Operation Lancaster II

Operation Lancaster II
Part of the Vietnam War
BLT 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines Marines advance during Operation Lancaster II
Date 20 January – 23 November 1968 Location Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam 16°34′44″N 106°45′11″E / 16.579°N 106.753°E / 16.579; 106.753 Result U.S. operational success
Belligerents
United States	North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
MG Rathvon M. Tompkins MG Raymond G. Davis Col. William L. Dick Col. Edward J. Miller
Strength
3rd Battalion, 1st Marines 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines 1st Battalion, 4th Marines 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines 1st Battalion, 9th Marines 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines 3rd Tank Battalion 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment	320th Division
Casualties and losses
359 killed	U.S. body count: 1,800+ killed 913 weapons recovered

Operation Lancaster II was a U.S. Marine Corps security operation that took place in northern Quảng Trị Province from 20 January to 23 November 1968 during the Vietnam War. The operation followed on directly from Operation Lancaster. The Marines patrolled aggressively. The response of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) was mixed; Prolonged lulls alternated with fierce fighting. Broadly the Marines felt that they were successful in maintaining the supply route to Ca Lu, at the terminus of Route 9, and in, at least intermittently, disrupting PAVN communications.

The operation ended with the Lancaster operational area being absorbed into the Scotland II and Kentucky operational areas. By the close of the operation the Marines had lost 359 killed; they calculated that PAVN fatalities were in excess of 1,800.