The city had a population of 140,000 before the battle. [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. He previously served as a fellow with the chief of staff of the Armys Strategic Studies Group. MACV's focus was on the Battle of Khe Sanh, where a PAVN assault was believed to be imminent. 1) Walk Through the Imperial Citadel (Kinh Thanh) 2) Visit the Forbidden Purple City. Shortly after 04:30, a column of M41 tanks and M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) left the compound and headed up Highway 1. But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could. None of that was available. 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. After marching southwest approximately 4 kilometers (2.5mi), the team concealed itself in some bushes near the river and waited. Marine units were located on the outskirts of the city to the south and west when they were attacked by the NVA Jan. 30 as part of the Tet Offensive. The following maps were produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, unless otherwise indicated. [9]:268, The PAVN set up provisional authorities shortly after capturing Hu, charged with removing the existing Republic of Vietnam administration from power within the city and replacing it with a "revolutionary administration". We walked them down the streets until they were out of the line of fire. The Battle of Hu (31 January 1968 - 2 March 1968), also called the siege of Hu, was a major military engagement in the Tt Offensive launched by North Vietnam and the Vit Cng during the Vietnam War.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. [4]:171, While the fighting continued in the Truoi River and the Ph Lc sectors, the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines had begun to move into Hu. [4]:168, Three USMC battalions were protecting Phu Bai Combat Base, Highway 1 and all western approaches to Hu. On 24 February 2/5 Marines launched an operation to the southwest of Hu to relieve the ARVN 101st Engineering Company compound which had been under siege by the PAVN since the start of the battle. [12]:59 On 6 February, the 1st Battalion captured the An Hoa Gate on the northwest corner of the Citadel and the 4th Battalion captured the southwest wall. Owned and operated by the The Marines had inadvertently located the PAVN headquarters for the battle. [9]:269 The battalion consolidated its night defensive positions and waited to renew its attack the following day. Enjoy exciting benefits and explore new exhibitions year-round. The Marines of Charlie Company were based at Lang Co Village, which was located adjacent to the Lang Co Bridge situated at the northern approach of the Hai Van Pass. The 4th Battalion, 3rd Regiment, south of the river, crossed the river and assaulted the Thuong Tu Gate near the eastern corner of the Citadel. 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. Hue. [5][6][21], 844 civilians were killed and 1,900 wounded during the battle. The 6th Battalion, 24th Regiment, 304th Division, originally located near Khe Sanh, reached the Citadel after following a route that took it through Base Area 101, Base Area 114 and Thon La Chu and the 7th Battalion, 90th Regiment, 324B Division, was due to arrive a few days later after a forced march from the DMZ. In one instance, Downs says there was a machine gun directly down a street that his Marines needed to cross to advance their attack. 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. On August 20, 2009, Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret.) Three of these regiments were believed to be involved in the siege of Khe Sanh. [4]:208 Company L, 3/5 Marines was then tasked with clearing the area to the Thuong Tu Gate and out to the Trng Tin Bridge. The cultural and historical capital city, Hue was the centerpiece of Hanoi's 1968 Tet Offensive, a surprise attack by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong that sought to win the war in one stroke . 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. 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 distance between the walls varies from 75 meters to 17.5 meters. [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]. Few returned. What happened in Hue in February, 1968, may have been the biggest, longest battle of the war, but it did not represent a contradiction in Cronkite's conclusion that the United States was stuck in a stalemateboth military and politicalin the long, deadly Viet Nam War. [9]:49698 Over the coming months U.S. public opinion turned decisively against the war. [9]:51920, The battle was an ARVN-U.S. victory in only the narrowest sense in that they had evicted the PAVN-VC from the city at heavy cost, but failed to annihilate them. . In addition, in any combat fight, there are going to be innocent civilian bystanders. This blog post will present an American military intelligence map from each era. By 22:15 that night, Tolson's command had agreed with III MAF on its designated area of operations in the Hu sector. On 10 February 1968, CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite visited southern Hu to film footage for a special report on the Vietnam War. A rotating group of staff personnel from the compound was stationed at Trng's headquarters day and night. [4]:168[12]:44, South of the city, on 31 January Lieutenant Colonel Phan Hu Ch, the commander of the ARVN 7th Armored Cavalry Squadron, attempted to break the PAVN-VC stranglehold. New Hue was located on the southeast bank of the river. The fighting in Hue City, Vietnam, was as intense and confusing as anything the Marines there had ever seen. The battle started on Jan. 30, 1968 and didnt end until March 3, 1968. 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. [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. Loyde Yates, Hue City, Feb 1968. The Tet Offensive was a military campaign . 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. This was the seat of the Nguyen dynasty. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense, or that of any organization with which the authors are affiliated, including the 1st Canadian Division Headquarters, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Canadian Department of National Defence. [9]:525 Estimates of Vietnamese civilians killed by the PAVN-VC at Hu range from 2,800 (based on bodies exhumed from mass graves) to almost 6,000. Hue City,, Vietnam, 1968 Me love you long time! Of course, the U.S. Marines were proud of their achievement in retaking the territory of the city. 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. But, both generals agreed that you learn from those mistakes and you have to live with them. 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. In some of the buildings today, the remnants of the fight remain; there are pock marks in some of the buildings exteriors that were hit with machine gun fire and M16 bullets. The year 1968 marked a crucial turning point in the Vietnam War. The Battle of Hu began on 31 January 1968 and lasted a total of 26 days. 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. However, less is known about America's involvement with the city during World War II. Under cover of supporting fire the Marines secured part of the ridgeline, killing three PAVN for the loss of one Marine killed. A short time later, their transmissions went dead and they were never heard from again. Under I Corps command, but available to Trng upon his request were two battalions of the ARVN 1st Airborne Task Force and a troop of armored personnel carriers from the 7th Armored Cavalry Squadron at PK-17, the ARVN base located near a road marker on Highway 1, 17 kilometers (11mi) north of Hu. Hu was also a base for United States Navy supply boats. Notes were created from Richard Camp's (Col. Entering the building the Marines fought room by room, clearing the building, but many of the PAVN slipped away. [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. 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. Trng called back most of the Hac Bao Company from the airfield to bolster the headquarters' defenses, which kept division headquarters secure. To avoid ambushes it turned off Highway 1 a few kilometers north of the city, traveled east cross-country, and swung around the rear of Mang Ca through the Trai Gate. 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. The Battle of Hue City occurred with the Tet Offensive, where Marines were surprised by a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) attack during what was supposed to be a cease fire negotiated during a. Hue Tet Offensive 1968 and city tour Hue Pre Tet January 1968 by Lt. Charles Brown 1/5 Cav. The Battle 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. 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. Also on 28 January, the 810th Battalion, 4th Regiment and the 2nd Sapper Battalion began marching toward the city from locations along the coast east of Hu. 5) Walk Around the Thien Mu Pagoda. [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. 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. [9]:361, On 7 February the PAVN twice ambushed a 25 vehicle supply convoy supported by two Ontos going along Route 547 (162602N 1073549E / 16.434N 107.597E / 16.434; 107.597) from Phu Bai to the 11th Marines Firebase Rockcrusher (162335N 1073408E / 16.393N 107.569E / 16.393; 107.569) which provided artillery support to Allied forces fighting in and around Hu. On Jan. 31, 1968, communist forces had taken control of Hue, the third largest city in South Vietnam. [14]:99101 On 13 February Companies F and H crossed the bridge again with the aim of securing the entire area. Helicopter gunships and artillery and the pair of Dusters systematically leveled any structure that appeared to serve as a strong point. 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. They may be right, that Hanoi's winter-spring offensive has been forced by the Communist realization that they could not win the longer war of attrition, and that the Communists hope that any success in the offensive will improve their position for eventual negotiations For it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. 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. The United States and other allied nations fought on the side . On 27 February the entire battalion attacked the hill but the PAVN had withdrawn during the night, leaving behind 14 dead. Soldiers wave from truck. 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. Soldiers look on. Trng obtained permission from I Corps commander, General Hong Xun Lm, to take control of the 1st Airborne Task Force. By John Walker. 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 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. You have to work out how to deal with it. Once again, NCOs must think outside of the box to accomplish the mission. Hue's refined cuisine is the stuff of legend, and its leafy streets are lined with mossy pagodas, art dco mansions . 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. 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. 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. The attack resumed the following morning and the ridge was secured with 20 PAVN and two Marines killed. Highway 1, passing through the city of Hu, was an important supply line for Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and United States forces from the coastal city of Da Nang to the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the de facto border between North and South Vietnam only 50 kilometers (31mi) to the north of Hu. The ARVN claimed to have killed 250 PAVN, captured five prisoners and recovered 71 individual and 25 crew-served weapons. [4]:200 Company D, 1/5 Marines arrived in the Citadel on the evening of 14 February after taking fire while crossing the Perfume River. A 75mm recoilless rifle knocked out one of the supporting tanks. Greenway, a photographer embedded with the Marines . 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. The sweep continued until 25 February. On the afternoon of 29 January, the main body of the southern wing, the 804th Battalion, the 1st Sapper Battalion, the 815th and 818th Battalions of the 5th Regiment, the southern wing command group, and various supporting units descended from their mountain staging area and headed for the T Trch River, which stood between the attacking force and Hu. [4]:171, Up to this point the fighting for Hu had been entirely a South Vietnamese affair. We would progress in this way throughout the fight, said Downs. Due to the Tt holidays, large numbers of ARVN forces were on leave and the city was poorly defended. All told, the PAVN-VC hit some 18 targets from bridges, CAP units, and company defensive positions. The 1st Regiment was stationed near Qung Tr 50 kilometers (31mi) to the northwest and the 2nd Regiment was another twelve kilometers farther up Highway 1 near ng H. They tried again five days later, but once again, bad weather prevented them from locating Mang Ca. [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. 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