounded on the north by the jungle and overgrown rubber plantations of the Long Nguyen Secret Zone, on the west by the Saigon River and on the east by the smaller but unfordable obstacle of the Thi Thinh River.
Battle of the Iron Triangle the Triangle. The ARVN was strong with infantry, armor, and mutually supporting fire bases and outposts in Bến Cát District east of the Thi Thinh boundary of the Triangle, but only one bridge, a weak span, connected the district town and the Triangle hamlet of An Dien. On 16 May the PAVN 9th Division began their attack on with heavy artillery, rocket, and mortar concentrations falling on Rach Bap, Base 82, and An Dien. The RF company at Base 82 abandoned its bunkers, many of which had collapsed under the weight of the bombardment, late that afternoon. Rach Bap held