Following the victory of VC forces in the Battle of Bình Giã earlier in the year, the North Vietnamese leadership in Hanoi decided to intensify their war effort in order to defeat the American-backed Government of South Vietnam.

In Quảng Ngãi Province, South Vietnam, the VC kick-started their summer campaign by attacking elements of the ARVN 51st Infantry Regiment during the early hours of May 29, 1965.

In January 1965, while on a visit to China, a North Vietnamese military delegation met with Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai to discuss the situation.

In the meeting the North Vietnamese were advised by Zhou Enlai to step up military operations in South Vietnam, in order to destroy the ARVN whenever they came out to fight.

[9] In April, the Soviet Union's political support for North Vietnam materialised with the delivery of MiG fighter planes and SA-2 anti-aircraft missiles, along with large quantities of food and ammunition.

China also offered logistical assistance to the North Vietnamese military by providing seven divisions of Chinese soldiers for road construction and other projects.

Thus, North Vietnamese leaders decided to launch a summer offensive with the objective of defeating the ARVN by drawing them into battle repeatedly with numerous, geographically dispersed attacks.

On February 6, 1965, the VC 409th Sapper Battalion attacked the U.S. base at Camp Holloway at Pleiku, injuring more than a hundred American personnel and damaging about 20 aircraft.

Following those actions the VC decided to launch a major assault on South Vietnamese units in Ba Gia, a small village in Sơn Tịnh District about 10 kilometres away from Quảng Ngãi town.

[2]: p. 9-13 On the other side, South Vietnamese military units in Quảng Ngãi Province formed part of the ARVN 1st Brigade, I Corps, commanded by Major General Nguyễn Chánh Thi.

The 1st Regimental Headquarters set up camp at Mount Hốc Khoai[2]: p. 17, while the 83rd Local Force Battalion was ordered to encircle the administrative centre at Nghĩa Hành.

[2]: p. 20 Within 10 minutes of fighting, the two platoons of South Vietnamese Regional Force defending Lộc Thọ were subdued, and the VC quickly consolidated the battlefield around the area.

Meanwhile, the VC 83rd Local Force Battalion marched from Trà Khúc River toward Nghĩa Hành District, and began applying pressure on the ARVN stationed there.

[16] On the afternoon of May 29, ARVN Major General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, commander of South Vietnam's I Corps Tactical Zone, responded to the VC assault by forming a Task Force with the objective of recapturing Ba Gia.

In the first, the ARVN 39th Ranger Battalion approached northern Phước Lộc to secure Mount Chóp Nón, from where they could strike at the VC's southern flank.

[25] The battle at Ba Gia, which marked the beginning of the VC's Summer Offensive of 1965, had dealt a severe blow to South Vietnam's armed forces.

Undeterred by this growing U.S. military strength, North Vietnamese leaders decided to match American commitments by increasing the number of their troops in South Vietnam, thereby escalating the war.