[4]:167 Meanwhile, the PAVN 802nd Battalion moved north of Ty Lc to attack Mang Ca. 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. With the number of wounded rising, the Marines commandeered some abandoned Vietnamese civilian vehicles and used them as makeshift ambulances to carry out the wounded. 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. Two platoons successfully made their way to the other side. The Allied bombardment lasted intermittently from 17:30 until 03:30 the next day, forcing the entire southern wing to postpone the ferry crossing. The 1st Battalion encountered the 810th Battalion which had been deployed to block the eastern approaches to the new city, running low on ammunition Captain Phan Ngoc Luong, the commander of the 1st Battalion, retreated with his unit to the coastal Ba Long outpost, arriving there with only three eight-round clips per man for their World War II vintage M1 Garand rifles. Gen. Michael Downs, who were then captains serving as commanding officers in Hue, recently spoke about their experiences in the Battle of Hue City to an eager group of staff-noncommissioned officers (SNCOs) during a Professional Military Education (PME) event held at Marine Corps University. The American command still had little realization of the situation in Hu. Finally, a small detachment of U.S. Navy personnel was stationed at a boat ramp just north of the MACV Compound. [9]:288 That evening VC sappers succeeded in blowing up the An Cuu bridge, cutting the road link to Phu Bai. The Battle of Hue, part of the Tet Offensive, 1968 The Tet Offensive. [15][9]:12728, The embattled Trng called in reinforcements ordering all four battalions of the 3rd Regiment in the countryside to return to the Citadel, he also instructed two armored units, the 3rd Troop, 7th Cavalry, stationed at PK17, and the tank-equipped 1st Troop, 7th Cavalry, at the Tam Thai camp southeast of new city to proceed to Mang Ca. Hue's university has for centuries played an important role in Vietnam. [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. Vietnam War veterans and retired Marines Lt. Gen. George Ron Christmas and Brig. 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. 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. 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 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. [4]:168, Three USMC battalions were protecting Phu Bai Combat Base, Highway 1 and all western approaches to Hu. On 27 February the entire battalion attacked the hill but the PAVN had withdrawn during the night, leaving behind 14 dead. It comes from the non- commissioned officers.. Following this visit two more cavalry battalions (1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment) and additional air and artillery support were committed to the attack on La Chu. Due to the Tt holidays, large numbers of ARVN forces were on leave and the city was poorly defended. [9]:17174 French journalists Catherine Leroy and Francois Mazure were captured by the PAVN, but were allowed to return to U.S. lines bringing photos of the PAVN side of the battle which were subsequently published in Life Magazine.[27]. Remember, an urban fight is a casualty producing fight. On the morning of 25 February 1968 Nguyen heard screaming coming from the far side of her village of Ha My - not far from the now-popular tourist town of Hoi An - and saw smoke filling the sky . 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. The Marines eventually broke into the west building and cleared it room by room. MAIL: PO Box 7311, Richmond, Virginia 23221, Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret.). On 22 February after a barrage of 122mm rockets the PAVN counterattacked the Vietnamese Marines, who pushed them back with the support of the Hac Bao Company. [4]:20708 Unknown to the ARVN and the U.S., on the night of 20 February the PAVN had begun a phased withdrawal from the Citadel, leaving through the Huu and Nha Do (162750N 1073430E / 16.464N 107.575E / 16.464; 107.575) Gates and making their way southwest to return to their bases in the hills. Hue was a major part of North Vietnam's Tet Offensive, and even. [4]:16667 At 05:00 a reinforced company from the 1st Sapper Battalion This article is about the Vietnam War battle during the Tet Offensive. [9]:331, On 6 February the Marines attacked the Provincial Headquarters which served as the command post of the PAVN 4th Regiment. [19] PAVN sappers finally destroyed the Trng Tin bridge restricting movement between the old and new cities. The 4th Battalion ran into a blocking force from the 2nd Sapper Battalion and a company from the 810th Battalion. The Citadel, or Imperial City, is the walled-in portion of Hu sitting on the north bank of the Perfume River. The convoy was then turned around and sent towards Hu. Sir, Ill roll my gun right out the door (a 106mm mortar launcher with 50 caliber attached), Ill turn my gun, Ill fire it, sir you know how big the round is. 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]:519. 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. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. 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. But in the 1968 Tet Offensive, the war spilled out of the jungle into the streets of Hue City. While originally designed to be two volumes, it was decided that unity and cohesion required one book. Anyone in violation of that can be charged with a war crime. Truck convoy enters gate of the camp. [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. [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 February - 5 March 1968 - Operation "HUE CITY." Citadel Fortress of Hue. The Vietnam War is often pictured as a jungle conflict, punctuated by American troops fighting in rural hut-filled villages. The toughest fight of the day centered on a pagoda that contained a PAVN battalion headquarters. On Jan. 31, 1968, communist forces had taken control of Hue, the third largest city in South Vietnam. No later than February 13, 1968, 1/5 Alpha Co, will rendezvous with 1st ARVN Division at the Northeast of the Citadel to clear Hue City in order to gain control of the city, removing all enemy fighters. Image credit: Staff Sergeant J. L. Harlan, US Marine Corps, The study neglects to mention the Cronkite apparently had a change of heart (of some kind) as he reported this 13 days earlier: A forward fighting line was maintained directly opposite the Marines with a secondary line two blocks back. Hu City was in active service from 14 September 1991 to 23 September 2022. If the Marines penetrated the forward line the PAVN moved to the secondary line and then reoccupied the abandoned positions at night. [4]:21011[20], On 22 February the ARVN 21st and the 39th Ranger Battalions boarded junks and traveled to Gia Hoi Island (162834N 1073520E / 16.476N 107.589E / 16.476; 107.589), between the east wall of the Citadel and the Perfume River where the Communist provisional government had been headquartered since the start of the offensive. God Bless these two Marines , who in the heat of battle, find the opportunity to escort this blind local girl to safety. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. Death in the Citadel: U.S. Marines in the Battle for Hue City, 31 January to 2 March 1968 (2017). The Marines then pushed into the Treasury building which the PAVN had hastily abandoned. This book is the capstone volume of the entire series in that 1968, as the title indicates, was the defining year of the war. 358 Battle Of Hue Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 358 Battle Of Hue Premium High Res Photos Browse 358 battle of hue stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. He has been involved in urban operations training for two decades and is an urban operations subject matter expert and urban warfare historian, having participated in, planned, executed, and intensively instructed on urban operations for the past seven years. 2/5 Marines killed 18 PAVN or VC and captured one, at a cost of three Marines killed and 13 wounded. If military forces find themselves in a future battle like Hue, how can it be fought more effectively, more quickly, and with less damage to the city and its people? Cheatham then joined his company commanders in Hu University and they proceeded to develop the tactics to be used in recapturing southern Hu. 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. Everybody will fight. Power and water supply into the city had been cut off, and people were aware that the ARVN and U.S. forces would soon counterattack. RM 2B00WAF - Vietnam: U.S. Marines advance past an M48 Patton tank during the battle for Hue, Tet Offensive, 1968. 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. PAVN-VC losses are a matter of debate. Christmas says theres not a day that goes by that he doesnt think about two mistakes he made during the Battle for Hue City. 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. I know how to do this, said the lance corporal according to Downs. The Marines reported heavy casualties in street fighting in the ancient capital city of Vietnam. John Spencer and Jayson Geroux | 11.04.21. in January 1968, North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive, a series of coordinated attacks aimed at demonstrating to the governments in Washington and Saigon that continuing the war was futile. The deteriorating weather forced the squadron to cancel the remaining lifts with about half of the battalion in the Citadel. This is called lance corporal ingenuity and Pfc. As the PAVN moved to reoccupy the strongpoints at dawn they were caught in the open by the Marines, 16 PAVN were killed for the loss of three Marines. [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. The change is incredible, and yet you can still make out familiar sights. These ambushes killed 20 Marines and wounded 39. It is an enlisted mans war in many respects. [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. During the Battle of Hue City, most of the civilians hid out in buildings, according to Christmas. The Kings of the Nguyen Dynasty built their feudal capital along Hue's fertile riverbanks and atop its forested hills, but their imperial legacy is just one of many reasons to visit. [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. [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. . Hue is a city chock-full of stories. 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. In the early morning of 31 January, after the rocket bombardment of the airfield and the initial attack on the Truoi River Bridge, Task Force X-Ray received reports of strikes all along Highway 1 between the Hi Vn Pass and Hu. [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 content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. [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. Meanwhile, 4km to the west of the city the PAVN 416th Battalion, 5th Regiment, as well as a local force company and a recoilless rifle company, swarmed into the villages of Thon Que Chu and Thon La Chu (162852N 1073014E / 16.481N 107.504E / 16.481; 107.504). [9]:45, The North Vietnamese plan for the Tet Offensive was known as the "General Offensive-General Uprising". [4]:20810, To the west, the South Vietnamese forces continued to meet stubborn resistance. [4]:213 Allied air and artillery support was restricted by the poor weather, supply difficulties and, initially, by restrictions intended to limit damage to Hu's historic structures. [9]:470, Foreign civilians captured in the city received varying treatment. 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 . 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. The plans for celebration were well under way, with fireworks and traditional religeous and social activities planned, but there were those who had other plans. [4]:174, North of the Perfume River, on 1 February, the ARVN 1st Division enjoyed some limited success. Christmas was leading Hotel Company into Hue City from the south. See my book, "The Cat from Hue: a Vietnam War Story." The attack resumed the following morning and the ridge was secured with 20 PAVN and two Marines killed. The year 1968 marked a crucial turning point in the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, several kilometers to the south, the 2/12th Cavalry, made contact with another PAVN force just before noon. Civilians Are Liberated in Hue", "Weather and Thin Ranks Slow Marines' Tough Fight in Hue", "Shortage of Men, Air Support Slows Marine Drive in Hue", "Marine Chief Sees Lengthy Battle In Hue", "U.S. Marines Capture Strategic Corner of Hue's Citadel", "Hue Marines Keep Determined Vigil Over a Dead Comrade", "After 26-Day Battle, Hue Is Devastation and Misery", "Capture of Hue Citadel Was a Must for S. Viet Unit", "After "Tet", Measuring and Repairing Damage", Tank Defends a Causeway During Battle of Hue, 19681998: The 30th Anniversary of the Hue Massacre, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Hu&oldid=1141317207, 844 civilian deaths and 1,900 injuries due to the battle, 4,856 civilians and captured personnel executed by communists or missing, according to the South Vietnamese government, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 12:50. River, on hue city vietnam 1968 blind girl February, the War spilled out of the Perfume River on 1 February, the bank!, made contact with another PAVN force just before noon Uprising '' role hue city vietnam 1968 blind girl Vietnam the command. At night 1968, communist forces had taken control of Hue, the PAVN had withdrawn during Battle. An important role in Vietnam known as the `` General Offensive-General Uprising '' 4th Battalion ran into blocking. Incredible, and even walled-in portion of Hu sitting on the edge of is. 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