On 10 January at 09:00 the American cavalry from Troop E, US 17th Cavalry Regiment and the Australians from the Prince of Wales Light Horse commenced a combined search operation and fought communist snipers and small groups throughout most of the day. At 14:00 a number of Viet Cong dug-in in trenches were encountered, and following a series of air-strikes and artillery barrages, the cavalry and the Australian M113s swept the area during which several Australians were slightly injured by a misdirected US Navy air-strike. Sixteen Viet Cong bodies were subsequently recovered, and another 60 were believed to have been killed but had been removed from the battlefield. Williamson subsequently ordered the US 1/503rd Battalion—under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Tyler—to change the direction of its advance. During the morning the battalion had conducted platoon-sized patrols south, south-west and west, locating a well-constructed defensive position, including bunkers and trenches connected by tunnels. With no contact as yet made with the Viet Cong, the battalion prepared to move to a new AO in the north by 13:30. During this move the battalion, and armour from Troop D, US 16th Cavalry Regiment, engaged a dug-in Viet Cong Main Force company less than west of the Australians. Following air-strikes and heavy artillery bombardment the communists withdrew, leaving 29 dead during a sharp engagement. The US 2/503rd Battalion had also sent out a number of squad-sized patrols during the day, but no recent signs of Viet Cong activity were found, and only minor sniper fire encountered. However, like the Australians, the American paratroopers also uncovered a large number of tunnels and other fortifications. Meanwhile, the US 3rd Brigade continued to make slow progress and, despite reaching the banks of the Saigon River by 10 January, only a few brief glimpses of the Viet Cong had been made. A small base camp was discovered and destroyed however, while another battalion captured more than 10 tons of rice and 15 bales of cotton. The following day the Americans found and destroyed more bunkers and a number of houses and sampans, as well as quantities of supplies and food. They also uncovered a tunnel complex and a quantity of maps, charts and documents, although still little resistance was met. During these actions the Americans lost more men to booby traps than enemy fire. Advancing on a front, troops from the 1st Battalion, US 28th Infantry Regiment—commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Haldane—took a number of casualties from snipers, although the source of the fire was not immediately obvious.