tanks of the 318th Task Force, one company of armored personnel carriers had already crossed into An Dien, a knocked-out T-54 tank blocked the narrow road from the bridge into An Dien. Swampy ground on each side prevented bypassing the tank and it had to be blown off the road with demolitions. ARVN combat engineers were laboring at this task while infantrymen of the 18th Division were holding the perimeter around An Dien. Base 82 The first attempt to retake Base 82 began on 7 June 1974 when the 318th Task Force finally brought its tanks across the Thi Thinh River and passed through the 18th Division position in An Dien. While the 52nd Infantry remained in reserve holding the An Dien perimeter, two battalions of the 48th Infantry moved south and west to protect the southern flank of Task Force 318 as it advanced along Route 7 towards Base 82. To the south, the 43rd Regiment maintained contact with the 272nd Regiment. Meanwhile, the PAVN 9th Division had withdrawn the remnants of the 95C Regiment from action and placed its 271st Regiment at Base 82, where it prepared deep, mutually supporting defensive positions. Clearly indicating its resolve to conduct a determined defense along Route 7 in the Iron Triangle, COSVN sent the 141st Regiment, 7th Division south from its position along Highway 13, north of Lai Khê, to reinforce the 9th Division north of Base 82. The 9th Division meanwhile began shifting the 272nd Regiment north from the southern part of the Iron Triangle to assist in the defense of Base 82 and Rach Bap. The summer monsoon had arrived in Bình Dương Province and rains and low cloud cover further reduced the effectiveness of RVNAF support for the attack. A dense rubber plantation northwest of Base 82 provided excellent concealment for supporting defensive positions and observation of local Route 7, the only avenue of approach available for ARVN armor. Dense brush covered the southern approaches to the base and concealed more PAVN supporting and reserve positions. The only fairly open terrain was on either side or Route 7 where high grass offered no concealment to the ARVN column but reduced visibility to a few meters. Furthermore, this approach was under the observed fire of the 9th Division's supporting artillery. By the evening of 8 June, Task Force 318 reached its first objective, Hill 25 (), about 1 km