These North Vietnamese regulars had arrived to invade the provincial capital city of 140,000 as part of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong's (VC . [34] In his analysis of the Battle of Fallujah, Jonathan F. Keiler, a military historian and former officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps wrote:[36]. As the PAVN-VC area of control within Hu shrank, the pace of executions increased to prevent the "enemies of the people" being freed by ARVN or U.S. forces or identifying the VC who had revealed themselves. Soldiers wave from truck. The heavy damage was the result of the artillery, air, and mortar pounding the area received for 25 days while the Viet Cong/NVA held the area. He led the Marine push to capture the Citadel on the north side of the Hue river. A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, then-First Lieutenant James K. Redding arrived in South Vietnam on January 7, 1968, and was assigned as the assistant American advisor to the 7th Airborne . [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. This was only beaten back with heavy artillery fire. U.S. forces began their counterassault at daybreak on Feb. 15 as the Delta Company moved quietly through the maze-like alleyways and courtyards of the ancient Citadel. Company H withdrew so that air strikes could be launched and these knocked out mortar and machine gun positions killing 20 PAVN; however, one bomb fell short killing four Marines. [4]:199 On 14 February the Marines resumed their attack supported by Marine and Navy gun fire and Marine close air support. With Company A, 1/1 Marines as the Phu Bai reserve, Hughes directed Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Gravel to prepare the company for any contingency. [9]:269 The battalion consolidated its night defensive positions and waited to renew its attack the following day. These included ARVN soldiers, civil servants, political party members, local religious leaders, schoolteachers, American civilians and other expatriates. The General Uprising was the expectation that the oppressed South Vietnamese population would then spontaneously rise up and overthrow the Thiu-K government and that this would force the United States to withdraw in the face of the will of the people. [9]:47784 Sergeant Joe Hooper of the 2/501st would subsequently be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in this engagement. I know how to do this, said the lance corporal according to Downs. Meanwhile, two kilometers to the northwest, the remainder of the 5/7th Cavalry, resumed its advance toward Thon An. The Marines on the outskirts of the city were able to fend off the initial Tet Offensive attack and back the NVA up to the river, but within a few days the Marines were ordered to take back the entire city, which had become overrun by NVA. This will differ by city, it will differ by what the NVA does. [4]:18586 PAVN tactics were to hold the Marines close, negating the use of artillery and air support. [9]:4244 H Ch Minh, Phm Vn ng, V Nguyn Gip and Ng nh Dim had all attended the lyce in the city. But if you can do that you will make the right decision. A PAVN blocking force from the 806th Battalion in the graveyard stopped the ARVN relief force about 400 meters short of the Citadel wall destroying two M113s. The combined force then swept toward the Bach Ho Railroad Bridge along the southwestern face of the Citadel, where a few PAVN still held out in a narrow band of trees between the moat and the wall. The government troops tried to fight their way through but lacked the strength or the firepower to do so. [9]:49698 Over the coming months U.S. public opinion turned decisively against the war. The 2nd Airborne Battalion reinforced the convoy and conducted a flanking attack. A special thanks to Modern War Institute intern Harshana Ghoorhoo, whose initial research and framework of this and following case studies set the conditions for success. The walls of the Citadel form a square with sides of 2,500 meters. Over the next three days these forces would slowly reduce the PAVN's perimeter. News of the cancelled cease-fire never reached the MACV Compound. Owned and operated by the Marine ingenuity was showcased in the battle to retake Hue City. Marine Corps Base Quantico. Company B then walked into an ambush north of Que Chu and was pinned down in the open with little cover, they were only able to withdraw after calling in close artillery support. The attack resumed the following morning and the ridge was secured with 20 PAVN and two Marines killed. Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret. 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. The two aircraft radioed that they were scrubbing the mission, then headed out to sea to jettison their bombs. Although the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 3rd Regiment remained outside of the Citadel walls, unable to penetrate the PAVN defenses; the 2nd and 7th Airborne Battalions, supported by armored personnel carriers and the Hac Bao Company, recaptured the Ty Lc airfield. The original series of articles which became "Black Hawk Down" earned him the Overseas Press Club's Hal . They were to relieve a MACV Microwave/Tropo communications facility approximately 2.5km southeast of the MACV Compound surrounded by a VC force. [34][35] Both battles were fought in close quarters in an urban setting where the enemy ensconced itself in the midst of civilians. 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. 4) Take in a Performance at the Royal Theatre. 6) Enjoy the Co Ha Gardens. [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. [12]:2729, At least two PAVN regiments, two sapper battalions, and an assortment of VC local forces were based in Tha Thin Province. [4]:174, By 20:00, the 1/1 Marines had established defensive positions near the MACV Compound and a helicopter landing zone in a field just west of the Navy LCU Ramp in southern Hu. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. [7]:49 Mark Bowden suggests that PAVN-VC anger at the lack of enthusiasm among the population of Hu may have fuelled the purges, particularly as defeat loomed closer. 14 Feb 1968, Hue, South Vietnam --- A flowered arm sling is worn by a wounded U.S Marine in this makeshift communications #vietnamwarfootageandstories Source: Bettmann/CORBIS G guest0001 Guest Aug 9, 2020 #62 G guest0001 Guest Aug 9, 2020 #63 US Marines fighting in Hue, Vietnam. The Treasury building was hit by M-48 and 106mm fire and tear gas, while a M274 Mule-mounted 106mm recoilless rifle engaged the machine gun in the Le Loi Elementary School. After initially losing control of most of Hu and its surroundings, the combined South Vietnamese and American forces gradually recaptured the city over one month of intense fighting. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. In addition, in any combat fight, there are going to be innocent civilian bystanders. "[4]:171, As the Marines approached the southern suburbs of the city they came under increasing fire from the PAVN 804th Battalion. (Eddie Adams/AP) The 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry was to arrive in the landing zone first, followed by the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry to be inserted near PK-17. While the helicopters and men of the Division were soon in position, most of their heavy and support equipment was loaded on trucks that would have to proceed by convoy up Highway 1. Redding's experience in Hue began soon after the city fell. [3] A PAVN document captured by the ARVN stated that 1,042 troops had been killed in the city proper and that several times that number had been wounded. USS Hu City (CG-66) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser serving in the United States Navy.She was ordered 16 April 1987, and laid down 20 February 1989, at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi. [5][6][21], 844 civilians were killed and 1,900 wounded during the battle. The Battle of Hue City . 31 January-25 February 1968 . The base remained under fire from PAVN positions in a Buddhist temple to the south and from a ridgeline to the west and at 07:00 on 25 February Companies F and G began to attack the ridgeline, but were met by intense mortar fire. Shortly after the column crossed over the An Cuu Bridge over the Phu Cam Canal (1630N 10736E / 16.5N 107.6E / 16.5; 107.6), however, soldiers from the 1st Sapper Battalion and the 818th Battalion, hiding in and around buildings near the road, opened fire at close range with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and at least four 75mm recoilless rifles. [12]:34, At 03:40, ten minutes behind schedule, elements of the PAVN 164th Artillery Regiment fired a barrage of 122mm rockets into the new city from firing positions in the southwestern hills. It is an enlisted mans war in many respects. In a 3500-page document issued on 26 January 1968 by the Tr-Thin-Hu Political Directorate, the political cadres were given specific instructions:[25] Operating in close support of the regular military and guerrilla elements, the political cadre were to: destroy and disorganize the Republic of Vietnam's administrative machinery "from province and district levels to the city wards, streets, and wharves; motivate the people of Hu to take up arms, pursue the enemy, seize power, and establish a revolutionary government; motivate (recruit) local citizens for military and "security" forces transportation and supply activities, and to serve wounded soldiers pursue to the end (and) punish spies, reactionaries, and tyrants and maintain order and security in the city. [12]:37 At 08:00, PAVN troops raised a liberation flag over the Citadel flag tower. [14]:140, Within the ARVN 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment and 2nd and 7th Airborne Battalions cleared out the north and western parts of the Citadel including the Chanh Tay Gate, while the 4th Battalion, 2nd Regiment moved south from Mang Ca towards the Imperial Palace, killing over 700 PAVN-VC by 4 February. 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. Some elements of the battalion had been delayed by South Vietnamese paramilitary troops while others had gotten lost. New Hue was located on the southeast bank of the river. [23] Cadres called out the names on their lists over loudspeakers, ordering them to report to a local school. Joe Ronnie Hooper", "Command Chronology for period 1 February to 29 February 1968", "Communist political executions at Hue in the 1968 Tet Offensive", "Soldiers of North Vietnam strike a pose for her camera", "Who, What, When, Where, Why: Report from Vietnam by Walter Cronkite", "Chris Matthews invokes the 'if I've lost Cronkite' myth in NYT review", "The Grim Calculations of Retaking Fallujah", "Many U.S. 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 . On the night of the 6th, the PAVN counterattacked, with a battalion from the 29th Regiment scaling the southwest wall and pushing the 4th Battalion back to Ty Lc. In mid-morning the 5/7th Cavalry, came under heavy fire from an estimated company-size force who occupied the hamlet of Thon An, approximately one kilometer from the An Hoa Bridge. A rotating group of staff personnel from the compound was stationed at Trng's headquarters day and night. The cost had been heavy: the ARVN suffered 131 casualties including 40 dead, and lost four of the 12 armored personnel carriers in the convoy. After marching southwest approximately 4 kilometers (2.5mi), the team concealed itself in some bushes near the river and waited. [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. Few returned. Although the South Vietnamese 9th Airborne Battalion was caught up in the battle for Qung Tr, the 2nd and 7th Airborne Battalions were available at PK17. The 4th Battalion ran into a blocking force from the 2nd Sapper Battalion and a company from the 810th Battalion. 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