At Ba Long, the battalion then embarked upon motorized junks and reached the Citadel the following day. (p. 192) Fur-ther, the National Security Agency had detected an unusually large number of messages among Com-munist units between 17 and 25 January 1968, The PAVN-VC forces rapidly occupied most of the city. [4]:200 Company D, 1/5 Marines arrived in the Citadel on the evening of 14 February after taking fire while crossing the Perfume River. Unknown to Allied intelligence, the PAVN had recently shifted several more regiments and support units from Qung Tr Province to the vicinity of Hu. Near the MACV Compound, the Marines came under heavy machine gun and rocket fire. The 804th Battalion, 4th Regiment, began marching from Ph Lc to a mountain camp 20 kilometers (12mi) south of Hu where the majority of the southern wing was gathered. [4]:201 That day at a meeting at Phu Bai between Generals Abrams, LaHue, Trng and South Vietnamese Vice President Nguyn Cao K, K approved the use of all necessary force to clear the PAVN-VC forces from the Citadel, regardless of damage to historic structures. A forward fighting line was maintained directly opposite the Marines with a secondary line two blocks back. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. Hu, the ancient imperial capital city of Vietnam, had a population of nearly 140,000, making it the third largest city in the Republic of Vietnam, commonly known as South Vietnam. . [9]:32022 The PAVN-VC no longer tenaciously defended each building, relying more on sniper fire, mortars and rockets. The PAVN-VC failed to hold the city or spark a general uprising, but they had undermined confidence in the Thiu-K government and the prospect of victory. Another mistake was that he didnt move his snipers around and the NVA found the snipers and fired many RPGs at them. Hue is a city in central Vietnam, which most Americans may know from the 1968 Battle of Hue, one of the longest and bloodiest battles in the Vietnam War. This lecture was part of the commemoration of the Vietnam War era. The General Offensive was to comprise conventional and guerilla military action aimed primarily at the "puppet" South Vietnamese military and government, attempting to destroy their legitimacy among the South Vietnamese population. To avoid ambushes it turned off Highway 1 a few kilometers north of the city, traveled east cross-country, and swung around the rear of Mang Ca through the Trai Gate. [28][9]:50405, After watching Cronkite's editorial report, President Lyndon Johnson is purported to have said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America. [14]:28, On the night of 1/2 February PAVN sappers successfully brought down the Bach Ho (railroad) bridge across the Perfume River, restricting movement from the south towards the Citadel, but failed to destroy the An Cuu Bridge over the Phu Cam Canal. The Vietnam War is often pictured as a jungle conflict, punctuated by American troops fighting in rural hut-filled villages. He previously served as a fellow with the chief of staff of the Armys Strategic Studies Group. Also on 28 January, the 810th Battalion, 4th Regiment and the 2nd Sapper Battalion began marching toward the city from locations along the coast east of Hu. A 75mm recoilless rifle knocked out one of the supporting tanks. Mr. Bowden undertakes this task with the talent and sensibility of a master journalist who is also a humanist and an honest man . All he knew was that Trng's headquarters had been under attack, as was the MACV Compound. The Battle of Hue City, Vietnam has come to be regarded as one of the most infamous urban battles in Marine Corps history. Additional battalions were later identified as coming from the 29th Regiment of the 325C Division, the 90th and 803rd Regiments of the 324B Division and the 24th Regiment of the 304th Division. [16]:228 On the night of 31 January, the PAVN-VC launched a mortar attack on Camp Evans which caused an ammunition dump to explode, disabling most of the helicopters of the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. 604 Hue 1968 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 604 Hue 1968 Premium High Res Photos Browse 604 hue 1968 stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. As the Marines advanced into the open countryside towards the T m Pagoda they located fresh PAVN graves and then were hit by a barrage of mortar fire, forcing them to withdraw. The deteriorating weather forced the squadron to cancel the remaining lifts with about half of the battalion in the Citadel. Hue city 1968 Vietnam History Vietnam War Photos North Vietnam Vietnam Veterans American War American History Bergen Hue Us Marines A dead US Marines carried by commrades at Battle of Hue. On August 20, 2009, Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret.) 7) Walk Around the Thai Hoa Palace. As one of the CBS News correspondents who covered the Battle of Hue in 1968, I see no contradiction between what Cronkite said about the battle while he was in Viet Nam and what he said in his acclaimed documentary on CBS News some weeks later. After the Vietnam War, Hue's unique history fell to ruin as the imperial era wasn't viewed favourably by the communist authorities. On 4 January 1968, MACV J-2 (military intelligence staff) received a report that a Vietcong sapper team had obtained jobs at the Tan Son Nhut airbase from which they planned to attack MACV. Unknown to the Marines, the ARVN Airborne had withdrawn from the area two days previously when the Vietnamese Marines began to arrive at Mang Ca and the PAVN defenders had used this opportunity to reoccupy several blocks and reinforce their defenses, Company A was engaged by the PAVN and quickly suffered 35 casualties. Also new to Tha Thin Province was the 5th Regiment, a three-battalion unit that normally operated from Base Area 101 near Qung Tr. Hue, city, central Vietnam. Victims included women, men, children, and infants. Battle of Hue During the TeT Offensive - Vietnam 1968. Trng called back most of the Hac Bao Company from the airfield to bolster the headquarters' defenses, which kept division headquarters secure. The Tet Offensive of 1968 was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. 5/7th Cavalry would be stalled north of La Chu for 2 weeks, probing but failing to penetrate the PAVN defenses. And more than a half century on, what lessons should we take from the battle as we prepare for a future of warfare that is increasingly likely to be urban? Itinerary. The fighting for the airfield continued to seesaw, with first the ARVN having the upper hand and then the PAVN. Part One is entirely about the Battle of Hue. Seeing an opportunity to trap the PAVN-VC, Lieutenant Colonel Ernie Cheatham reinforced Company H with his Command Group and Company F.[4]:170 With his other companies in blocking positions, Cheatham hoped to pin the PAVN-VC against the Truoi River. [4]:216 It was estimated that it would have taken at least 16 battalions to establish an effective cordon around Hu, at this time there were only 30 battalions available in all of I Corps. The PME was planned in honor of the 50th anniversary of the battle and it also honored Vietnam Veterans Day, which is March 29. A great storm in 1904 closed the bridge until 1906; in . Losses continued to mount throughout the day from mortar and small arms fire and that night the Battalion commander decided to breakout from the encirclement by a night march to an ARVN position on Nha Nanh hill (162735N 1073022E / 16.4598N 107.506E / 16.4598; 107.506) from where they could be resupplied and the casualties medevaced. The Battle of Hue City, Vietnam has come to be regarded as one of the most infamous urban battles in Marine Corps history. With the building secured the Marines then methodically cleared out the spider-holes, shooting their occupants. We are going to have to fight our way in piecemeal and then gather up and retake the city from within.. By this time, the PAVN-VC attackers had pulled back their forces from the immediate vicinity of the Compound. That young Marine of yours, that corporal who has always been the joy of everybody and always has a joke, gets killed next to you. [8] Other objectives included the Ty Lc Airfield and the Imperial Palace. Remember, an urban fight is a casualty producing fight. This article is about the Vietnam War battle during the Tet Offensive. The year 1968 was the year of the Tet Offensive including Khe Sanh and Hue City. Only two buildings in the city were held by Marines. [9]:346 As the 5/7th Cavalry approached Que Chu the command and control helicopter was shot down by anti-aircraft fire, the crew was rescued by a dustoff helicopter. [4]:17778 That night the PAVN 815th Battalion overran the ARVN defenders at the Thua Thien Prison releasing the 2,500 prisoners, including 350 VC who were soon armed with captured ARVN weapons and joined the fighting. However, the shock of the Tet Offensive, coming so soon after General William Westmoreland's "End in view" tour of the U.S. in November 1967, undermined the credibility of Westmoreland and his strategy within the Johnson Administration. . [12]:3839, In the early morning a U.S. Army helicopter was shot down over the city; the crew sought refuge with a group of ARVN in a small compound. While the Marines seized the surrounding wall easily, the area between the wall and the building was covered by fire from every window and from spider-holes in the grounds. Around that time, the 802nd Battalion from the 6th Regiment, the remainder of the 800th Battalion, the 12th Sapper Battalion, and several heavy weapons companies marched down from the mountains to a spot on the Perfume River several kilometers west of Hu before turning toward the Citadel. But why was it so destructive? The Marines were now only 100 meters from the south wall of the Citadel. This is also where the Marine needs to use their ingenuity. The Allied bombardment lasted intermittently from 17:30 until 03:30 the next day, forcing the entire southern wing to postpone the ferry crossing. [4]:167 At 04:40 sappers captured the Huu Gate and the command group of the PAVN 6th Regiment entered the Citadel. [31][32], Militarily, Hu and the entire Tet Offensive were Allied victories. The enemy usually pulls them all together and tries to build a buffer, said Christmas. February 3, 1988. The Marines then pushed into the Treasury building which the PAVN had hastily abandoned. He served twenty-five years as an infantry soldier, which included two combat tours in Iraq. delivered a Banner Lecture entitled The Battle of Hu City, South Vietnam, 1968.. They tried again five days later, but once again, bad weather prevented them from locating Mang Ca. [12]:59, Also on 7 February, the North Vietnamese tried to bring their own air support into the battle, sending four Vietnam People's Air Force Il-14 transport aircraft from an airfield near Hanoi. Christmas says theres not a day that goes by that he doesnt think about two mistakes he made during the Battle for Hue City. U.S. 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division base camp operations in Phu Bai near Hue, Vietnam. This is where their training to fight in any clime and place, and adapting to and overcoming situations proved essential. The sappers mission was to scale the Citadel's wall near the Mang Ca compound, open and hold the Hau and An Hoa Gates and assist the infantry company with its attack on Trng's headquarters. By the beginning of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive on 30 January 1968, which coincided with the Vietnamese Tt Lunar New Year, large conventional American forces had been committed to combat operations on Vietnamese soil for almost three years. Two of the aircraft carrying explosives, antitank ammunition and field telephone cables managed to find an opening in the cloud layer about 10 kilometers (6.2mi) north of Hu. [9]:35152, On 16 February deputy COMUSMACV General Creighton Abrams flew into PK-17 for a meeting with Tolson where Abrams expressed his displeasure at the Cavalry's slow progress. The enemy force, the forty sappers and an infantry company from the 800th Battalion that had been waiting in the graveyard northwest of An Hoa, did not return fire but crept away before they could be illuminated by the descending flares. On January 30, 1968, after months of preparation, North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops and Viet Cong (VC) guerrillas launched a massive, coordinated assault on nearly every city, town, and. The armored troop at Tam Thai was first to respond to Trng's order. Michael Bowden's new history Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam pulls off a rare feat: it takes a conflict of terrible scale and consequence, and allows us to see it. During the night, the battalion called helicopter into the landing zone to take out the most badly wounded. After a few minutes, the RF soldiers stopped shooting, and some began to wonder whether they had seen enemy troops or had been firing at shadows. [7], In addition to the significant civilian casualties inflicted in the battle, eighty percent of the city was destroyed and 116,000 civilians out of the pre-battle population of 140,000 were made homeless. Some elements of the battalion had been delayed by South Vietnamese paramilitary troops while others had gotten lost. Coming upon the central police headquarters in southern Hu, the tanks attempted to relieve the police defenders, but a B-40 rocket made a direct hit on Chi's tank, killing him instantly. Approximately 10.5 miles north of the city in Thua Thien Province, the ARVN 1st Airborne Task . [People would say] that weapon isnt for use in an urban environment. The Battle of Hue City . By dawn, our troops were still unable to advance". The two aircraft radioed that they were scrubbing the mission, then headed out to sea to jettison their bombs. [9]:362 The "Report from Vietnam: Who, What, When, Where, Why?" [5][6][21], 844 civilians were killed and 1,900 wounded during the battle. The third installment aims to help answer those questions by examining the Battle of Hue. [26] Bowden conservatively estimates that 2,000 people were executed. [8] Hu had great symbolism, having been the capital of Vietnam under the Nguyn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. On 10 February 1968, CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite visited southern Hu to film footage for a special report on the Vietnam War. There were also many obstacles to navigate including moats and walls. This time they crossed the An Cuu Bridge into the new city. To isolate the Hue fight and judge it in the context of the overall Viet Nam conflict is a mistake. The 2nd Airborne Battalion reinforced the convoy and conducted a flanking attack. Country Maps. When seven successive attempts to breach the gate failed, the battalion joined the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 3rd Regiment, near the southern corner of the Citadel. The combined force then headed for the Mang Ca compound with the goal of neutralizing Trng's headquarters before it had time to organize the city's defenders. Hue's refined cuisine is the stuff of legend, and its leafy streets are lined with mossy pagodas, art dco mansions . Company H attacked a nearby hill meeting a stubborn defense, losing one dead and killing six PAVN. "[4]:171, As the Marines approached the southern suburbs of the city they came under increasing fire from the PAVN 804th Battalion. [4]:197, On 13 February Companies A and C, 1/5 Marines left Mang Ca and moved south along the eastern wall of the Citadel, while Company B remained in reserve. [9]:343, On 8 February 5/7th Cavalry began moving southwest from PK-17 towards La Chu while 2/12th Cavalry were ordered to retrace their route to form the southern pincer for an attack on the PAVN stronghold. During the Battle of Hue City, most of the civilians hid out in buildings, according to Christmas. But if you can do that you will make the right decision. While PAVN-VC defeat was inevitable in the face of U.S. firepower, the failure to sever the PAVN-VC supply lines and isolate the battlefield meant that the battle lasted longer and was more costly to the ARVN and U.S. than was necessary. But, both generals agreed that you learn from those mistakes and you have to live with them. for Advanced Operational Culture Lrng. At dawn the only areas of the new city still under Allied control were the prison defended by a Hac Bao platoon; the Le Loi transportation camp; the Huang Giang Hotel; the MACV Compound; the communications facility; and the Navy loading dock. [12]:6970, By 20 February the 1/5 Marines advance had stalled and after conferring with his commanders Thompson decided to launch a night attack against three PAVN strongpoints that were blocking further movement with the entire battalion attacking at daybreak. 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