Atlas Wedge 
by
Thomas P. Currie

The Selsor Interview (pages 3 and 4 in particular) is an excellent report, but the tank company action is described second hand based on what CPT Selsor heard over the radio. Let me share one tanker's eye view of that day.

As CPT Selsor says, we took heavy RPG fire and had one tank knocked out and one man killed. Much of this RPG fire was coming down from NVA up in the rubber trees, this was something new to us. We were used to taking small arms fire from above, but not RPG firing down onto the comparatively thin top armor.

Quoting from CPT Selsor's interview: "initially they had one killed and one tank knocked out, and they held in place. In fact I think they backed off a little bit after they got the wounded out. They backed up about 50 meters."

I'd say more like 25 meters, but it might have been 50. This highlights one important aspect of Blackhorse operations at the time. We had a firm rule of "No MIAs." Anyone who served in the Blackhorse was going to go home, you might go home in a box, but you were going home. This day was an example of that. When D Company halted we were ordered to push through, when the company commander said we couldn't advance under overhead RPG fire, we were told: 1) They can't fire RPGs down out of trees; and 2) If you can't push ahead where you are, find a way around and keep going. The CO refused to leave the knocked out tank that still had our one KIA aboard. We knew he was dead, the medic had made it up to the tank but had to come back without recovering the body. We held contact - both with the tank and with the NVA - and managed to inch forward, basically one row of rubber at a time as we tore up each row of trees with 50 cal because we couldn't elevate the main gun enough.

Our progress wasn't fast enough to suit 'higher' (note that CPT Selsor's report says his troop was echeloned with his lead elements ahead of where our part of the line was held up). A cav troop from Quarter Horse was ordered to pass through us and pick up the pace. Yes, we had a tank company in contact and someone thought a troop of ACAVs could push through that same contact faster than we could! 

According to CPT Selsor's account, it was B 1-4 Cav who pushed through us. I don't recall paying attention to bumper numbers, but I do remember the ACAVs and the people. They had the front seat from jeeps on top of the cargo hatch and the gunners were riding high, sitting in those seats not standing in the armor, some had their flack jackets on the gun shield or lying on top of the vehicle instead of wearing them, a couple had their feet propped up on the gunshield like someone relaxing at a desk!! I couldn't believe they were driving right past us and not taking the situation seriously.

The comments by both CPT Selsor and LTC Harponski that B 1-4 went in firing everything they had and laying down massive fire do not agree with what I saw when the 1-4 troop passed through our tanks.  Again quoting CPT Selsor: "Bravo Troop broke through the tank company, or passed through the tank company, and from what I could hear, they hadn't gone more than fifty meters -- they were firing with everything they had -- before they were also engaged with heavy RPGs and small arms fire. They took or it sounded as if they immediately took 8 casualties - 8 KIA and many wounded and losing about four tracks and at least two ACAVs."

They rolled right by us, they rolled right by where our one tank had been knocked out, and they got perhaps 25 meters further ahead before every track took one or more RPGs down from above. Several took hits in through the open cargo hatch, some were hit on the hatch, but so far as I could tell every track was hit and almost exactly the same time. I don't know how many casualties they took, but if CPT Selsor's figures are right, they were luckier than they had any right to hope for.

Continuing with CPT Selsor's account: "The fire was so heavy that it forced them to pull back also about on line with the tank company. I am not sure how far back they pulled, but I believe it was on line with the tank company."

Yes, everything that could still move backed up until they were on line with or just behind us. At this point they were laying down the sort of fire one expects of a Cav troop in contact. We spent the next hour or two using M60's and rifles to keep the NVA from reaching the tracks that had been knocked out. I don't think there was anyone alive left but we didn't take chances with main gun and rarely used the fifties, except when one track was boarded by one NVA crazy enough to try to swing the M60 our direction. We did continue to move forward until we recovered our tank, by then the resistance was fading rapidly and both the tank company and the Cav troop were able to roll ahead to recover the Cav tracks as well.

We milled around for the rest of Atlas Wedge without significant contact by D Company.