engaged in support of the FANK campaign to clear the banks of the Mekong from the Vietnam border to Phnom Penh. One B-52 strike on 23 April 1973 north of the border between the Mekong and the Hồng Ngự stream caught a large portion of the attacking force with survivors reported seeing impressed civilians carrying the bodies or more than 100 PAVN from the area. In mid-April the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 15th Infantry Regiment, 9th Division, together with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Squadron and a Regional Forces Group countererattacked. Although casualties were heavy, Republic of Vietnam Air Force and Navy support helped enable the ARVN troops to clear the east bank of the Mekong from Hồng Ngự to the Cambodian frontier. The attack inflicted heavy casualties on the PAVN and dealt a damaging blow to their morale. By the end of May, one battalion of the 207th Regiment had only 100 men. Aftermath By 4 May the fighting had reduced to intermittent small contacts and light shellings. 422 PAVN dead had been counted, while ARVN casualties were 94 killed and 36 missing. Civilian casualties in the action were by far the highest since the ceasefire, over 300, of which 80 were killed by PAVN artillery. Almost 300 houses were destroyed by PAVN fire. In the second week of April alone 123 122mm rockets hit Hồng Ngự. References Conflicts in 1973 1973 in Vietnam Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1973 History of South Vietnam