The objective was to clear out People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units from their base camps and infiltration routes in the hills and valleys of Quảng Nam Province, southwest of Da Nang, particularly Happy Valley and Charlie Ridge (15°56′10″N 108°05′42″E / 15.936°N 108.095°E / 15.936; 108.095) 20–25 km southwest of Da Nang.

He revealed that the main infiltration route was from Ai Yen along Route 614 and into Happy Valley, while another branch followed the Song Con river south to An Dien 8 km northeast of Thường Ðức Camp and then along the Vu Gia River into Base Area 112 or Charlie Ridge.

[1]: 104 The terrain was expected to be a major challenge as Charlie Ridge was a steep and narrow mountain range with numerous gullies and ravines with thick undergrowth and dense overhead cover, while Happy Valley was covered by dense undergrowth, all of this would limit the effectiveness of supporting arms and make helicopter support more difficult.

[1]: 107  On the morning 8 April 3/26 Marines descended into the ravine containing the base camp engaging 20 PAVN soldiers as they attempted to escape to the southwest.

The remaining units participating in the operation were now assigned general areas of responsibility sweeping Happy Valley and Charlie Ridge encountering scattered groups of PAVN.

[1]: 111–3 On 29 April the area of operations was extended south of the Vu Gia into the northern Arizona Territory and that night Companies B and D, 1/7 Marines crossed the river and established positions near the village of My Hoa.

[1]: 110 From 6–12 May Company I, 3/7 Marines conducted a sweep of the Song Tan Thong river area west of Happy Valley with minimal results.

[1]: 116 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.