Map Information and Selection Page             1st Battalion 6th Infantry, US Army, Vietnam

Map Information

Tactical operations in Vietnam for Allied ground forces were coordinated using maps
that displayed terrain, vegetation, and structures on a scale of 1:50,000.  At that scale, one
and 1/4 inch represented approximately one mile.  Aviation units generally relied upon
larger scale maps for their more extensive operations.

Tactical maps for use in Vietnam were created and printed by the US Army Corps of Engineers
Army Map Service (AMS) [later known as the Army Topographical Command (TPC)]
and distributed to combat units.  Readers should be aware that at least three versions of tactical
maps exist for Vietnam.  The earliest editions were replaced in the 1960s with maps by the Army
Map Service.  The Defense Mapping Agency revised these 1:50,000 tactical maps of Vietnam
when they created the Edition 3-DMA in the 1980s.  The revised edition maps can be ordered
today and show the significant changes in Vietnam since the end of the war.

Although the maps represented the state of the art at the time, errors sometimes were evident.
Prior to the advent of the space age (and the incredible accuracy of the Global Positioning
System(GPS) to the nearest 10 meters), map locations during the war were sometimes difficult
to determine with precision even when the terrain was not flat.  Exact locations were crucial
when a unit called for artillery or close air support.

Map locations for tactical operations along the coastal plains and in the foothills of the I Corps
in northern South Vietnam were identified by a six digit grid coordinate preceded by the letters
"BS" or "BT."  While a complete grid identifier for tactical operations could be complex, (e.g.
49PBS648936) the more usual practice was to use only the prefix  letters and six grid
coordinates to be accurate to the nearest 100 meters.  Thus, the map coordinate BS 648 936
was used to identify the location of  the small fire support base at Nui Pho Tinh.  Several 105mm
howitzer and 4.2 in. mortar were fired from that location, which also just happened to be a
surveyed horizontal control point.

Map Selections
 

Map ND49-01 (1:250,000).  This link to a map scanned by Jim Henthorn shows the coast of Vietnam from Da Nang southward to Quang Ngai.  Near the bottom of the map, the tactical area of operations (AO) for the 1st Battalion 6th Infantry in 1970-71 can be seen between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai. If you link to Jim's map roon and then click on the desired area of his maps,  a full scale map becomes visible.  This particular map is a very large file that takes time to load, but is well worth the wait.  Jim's map project is a superb site for large scale maps of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Virtually all of the tactical operations conducted by the 1st Battalion 6th Infantry during the war occurred in the area identified by map Grid Zone Designation 49P.  The 100,000 m. square identification letters included BT in the northern part of the TAOR (generally from the so called "Rocket Ridge" west of Chu Lai all the way to Da Nang) and BS in the southern part (generally from Chu Lai southward).  The AT and AS map prefix areas began in the mountains approximately 30 miles inland from Chu Lai. Visit Vic Vilinois's map room llink for a larger and complete view of map grid identifiers in all of the I Corps area of northern South Vietnam.

Full color tactical maps (1:50,000) of the I Corps area can be located on the web at Vic's map room
Vic served throughout the region with the 7th Marines in 1965.  When completed, his map room will
include a nearly complete selection of maps for historical research (1960s map data), and for planning
a visit to Vietnam (1980s map data.)  His web site is an excellent source of historical information.
 

A map room created by Al Simms (radar technician, Americal Division Div Arty, 1968-69) has extensive infomation about fire bases in the area west and south of Chu Lai. Click on the map at left to link to a large scale map of the areas.  Over 75 LZs are marked, including Hill 69, LZ Bowman, LZ Fat City, LZ Dottie, LZ Bayonet, etc.  The map also includes a "zoom in" feature marked in red for the areas near LZ Bowman and Chu Lai.

  During 1970, the 1st Bn 6th Inf tactical area of operational responsibility (TAOR) was the area east of Highway QL1 between
Chu Lai and Quang Ngai.  In early 1971, the TAOR expanded to include a large triangle shaped area bounded generally by Chu Lai
on the north, Tra Bong on the west, Qunag Ngai City on the south, and then eastward to the South China Sea. During that time frame,
tactical operations by the 1st Battalion 6th Infantry were conducted in areas covered by four map sheets in Edition 1, Army Map
Service, Series L7014 -- Sheets 6739I (Binh Son), 6739II (Quang Ngai), 6739III (Son Ha), and 6739IV (Tra Bong [renamed Ly
Tin in later versions]).  Click on the map segments above to link to a full scale verison of that portion of the map sheet.

The map legend and other map data generally were the same for each of these maps. Use this link
to view the map legend for tactical maps (1:50,000) used by the 1st Battalion 6th Infantry.

Map of area of battle for Lo Giang, 1983 (1:50,000) (L-7014, 6640 IV, Dai Loc)

Hill 43 area (L-7014, 6739 I,  Binh Son)

Area south of Nui Pho Tinh (L-7014, 6739 I,  Binh Son)
 

[Note:  Most six digit grid coordinate map references on this web site generally are to the
1:50,000 color L-7014 Series Maps.  Where possible, map segments provided are
from the 1960s era Army Map Service maps rather than the 1980s versions published
by the Defense Mapping Agency.]
 

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