Battle of Suoi Chau Pha
The Battle of Suoi Chau Pha (6 August 1967) was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle took place during Operation Ballarat, an Australian search and destroy operation in the eastern Hat Dich area, north-west of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province. Following a covert insertion the day before which had caught a number of Viet Cong sentries by surprise, A Company, 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7 RAR) had patrolled forward unaware of the presence of a large Viet Cong main force unit nearby. Clashing with a reinforced company from the Viet Cong 3rd Battalion, 274th Regiment, a classic encounter battle ensued between two forces of roughly equal size. Fought at close quarters in dense jungle amid a heavy monsoon rain, both sides suffered heavy casualties as neither was able to gain an advantage. Finally, after a battle lasting several hours, the Australian artillery proved decisive and the Viet Cong were forced to withdraw, dragging many of their dead from the battlefield after having suffered crippling losses.
Battle of Lao Cai
On 24 February, the PLA decided to supplement their reserves, the 149th Division, to the fight against the VPA 316th Division. Chinese efforts now concentrating on cutting off the retreat of the VPA 316th Division, as the PLA 447th Regiment skirted around Mount Phan Xi Pang through the Hoang Lien Son Pass and maneuvered toward the direction of Bình Lư, which was 44 km west of Sapa. In meantime, the rest of the 149th Division pushed toward Sapa along two roads parallel to Highway 10. Despite showing excellent combat performance, the VPA 316th Division was finally forced to retreat due to the lack of manpower. At 14:45 on 1 March, Sapa fell to the PLA. On the eastern wing of the offensive, Khoc Tiam succumbed to a night assault raging from 20:00 on 2 March to 14:45 on 3 March. At 19:00 on 3 March, all roads that connected Phong Thổ with Bình Lư and Pa Tần had been under Chinese control. On 4 March, Chinese forces eventually captured the town, thus successfully blocking the supply route to the VPA 316th Division from Lai Châu; the blocking position was at least 40 km from the Sino-Vietnamese border, becoming the deepest Chinese penetration in the war. The 316th Division finally ceased fighting on 5 March. On the same day, the Chinese government announced the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam.