North of Ap Tan Thoi, three companies of the ARVN 11th Infantry Regiment fared no better. They marched south in three separate axes towards their objective. Again, well-concealed VC soldiers of the 514th Battalion allowed their opponents to come within before opening fire. Immediately, the South Vietnamese infantrymen were forced to hug the ground. During the next five hours, they managed to launch three major assaults, but failed to break the VC's line of defense. By 09:30, the last of Dam's reserve companies had been airlifted into Tan Hiep, about two hours late because American aircrews were prevented from landing their CH-21 helicopters, known as "flying bananas" for their shape, in the heavy fog that covered Tan Hiep Airfield most of the morning. With the ground attacks in the north and south bogged down, Dam decided to stretch out the defending VC units by attacking the east and the west.