dug in on the eastern edge of the village of Ngoc Bay, but could move no further despite the employment of massive artillery preparations and air strikes. Stalled in the attempt to take Trung Nghia by frontal assault, II Corps commander General Nguyễn Văn Toàn determined that an approach from the south against the positions at Plei Djo Drap, directly across the Dak Bla River from Trung Nghia, would strike the PAVN defenses in the flank and force a withdrawal. Toàn therefore directed the 23rd Division, reinforced with Rangers, to attack north from the base at Plei Mrong. The southwest monsoon, in full force over the western highlands of Pleiku and Kontum Provinces in early August, allowed the PAVN to maneuver in daylight since RVNAF aerial observation was spotty and artillery and air strikes consequently much less effective. Plei Mrong () and its camp, called Ly Thai Loi, were situated on Provincial Route 3B south of the Yali Falls of the Krong Bolah and the PAVN concentration around Plei Monoun. The ARVN move north caused activity to pick up during the week of 4–10 August when the PAVN 28th Reconnaissance-Sapper Battalion launched seven separate attempts to take the camp, supported by 75 mm and 130 mm gunfire. ARVN Ranger units in the field north and south of the camp also came under attack. A few days later a battalion of the 95B Regiment, 10th Division, hit the ARVN 22nd Ranger Border Defense Battalion at Doi Ba Cham, just north of Plei Mrong, but was repelled, leaving 150 dead on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the ARVN 45th Regiment, 23rd Division, advancing in the Plei Monoun area to the Krong Bolah River, encountered other elements of the 95B Regiment. Combat with the 95B Regiment continued throughout the month in the Plei Mrong sector, and its losses were estimated to approach 200 killed. Despite these losses, the 95B was successful in preventing the ARVN from closing on the Dak Bla River. The PAVN was nevertheless suffering from the bombardment at Trung Nghia. Damage to the PAVN 24B Regiment was so severe that it was withdrawn to the Đắk Tô area for recuperation and replaced by elements of the 66th and 28th Regiments, 10th Division. The 28th Regiment, recently strengthened by replacements from the North, took up the defense of Trung Nghia, while the 66th held Plei Djo Drap. Meanwhile, the exhausted ARVN 44th Regiment