The 22nd Division (Vietnamese: Sư đoàn 22; Chữ Hán: 師團22) of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was part of the II Corps that oversaw the region of the Central Highlands north of the capital Saigon.

On 4 August, the 1/42nd encountered the PAVN on a hilltop west of Dak Seang Camp, setting off a three-day battle that drew in the ARVN 8th Airborne Battalion.

The ARVN forces found 189 PAVN bodies, large quantities of ammunition and equipment, and a sophisticated regimental command post with training areas and an elaborate mock-up of the Dak Seang Camp.

[6]: 252 In February 1968 Lt. Col. William A. Donald (USMC), a MACV Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support evaluator, made a detailed examination of one of the Division's regiments providing area security.

Donald pointed out that almost all operations were planned by the regimental commander, with little assistance from his nominal staff who appeared to serve primarily as bodyguards and aides.

He also reported that unit commanders habitually employed internal informants, enforced discipline through whippings or confining soldiers to makeshift "tiger cages" for military infractions, and used prisoners and VC suspects as laborers.

The US advisers interviewed by Donald held that the entire unit was run by an inside clique of favorites, "armed with an uncanny flair for mediocrity," who, despite spending their nights at home when their troops were in the field, were decorated "with awesome regularity."

Not surprisingly, Donald reported that the unit was deficient in almost all military activities, allowing the local VC to dominate the countryside, especially during the hours of darkness.

A battalion from the PAVN 32nd Regiment attacked a convoy on Highway 14 south of Kon Tum, but the ambush was quickly broken up by the arrival of the Division's 3rd Armored Cavalry Squadron.

In the process the American officers tried to increase pressure on local enemy forces through intensive patrolling and to encourage ARVN battalion, company, and platoon-level leadership through longer, more decentralized operations.

Vietnamization, as later conceived in 1969, was not an objective, and, in fact, the entire effort represented a return to the old strategy of pacification, with American combat operations now tied much closer to the overall task of local security.

[6]: 401 The dissolution of the 24th Special Tactical Zone headquarters along the Laotian border and the transfer of its responsibilities to the Division had not brought any noticeable improvement to the Highlands.

I Field Force, Vietnam commander General Arthur S. Collins Jr. regarded the other five ARVN regiments in the zone as acceptable, but saw their "lack of aggressiveness" as a "persistent" and "fatal weakness.""

[9]: K-9  A T-54 moved into the base and began direct fire on the command post, the two remaining M-41s engaged the T-54, however their 76 mm guns had no apparent effect on the T-54 which quickly knocked out both M-41s.

As the ARVN attempted to cross the Dak Poko river they came under intense PAVN fire and the senior U.S. adviser LTC Robert Brownlee disappeared during this engagement.

[10]: 91 In early May the remnants of the 42nd and 47th Regiments which had been incorporated into the defense of Kontum were replaced by the arriving units of the 23rd Division and withdrawn to Bình Định Province for refitting.

Security on the latter route, whose steep grades, blind curves, defiles and many bridges created ideal opportunities for ambush, was being provided by the 3rd and 19th Armored Cavalry Squadrons.

[14]: 9 During the War of the flags that preceded the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 23 January 1973, elements of the PAVN 12th Regiment, 3rd Division, moved from bases in the An Lão valley toward the Tam Quan lowlands of northeast Bình Định Province.

Although contacts were light and scattered in Khánh Hòa Province, the PAVN/VC succeeded in interdicting Highway 21, temporarily isolating Ban Me Thuot from the coast.

Although the PAVN/VC seemed to enjoy great chances for success in Bình Định and Phú Yên Provinces, it was clear by the first week of February that they had failed to achieve any significant gains and the PAVN/VC forces had incurred extremely heavy losses.

During the rest of the month mopping-up operations cleared PAVN remnants from the slopes of Ngoc Bay Mountain, while skirmishing between the ARVN Rangers and elements of the 95B Regiment continued around Plei Mrong.

The valley, which began in the rugged, forested highlands north of Binh Khê, was the natural avenue of approach for the 3rd Division to attack ARVN positions along Route 19.

RVNAF reconnaissance had discovered in late February and early March that the PAVN had improved and extended a road, up to eight meters wide with underwater bridges, from southern Kontum Province through the Kim Son region of Bình Định where it joined interprovincial Route 3A.

Despite the clear indications that the PAVN was shifting his center of gravity southward, General Niem kept fully half of the Division in the north, opposite the An Lão Valley.

[14]: 149 On 8/9 March the 41st Regiment, moved from Bồng Sơn to An Son on Highway 19, to secure the line of communication west toward Binh Khê and to protect Phu Cat Air Base.

President Thiệu outlined his strategy for the Central Highlands, General Phú's role would be to retake Buôn Ma Thuột using the troops he still had in Kontum and Pleiku Provinces and the Division.

[14]: 152  The two Battalions were deployed west of Khanh Duong to meet the advancing PAVN 10th Division and the 3rd Airborne Brigade was dug in on the high ground in the pass, behind the 40th Regiment.

As the 41st and 42nd Regiments dug in for the defense of Qui Nhơn, orders arrived from Saigon to evacuate what remained of the Division, II Corps was virtually lost.

[14]: 163 As the PAVN attacked Phu Cat Air Base on 31 March, the RVNAF flew out about 32 aircraft, leaving about 58, mostly disabled or destroyed, on the ground.

On 1–2 April, about 7,000 troops of the Division and Bình Định RF/PF boarded Republic of Vietnam Navy craft at Qui Nhơn and sailed for Vũng Tàu.