The following pictures are real eye-openers for anyone who's been to Ho Chi Minh City recently. 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. The fighting that kicked off with the initial attack would last until early March, taking a heavy toll on both sides of combatants, noncombatant residents, and the city itself. At 03:00 on 21 February, three ten-man teams from 2nd Platoon of Company A launched their assault, quickly capturing the sparsely defended strongpoints which the PAVN had withdrawn from overnight. A small group of Army technicians manned a communications facility a few hundred meters to the east of the MACV Compound. Built within a two year span, it has been severely damaged on three occasions. The next day Company F swept the west bank of the canal, fighting through houses and the Hu Railway Station that had been sheltering PAVN snipers, before withdrawing back across the bridge. He led the Marine push to capture the Citadel on the north side of the Hue river. In the early morning hours of 31 January 1968, a division-sized force of PAVN-VC soldiers launched a coordinated attack on the city of Hu. During the next five years the battalion participated in combat operations in Hue city, Que Son, Phu Bai, Dong Ha and Phu Loc. 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. CALL: 804.340.1800 or 800.358.8701 Hu 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam Mark Bowden 4.32 6,405 ratings729 reviews Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best History & Biography (2017) In the early hours of January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese launched over one hundred attacks across South Vietnam in what would become known as the Tet Offensive. You have to deal with it. About Hue. The last pocket of PAVN at the southwest corner of the Citadel was eliminated in an attack by the 4th Vietnamese Marine Battalion in the early hours of 25 February. February 1968. 2 kilometers (1.2mi) south of the Perfume River and just west of Highway 1 was the Tam Thai military camp, headquarters of the ARVN 7th Armored Squadron Regiment equipped with M41 Walker Bulldog tanks. You know where those decisions come from? On 16 February two companies from the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, fought elements of the 803rd Regiment, 324B Division, about 20 kilometers (12mi) northeast of Hu, killing 29 PAVN before they broke contact the following day. 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. [8] Hu had great symbolism, having been the capital of Vietnam under the Nguyn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. Throughout the afternoon of January 30, 1968, the last day of the Vietnamese Year of the Monkey had seen crowds of people flocking to the Imperial City of Hue for the festivities. [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. After the Vietnam War, Hue's unique history fell to ruin as the imperial era wasn't viewed favourably by the communist authorities. . Urban Warfare Project Case Study #3: Battle of Hue, Special Operations Forces and Great Power Competition. 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. While originally designed to be two volumes, it was decided that unity and cohesion required one book. Richmond,Virginia23220, Galleries, Store, & Caf daily 10:00 am-5:00 pm The Airborne attempted a frontal assault on the graveyard but were unable to force their way through the PAVN positions and found themselves unable to advance or retreat and called for assistance. General Christmas is president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. Throughout the entire battle, the U.S. command consistently underestimated the size of the PAVN-VC forces engaged and the Allied forces necessary to deal with them. During the Vietnam War, notably the "Battle of Hue" - a part of the Tt Offensive in 1968, Hue endured considerable damage due to its proximity to the border that separates the South and the North. A Mule was brought forward to blow a hole in the building and the Marines advanced under cover of tear gas. Both battles also had insurgents and other forces utilizing snipers, significantly increasing the combat potential of the combatants, while the Marines also constituted the advanced fighting elements of the US forces deployed in both Hu and Fallujah. The Marines had inadvertently located the PAVN headquarters for the battle. The new combat headquarters, staffed by high-ranking officials from the Tr-Thin-Hu Front, local party members, and military officers from the units involved in the attack, had authority over the city and the three districts that surrounded it. The PAVN-VC lost somewhere between 1,042 and 5,133 killed, while Allied forces lost 668 dead and 3,707 wounded. The Marine convoy stopped several times to eliminate resistance in heavy house-to-house fighting before proceeding again. This lecture was part of the commemoration of the Vietnam War era. ), participated in the battle for Hu as a company commander and will present a first-hand account of the conflict. [4]:223 Delaying the counterattack until a clear strategy was developed and the necessary forces assembled might have reduced casualties among the ARVN, U.S. forces and civilians and shortened the battle. 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. In the end, although the Allies declared a military victory, the city of Hu was virtually destroyed, and more than 5,000 civilians were killed, including more than 2,000 of them executed by the PAVN and VC. [9]:5960 While some senior PAVN leaders were skeptical about the plan, believing that the population was unlikely to rise up and that they could only hold out against the ARVN and U.S. forces for a few days before they would be forced to withdraw, they followed their orders. [9]:269 The battalion consolidated its night defensive positions and waited to renew its attack the following day. MA Candidate, Liberty University (Dept of History) As part of his internship with the Marine Corps History Division Soldiers wave from truck. [4]:167 Meanwhile, the PAVN 802nd Battalion moved north of Ty Lc to attack Mang Ca. The enemy was 35 meters away and we were launching RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) at each other, said Christmas. Of course, with any firefight, there will be mistakes made. The company also helped a group of sappers seize the Treasury Building (162754N 1073524E / 16.465N 107.590E / 16.465; 107.590), the post office and a radio station a few blocks to the north. The ARVN 3rd Regiment launched a night attack along the southern wall of the Citadel. 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. One company occupied a six-way intersection on Highway 1 a few blocks southeast of the MACV Compound to prevent Allied mechanized forces from entering the city. 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. With the departure of Company F about 16:30, the PAVN-VC successfully disengaged and Companies H and E took up night defensive positions. It was mid-February 1968, and American and South Vietnamese forces were. These included ARVN soldiers, civil servants, political party members, local religious leaders, schoolteachers, American civilians and other expatriates. [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. The enemy was so close to us that when the round went up, it went up so high that we thought it was going to come down right on top of us.. [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. Connecting the Citadel and new city were the Trng Tin Bridge (162805N 1073520E / 16.468N 107.589E / 16.468; 107.589), which carried Highway 1, and further west the Bach Ho rail bridge. 5/7th Cavalry would be stalled north of La Chu for 2 weeks, probing but failing to penetrate the PAVN defenses. [12]:3436, At 04:00 the PAVN reached the Ty Lc Airfield, where 50 men of the Hac Bao reconnaissance company, reinforced by the 1st Division's 1st Ordnance Company, stopped the PAVN 800th Battalion. [12]:60, On 10 February two forward observers from the Marines' 1st Field Artillery Group were flown into Ty Lc to help coordinate artillery and naval gunfire to support the fighting within the Citadel, however Trng instructed them that the Imperial Palace was not to be fired on. February 3, 1988. The 2nd Airborne Battalion reinforced the convoy and conducted a flanking attack. 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. [9]:268, Back at Phu Bai, Cheatham was reviewing Marine urban fighting doctrine which recommended staying off the streets and moving forward by blasting through walls and buildings. Captain Gordon Batcheller later recalled that "we were rousted up about 04:00 on the 31st and launched south on trucks to rendezvous with and reinforce ARVN forces about a map sheet and a half south of Phu Bai." Under cover of supporting fire the Marines secured part of the ridgeline, killing three PAVN for the loss of one Marine killed. News of the cancelled cease-fire never reached the MACV Compound. [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. The main body of the 818th Battalion had left camp later than planned and had gotten lost on its way to the city. 33. Why is that important? At the end of January in 1968, the Viet Cong launched an offensive that turned the tide of the Vietnam War. I witnessed the fighting in Hue at close quarters and came away with the impression that it was a bloodbaththat neither side "won" or "lost." [9]:268, On the night of 3 February, the PAVN commander, seeing the buildup of Marines at Hu University, thinned out his frontline forces leaving just a platoon to defend the Treasury building and adjacent Post Office. [12]:29, On 28 January, the PAVN/VC units tasked with attacking the new city began moving into position 48 hours earlier than the northern wing tasked with attacking the Citadel, because it had a longer distance to march and more difficult terrain to cross. As LaHue later wrote: "Initial deployment of forces was made with limited information. HUE, VIETNAM -- After Vietnamese Communists briefly occupied this picturesque former imperial capital during the 1968 Tet offensive, nearly 3,000 people were found buried in mass . The supporting fire continued throughout the day, but the PAVN did not abandon their positions. Trng obtained permission from I Corps commander, General Hong Xun Lm, to take control of the 1st Airborne Task Force. The fighting for the airfield continued to seesaw, with first the ARVN having the upper hand and then the PAVN. At the Chanh Tay gate (162826N 1073340E / 16.474N 107.561E / 16.474; 107.561) on the west wall of the Citadel, a six-man PAVN sapper team dressed in ARVN uniforms killed the guards and opened the gate. Younger soldiers were convinced by the party propaganda that they were on the verge of a great victory that would end the war. That evening, the PAVN-VC northern attack wing began moving towards Hu from base camps in the western hills. His remaining Hac Bao platoon, made up of the most experienced soldiers, took up position at the centrally located Ty Lc Airfield to act as a rapid-reaction force. She is named for the Battle of Hu, fought in the city during the Tet Offensive of 1968 by the 1st . In the early morning hours of 1 February the PAVN withdrew and at midday a Hac Bao unit led the Airborne force into Mang Ca. The cavalrymen fought their way into the PAVN-occupied hamlet and found beneath its shattered remains a honeycomb of tunnels and bunkers and spent the rest of the day searching the ruins for survivors and combing through the adjacent cemetery, where the 806th Battalion had ambushed the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion on 31 January. [17] On reaching the ARVN base, the 2/12th Cavalry dug in there for the next 4 days. Company H attacked a nearby hill meeting a stubborn defense, losing one dead and killing six PAVN. Because of enemy mortaring of the LCU ramp in southern Hu, the allies had stopped all river traffic to the city. [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. The Post Office also seemed abandoned until the Marines located a vault inside the building, they proceeded to gas out the PAVN inside killing more than 24 of them as they emerged. The ambush destroyed several vehicles and threw the 1st Troop, 7th Cavalry, into confusion. This was the seat of the Nguyen dynasty. Later that night a radio message from the commander of PAVN forces in the Citadel was intercepted, he stated that his predecessor had been killed and requested permission to withdraw from the city, but this was denied and he was told to stand and fight. Among the new arrivals was the 7th Battalion of the 29th Regiment, 325C Division, a unit that until recently had been laying siege to Khe Sanh. [9]:23943, Many of the Marines of Task Force X-Ray had little or no urban combat experience and the U.S. troops were not trained for urban close-quarters combat, so this battle was especially tough for them. [4]:211 The three-day operation netted hundreds of VC cadre, many of whom were university students who, according to local residents, had played a key role in rounding up government officials and intellectuals the PAVN/VC regarded as threats to their new regime. 12 February - 5 March 1968 - Operation "HUE CITY." Citadel Fortress of Hue. With the city finally in sight, the three companies that made up the 804th Battalion headed off in different directions. [9]:33235 The Marines raised an American flag to celebrate their victory, but shortly thereafter were ordered to lower it, as according to South Vietnamese law, no American flag was permitted to be flown without an accompanying South Vietnamese flag. Two platoons successfully made their way to the other side. Also new to Tha Thin Province was the 5th Regiment, a three-battalion unit that normally operated from Base Area 101 near Qung Tr. 668 dead and 3,707 wounded the enemy was 35 meters away and we were launching RPGs ( grenades... 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