two battalions of the 48th crossed into the Iron Triangle on the night of 2/3 June, The fighting at An Dien wos especially fierce on 3 June as the PAVN used tanks against ARVN infantry. Armed with light antitank weapons, ARVN infantry knocked out at least 4 tanks in the final day of the battle. On 4 June, troops of the 18th ARVN Division finally entered An Dien and on the 5th overran the last position of the 95C Regiment, which had since been reinforced by elements of the 271st Regiment. On the morning of the 5th, two battalions of the 48th and two of the 52nd were holding An Dien bracing for a counterattack. One Ranger battalion was in a blocking position north of the destroyed village, while another secured the An Dien bridge. The 43d Regiment was still stalled by the 272nd Regiment's defenses south of An Dien. The 7th Ranger Group had not been able to advance toward Base 82 from the north, and a new major ARVN attack would be required to advance past the positions held in and around An Dien. PAVN soldiers captured in An Dien told of horrendous losses in the three battalions - the 7th, 8th, and 9th of the 95C Regiment. Fourteen surviving members of the 9th Battalion were captured when the last strongpoint fell on 5 June. They said that casualties in the 8th and 9th Battalions between 16 May and 4 June were 65 percent, that a company of the 7th Battalion had only one man left, that a company of the 8th Battalion was totally destroyed and that the 9th Battalion lost two complete companies. These accounts were confirmed by the large number or bodies left on the battlefield and by the quantity or weapons and equipment captured. ARVN losses were substantial, well over 100 ARVN soldiers had been killed. The expected PAVN counterattack came on the night of 5/6 June as two battalions of the 271st Regiment, supported by up to 14 tanks attacked from two directions. The ARVN held and its infantrymen knocked out 5 tanks and damaged 5 others. The second phase or the Iron Triangle campaign was over with the recapture of An Dien, and General Thuần was anxious to get the attack moving again toward Base 82 and Rach Bap. Although the An Dien bridge would soon be in condition to carry the