[2]: 206  Rosson reported directly to III Marine Amphibious Force which controlled I Corps, however he was generally free to manoeuvre his brigades subject to maintaining the defense of Chu Lai Air Base.

Traditionally, Đức Phổ had served as a rest area for the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 3rd Division, providing both replacements and food.

Military stores came from trawlers off the coast, while other key items, such as medical supplies and batteries, were typically purchased in Saigon and shipped to Sa Huỳnh, the small port in the southern part of the district.

According to the officer, a trawler was to deliver a shipment of arms and ammunition from North Vietnam to the mouth of the Tra Cau River, but it had run aground on the Batangan Peninsula.

He went on to say that as part of the new offensive, the PAVN 2nd Regiment, which had been inactive in western Đức Phổ since November, was to hit the Ba Tơ Special Forces camp, 30km from the coast.

[2]: 232 Shanahan gave the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant colonel Clinton E. Granger, the job of securing the Đức Phổ airfield, now renamed Bronco, and the road extending east to Razorback Beach (14°48′43″N 109°00′25″E / 14.812°N 109.007°E / 14.812; 109.007).

Shanahan's other unit, the 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry, under Major James E. Moore, would operate on the inland side of the highway to screen the brigade's flank.

On 25 April Specialist Four Kenneth E. Stumpf of Company C, 1/35th Infantry rescued three wounded men and destroyed a VC bunker, actions for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor.

Although this unit was the I Field Force, Vietnam reserve, both Larsen and Westmoreland agreed to its early release and movement by sea from Nha Trang to Razorback.

During the next night the VC retaliated with mortars, striking a battery position at Liz, but when they shifted their fire to support a ground attack, rounds landed among their own men, and the assault ended before it began.

[2]: 235 At midday on 27 May Shanahan received a report indicating that a major enemy unit had established a command post at Tan Phong Hamlet in the Tra Cau Valley, 2km west of Liz.

Before artillery and air support arrived, the enemy tried to flank the blue team, prompting Granger to send his reconnaissance platoon from Liz, followed by an armored cavalry troop, to attack the hamlet from another direction.

[2]: 239–40 In early June intelligence reports indicated that the enemy intended to attack the headquarters of Mộ Đức District, 10km north of Liz.

A new firebase, Dragon (14°57′N 108°53′E / 14.95°N 108.88°E / 14.95; 108.88), was built next to the district headquarters and manned by an artillery battery provided by Task Force Oregon and an infantry company.

Analysts reasoned that one or both regiments had to take some action in Đức Phổ to reestablish local authority and concluded that Bronco was the most likely objective.

The enemy struck on 23 June, shortly after midnight 12 minutes of mortar and recoilless rifle fire hit the base, killing 3 Americans, wounding 51 and knocking out an 8-inch howitzer.

For two weeks, Granger's replacement, Lieutenant colonel Norman L. Tiller, searched hamlets and set night ambushes, killing some 30 VC.

[2]: 242 By the end of July Highway 1 was open throughout the 3rd Brigade sector during daylight, and South Vietnamese officials claimed that the government controlled over half of the Đức Phổ District's population, a 100 percent increase since February.