The Marines did not progress further than one block before their advance was halted by troops from the PAVN 815th Battalion and after three hours of room to room fighting, the Marines captured the Hu University building at the base of the Trng Tin Bridge two blocks northwest of the MACV Compound, so reducing enemy fire towards the LCU ramp. The Army gunners and the Marine Ontos quickly responded. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. [4]:17374 This was easier said than done as the PAVN-VC were well dug-in and firing from virtually every building in the Citadel. Operated by the United States Army Signal Corps 513th Signal Detachment, 337th Signal Company, 37th Signal Battalion, it was the main communications link for the Hu area, the DMZ and for the besieged Khe Sanh Combat Base. Lying on a plain backed by foothills of the Annamese Cordillera (Chane Annamitique) and situated 5 miles (8 km) from the South China Sea coast, Hue is traversed by the broad, shallow Huong River (Hue River, or Perfume River ). The Tet Offensive of 1968 was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. However, less is known about America's involvement with the city during World War II. The PAVN-VC could not afford to engage in a firefight at this point, and they succeeded in sneaking away without raising further alarms. General Christmas is president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. Meanwhile, the team of thirty sappers who had scaled the northwestern wall overpowered the guards standing watch at the An Hoa and Hau Gates, then opened their doors to the infantry company waiting outside. [9]:10607 The 802nd It comes from the non- commissioned officers.. . [4]:16667 At 05:00 a reinforced company from the 1st Sapper Battalion Eight CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters made the flight in marginal weather with a 61152 metres (200500ft) ceiling and 1.6 kilometres (1mi) visibility, arriving at an improvised landing zone under enemy mortar fire. During Tet, the lunar New Year holiday, the North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies staged attacks across South Vietnam, none more dramatic than the assault on Hu, the old imperial capital. 5) Walk Around the Thien Mu Pagoda. Hue's refined cuisine is the stuff of legend, and its leafy streets are lined with mossy pagodas, art dco mansions . New Hue was located on the southeast bank of the river. I know how to do this, said the lance corporal according to Downs. Urban battles are also known for close combat fighting. The Modern War Institute does not screen articles to fit a particular editorial agenda, nor endorse or advocate material that is published. The Marines were now only 100 meters from the south wall of the Citadel. [4]:204, Despite their reducing hold on the city the PAVN seemed determined to prolong the battle for the Citadel. [4]:167 At 04:40 sappers captured the Huu Gate and the command group of the PAVN 6th Regiment entered the Citadel. A forward fighting line was maintained directly opposite the Marines with a secondary line two blocks back. He previously served as a fellow with the chief of staff of the Armys Strategic Studies Group. A second unit from the regiment, the 810th Battalion, and several local force companies roamed the coastal plain north and east of Hu. Hue City Vietnam - Etsy Check out our hue city vietnam selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. [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. The Tet Offensive began on January 30 as the North Vietnamese occupied Hue City. Apart from the headquarters staff and a handful of support units, the only combat units in the Citadel were the division's 36-man Reconnaissance Platoon and its reaction force, the elite Hac Bao (Black Panther) Reconnaissance Company. [4]:171, Up to this point the fighting for Hu had been entirely a South Vietnamese affair. You have to work out how to deal with it. Once again, NCOs must think outside of the box to accomplish the mission. For example, anti-aircraft vehicles called dusters were used in the front and the back of a 12-truck convoy heading into Hue City since there were no tanks available. [9]:288 That evening VC sappers succeeded in blowing up the An Cuu bridge, cutting the road link to Phu Bai. Some elements of the battalion had been delayed by South Vietnamese paramilitary troops while others had gotten lost. Other advisers were in the countryside accompanying ARVN units. [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. G guest0001 Guest Aug 9, 2020 #64 RL64RL Mi Lieutenant [12]:38, A company each from the 815th and 818th Battalions entered the western edge of the new city around 04:50, eighty minutes behind schedule. To understand why, Mark Bowden's searing "Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam" takes us deep into the bloodiest single battle of that bitter conflict, tracking Americans . This lecture was part of the commemoration of the Vietnam War era. The ARVN 3rd Regiment launched a night attack along the southern wall of the Citadel. 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. The PAVN-VC lost somewhere between 1,042 and 5,133 killed, while Allied forces lost 668 dead and 3,707 wounded. Christmas says theres not a day that goes by that he doesnt think about two mistakes he made during the Battle for Hue City. [12]:28, The Marine's Phu Bai Combat Base, 11 kilometers (6.8mi) south of Hu on Highway 1, included Task Force X-Ray, a brigade-size component of the 1st Marine Division built around the 1st and 5th Marine Regiments. Four days would pass before they were at last able to punch a hole in the PAVN-VC lines and reach the MACV compound. [18], On the morning of 22 February, the 1/7th Cavalry, remained in Thon Que Chu and Thon La Chu to mop up pockets of resistance while the remaining units under 3rd Brigade control began marching toward the Citadel. RM JA01HR - Crowd at Ba Tang Cemetery where more than 400 victims of the 1968 Communist Tet Offensive lie in a mass grave, Hue, Vietnam, 1968. This was an operational area that actually required two complete regiments to secure. When you leave here, think about urban warfare and think about your contribution., An official website of the United States government, 5000 Series: Administration and Management, 11000 Series: Facilities and Activities Ashore, Civilian Awards, Retirements & Recognition, Natural Resources & Environmental Affairs, Continuous Process Improvement (CPI)/Lean Six Sigma, Interactive Customer Evaluation (ICE) Account Management, Sexual Assault Contact Information and Resources. This blog post will present an American military intelligence map from each era. 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? [12]:31, Premature Tet Offensive attacks at Nha Trang and Qui Nhn on the morning of 30 January led to the cancellation of the Tt ceasefire, but many ARVN soldiers were already away on leave, meaning that defenses in and around Hu were undermanned. Company B joined the assault and after six hours the Marines had secured the base of the gate and later the entire gate, at a cost of six Marines killed and 50 wounded and 20 PAVN killed. Y Young Ki Moon Hue city 1968 Usmc Marines Staff Sergeant Korean War Also new to Tha Thin Province was the 5th Regiment, a three-battalion unit that normally operated from Base Area 101 near Qung Tr. To isolate the Hue fight and judge it in the context of the overall Viet Nam conflict is a mistake. Supplies would remain tight for the next week as the Division's helicopters tried to build up a reserve of materiel. The initial press statements by MACV played down the events in Hu, claiming that only a part of the city had fallen to a small enemy force, that the city would soon be fully restored to South Vietnamese Government control and that the main attack would be directed against Khe Sanh. On 10 February 1968, CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite visited southern Hu to film footage for a special report on the Vietnam War. For the board wargame based on this battle, see, The 1st Cavalry Division attacks PAVN supply lines, Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 12:50, Massacre perpetrated by Vietcong and the PAVN, dressed in ARVN uniforms killed the guards, Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support, Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War Developments in the war, News media and the Vietnam War Tet Offensive, 1968, November 2004 anti-insurgent Marine operation, United States Army Center of Military History, "The History Place Vietnam War 19651968", "Urban Operations: An Historical Casebook", "An Excerpt from the Viet Cong Strategy of Terror", "Pham Van Dong, Voice of Vietnam's Revolt, Dies at 94", "Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipients (AL)", "Medal of Honor Monday: Army Sgt. [9]:52425, PAVN General Trn Vn Tr later wrote of the Tet Offensive, "We did not correctly evaluate the specific balance of forces between ourselves and the enemy [its objectives] were beyond our actual strengthin part an illusion based on our subjective desires. As the Marines approached the base at 07:00 they were met by PAVN mortar and machine-gun fire; artillery fire was called in on the PAVN positions and the Marines entered the base at 08:50. Retired Sgt. [4]:16, The headquarters of ARVN Brigadier General Ng Quang Trng's 1st Division was located in the Mang Ca Garrison, a minifortress in the northeast corner of the Citadel. The year 1968 marked a crucial turning point in the Vietnam War. 6) Enjoy the Co Ha Gardens. [4]:205 On the night of 16 February a radio intercept indicated that a battalion-size PAVN force was about to launch a counterattack over the west wall of the Citadel. Within Hu, approximately 100 U.S. Army advisers and administrative personnel, as well as a few Marine guards, were headquartered in the new city in the lightly defended MACV Compound (162758N 1073531E / 16.466N 107.592E / 16.466; 107.592) a block and a half south of the Perfume River on the east side of Highway 1. [9]:331, On 6 February the Marines attacked the Provincial Headquarters which served as the command post of the PAVN 4th Regiment. By the last week of January, most of its combat units had arrived, but many of the division's logistical components were still in transit. Due to the Tt holidays, large numbers of ARVN forces were on leave and the city was poorly defended. Hue is clustered around the Perfume River, which splits the capital of the Nguyn Dynasty in two. 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. Two platoons successfully made their way to the other side. After the launch of the Tet Offensive campaign on January 30, 1968, in South Vietnam, a series of battles were fought between the southern Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the Northern People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). Hue's university has for centuries played an important role in Vietnam. On that first day, the two Marine companies in Hu had sustained casualties of 10 killed and 56 wounded. 33. The PAVN/VC crossed the river without incident on the evening of 30 January, but the delay meant that only the 1st and 2nd Sapper Battalions and an 82mm mortar company would be in their forward positions when the offensive began. To date it is the only U.S. Navy ship named after a battle in the Vietnam War.[37]. A rotating group of staff personnel from the compound was stationed at Trng's headquarters day and night. The 804th Battalion and the 1st Sapper Battalion remained south of the canal near the An Cuu Bridge while the 810th Battalion began preparing to sneak west across the Perfume River by raft and boat to Gia Hoi Island. In February 1968, in the South Vietnamese city of Hu, 11 battalions of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), four U. S. Armybattalions, and three understrength U. S. Marine Corps battalions, for a total of . The 1/5 Marines commander Major Robert Thompson ordered Company B up to relieve Company A and the advance continued slowly until it was halted by PAVN flanking fire from the Dong Ba Gate (162837N 1073459E / 16.477N 107.583E / 16.477; 107.583). 10 PAVN/VC Battalions with 8,000 Communist soldiers. 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. On the south side of the river was the new city of Hu, which contained most of the government buildings, schools, and the university, set on wide boulevards. One had to do with machine guns, which he didnt elaborate on. [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 Battle This and subsequent optimistic reports were soon contradicted by press reports as journalists made their way into the city and reported on the extent of PAVN-VC control and the bitter house-to-house fighting that was underway. Not screen articles to fit a particular editorial agenda, nor endorse or advocate that. 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