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. [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. . [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. 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. Truck convoy enters gate of the camp. [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. Gravel left the armor behind on the southern bank to provide direct fire support. For his actions Ferguson was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor. This is where their training to fight in any clime and place, and adapting to and overcoming situations proved essential. On 23 February, the 2/12th Cavalry and the 2/501st Infantry, resumed their battle at the Sau Canal. Unplanned by the North Vietnamese, their greatest success was the shock and negative impact of the battle and the entire Tet Offensive on U.S. public opinion. The Cavalry force soon encountered two dug-in PAVN Battalions around the villages of Thon Que Chu and Thon La Chu which they were unable to overcome as fog prevented their usual gunship support. [5][6][21], 844 civilians were killed and 1,900 wounded during the battle. 1/7th Cavalry then dug in to night defensive positions. She is named for the Battle of Hu, fought in the city during the Tet Offensive of 1968 by the 1st . 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. [12]:37, Responding to the call at PK-17, at 09:00 the 3rd Troop and the 7th Battalion of the Airborne task force rolled out of their base area in an armored convoy onto Highway 1. The U.S. Army 1st and 3rd Brigades, 1st Cavalry Division and the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, operated out of a series of firebases and landing zones between Phu Bai and Qung Tr. Make An Appointment to View Photographs & Museum Objects, Order Photocopies & Digital Reproductions, The Garden Club of Virginia Historic Restorations Project, Confederate Memorial Literary Society (CMLS) Image Collection, Major Business Record Collections at the Virginia Historical Society, Basic Virginia business and economic history bibliography and online resources, Unknown No Longer: A Database of Virginia Slave Names, Virginia's Civil War: A Guide to Manuscripts at the Virginia Historical Society, Civil War in Virginia Published & Primary Sources, Index to African American material in the broadside collection, Index to African American material in the sheet music collection, Manuscript Collections for the Environmental History Resources Guide, Other Related Collections for the Environmental History Resources Guide, Virginia Historical Society Gift Calculator, Tax Information & Charitable Accountability, The Battle of Hu City, South Vietnam, 1968. In addition, in any combat fight, there are going to be innocent civilian bystanders. The headquarters of the PAVN 6th Regiment and two of its battalions were thought to be in Base Area 114, 30 kilometers (19mi) southwest of Hu, while the third battalion from the regiment was approximately 35 kilometers (22mi) northwest of the city, operating on the coastal flats. There are endless must-see historic sites, especially those that are UNESCO World Heritage designated. Hue was a city of cultural influence, religious importance, and architectural significance and as a result was deeply revered by generations of the Vietnamese people. Notes were created from Richard Camp's (Col. The two generals not only told the SNCOs about the difficult fight, but also told them about the lessons learned that can be beneficial to Marines today. With the city finally in sight, the three companies that made up the 804th Battalion headed off in different directions. PAVN troops also seized the Tu Dam Pagoda, just south of the canal, which they soon converted to the main command post for the southern wing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfMocPJZvfQ&t=40s. Everybody will fight. The Marines decided to withdraw. 2/5 Marines killed 18 PAVN or VC and captured one, at a cost of three Marines killed and 13 wounded. The operational plan was for the Marines to move west from Ty Lc and then turn south. 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. 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. Comments will be moderated before posting to ensure logical, professional, and courteous application to article content. Quantico Marines enrolled in Marine Corps University have also toured the city to learn from the history of the battle, a common way for Marines to learn leadership and learn from the Marines who came before them. [4]:213 MACV gave figures of 5,133 PAVN-VC killed at Hu. The convoy was then turned around and sent towards Hu. Due to the Tt holidays, large numbers of ARVN forces were on leave and the city was poorly defended. [4]:199 On 14 February the Marines resumed their attack supported by Marine and Navy gun fire and Marine close air support. At Thon La Chu a South Vietnamese official who was a VC agent had earlier used aid money to build a three-story concrete and steel bomb shelter for local villagers and the command group of the Hu City Front used this as its headquarters. Vietnam War veterans and retired Marines Lt. Gen. George Ron Christmas and Brig. Where emperors lived and died. [9]:28086 After securing the Jeanne d'Arc High School, Company A, 1/1 Marines recaptured the Le Loi Elementary School. [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. Cntr. One of the offensives chief targets was the city of Hue. [4]:177, On 2 February, the Marines made some minor headway and brought in further reinforcements. 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. While Downs was deciding how to approach this problem a young lance corporal and a private first class came up with an idea. The mechanized task force swept along the northwestern wall toward the An Hoa Bridge, flushing out a number of PAVN soldiers who had taken refuge in the grasses and weeds. Artillery shells began raining down near the ferry landing and fighter-bombers soon joined the attack, which killed at least 12 PAVN-VC and scattered the rest. Vietnamese young boys and girls fill sandbags. 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. Redding's experience in Hue began soon after the city fell. Hue 1968 pays particular attention to key role played by journalists played in exposing the fact that a major battle was taking place in Hue, contrary to inaccurate claims from . Meanwhile, the ARVN 3rd Regiment fought off a PAVN counterattack in the northwest corner of the Citadel. 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. At 05:00 on 24 February they raised the South Vietnamese flag on the Citadel flag tower and proceeded to secure the southern wall by 10:25. On the 31st, two of its battalions, the 2nd and 3rd, advanced east from encampments southwest of the city along the northern bank of the Perfume River, but PAVN defensive fire forced them to fall back. Tolson's plan called for an air assault by two battalions of the 3rd Brigade northwest of Hu. If the Marines penetrated the forward line the PAVN moved to the secondary line and then reoccupied the abandoned positions at night. 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. The 150 ARVN at Ty Lc Airfield withdrew east through the city, avoiding PAVN forces and sneaked into the Mang Ca compound shortly after 07:00, just in time to help repulse another major assault from the 802nd Battalion. Victims included women, men, children, and infants. [9]:49698 Over the coming months U.S. public opinion turned decisively against the war. 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). General Christmas is president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. 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. After battling RF troops who were guarding a series of four bridges over the canal, some of the PAVN troops crossed into the city and headed for a list of targets that included the Montagnard military school, the Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) center, the Le Loi transportation camp, the provincial administration complex and prison and the Tha Thin Provincial Headquarters (162740N 1073455E / 16.461N 107.582E / 16.461; 107.582). 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. Trng then ordered the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment and the Hac Bao Company to recapture the Imperial Palace and this was achieved against minimal resistance by late afternoon. [4]:192 The ARVN 2nd Troop, 7th Cavalry, equipped with fifteen M113s arrived at Mang Ca from Qung Tr to relieve the 3rd Troop. I live with that to this day, Christmas said. Upon their flashlight signals, the 800th Battalion and several teams from the 12th Sapper Battalion rushed through the gate and headed northwest towards Ty Lc Airfield. [9]:83, The ARVN and Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) were largely unprepared for the Tet Offensive. 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. At the Sau Canal ) were largely unprepared for the Marines made some headway! 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