Gia. Following their victory at Ba Gia, the VC turned its attention to the Mekong Delta region. To prepare for their next offensive, Major-General Le Trong Tan was given the task of directing VC military operations in the provinces of Phước Long, Bình Phước. For the first time, the newly created VC 273rd and 274th Regiments was ordered to join the 271st and 272nd Regiments on the battlefield; their objective was to destroy the regular units of the South Vietnamese military and eliminate the strategic hamlets to enlarge what North Vietnam viewed as 'liberated zones'. Prelude Since May 1965, the VC offensive in Phước Long Province had been in full-swing. Beginning on May 10, the VC 271st Regiment, supported by the 840th Battalion and local sapper units, attacked the district town of Phước Long, capital of the province. Simultaneously, the VC 272nd Regiment overran South Vietnamese government positions in the sub-sector of Phước Bình. During their brief occupation of Phước Long district, the VC destroyed several major strategic hamlets in the surrounding areas, such as Ba Ra, Thuan Kiem, Thuan Loi, Phu Rieng, Da Kia, Bu Dop, Duc Bon and Song Be. In response to the VC occupation of Phước Long district, the ARVN 36th Ranger Battalion was ordered by the ARVN Joint General Staff to recapture government positions there. On May 11, two companies from the battalion sustained heavy casualties in battles with VC units positioned along Inter-Provincial Road 13 and National Highway 14. On May 12, the Viet Cong 271st Regiment and other support units withdrew from Phuoc Long district. In the Phước Bình sub-sector, the VC 272nd Regiment were able to overrun South Vietnamese government positions within 25 minutes, and they claimed to have killed 115 South Vietnamese soldiers in the process. At 9 am on May 11, the ARVN 34th Ranger Battalion was airlifted into a small town located about 14 kilometres away from Phước Bình in the south-east. As the ARVN 34th Ranger Battalion marched upward towards Phước Bình, the VC 272nd and 273rd Regiment was ordered to destroy the Rangers. However, by the time the 272nd Regiment arrived at the South Vietnamese staging area, the Rangers had already pulled out and successfully recaptured Phước Bình. Meanwhile, on May 15, the VC 274th Regiment defeated two South Vietnamese Regional Force companies along Route 20 and destroyed 20 vehicles in the process. After those operations in