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. Lying on a plain backed by foothills of the Annamese Cordillera (Chane Annamitique) and situated 5 miles (8 km) from the South China Sea coast, Hue is traversed by the broad, shallow Huong River (Hue River, or Perfume River ). We are going to have to fight our way in piecemeal and then gather up and retake the city from within.. 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. (p. 192) Fur-ther, the National Security Agency had detected an unusually large number of messages among Com-munist units between 17 and 25 January 1968, The second company from the 804th Battalion seized the An Cuu Bridge while the third company stormed a smaller bridge over the canal a short distance to the west. The city of Hue was the capital of a unified Vietnam from 1802 until 1945. 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. [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. With the promise of U.S. Marine reinforcements, Chi's column, with three tanks in the lead, tried once more. Only two buildings in the city were held by Marines. The toughest fight of the day centered on a pagoda that contained a PAVN battalion headquarters. The lightly armored dusters did not provide as much armor as a tank, but they were effective. 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. Allied intelligence estimated that 1618 PAVN battalions, totaling 811,000 soldiers, were engaged in the battle. At 02:33, a signal flare lit up the night sky, and two battalions from the PAVN 6th Regiment attacked the western wall of the Citadel. [4]:177, During the mid-afternoon of 2 February, the 2/12th Cavalry arrived in a landing zone about 10 kilometres (6mi) northwest of Hu. 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. Because of enemy mortaring of the LCU ramp in southern Hu, the allies had stopped all river traffic to the city. 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. 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. [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. The South Vietnamese armor pulled back. The Battle of Hue City, Vietnam has come to be regarded as one of the most infamous urban battles in Marine Corps history. 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. [4]:20405 On 17 February the Vietnamese Marines and ARVN 3rd Regiment resumed their attacks south, while the Hac Bao Company was moved to support the right flank of the 1/5 Marines. The Battle of Hue City . 1st Marine Regiment commander Colonel Stanley S. Hughes, ordered Captain George R. Christmas, commander of Company H, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines to relieve the CAP unit and Company H engaged the PAVN-VC as they withdrew from the CAP position. Outside the Citadel walls sapper teams failed to destroy the Bach Ho and Trng Tin Bridges after being ambushed by RF troops. This is also where the Marine needs to use their ingenuity. [4]:213, The fighting in other parts of South Vietnam during Tet was generally confined to a week or sometimes less; the battle for Hu was the longest, lasting from 31 January through 2 March 1968. This is where their training to fight in any clime and place, and adapting to and overcoming situations proved essential. He served twenty-five years as an infantry soldier, which included two combat tours in Iraq. [9]:6064 When the PAVN and VC forces left their base camps west of Hu to commence the attack they had no intention of returning. Owned and operated by the Those not reporting voluntarily were hunted down. Inguyen Anh, whose regal name was Gia Long, founded the new citadel of Hue in 1802. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. Y Young Ki Moon Hue city 1968 Usmc Marines Staff Sergeant Korean War Hue was a major part of North Vietnam's Tet Offensive, and even. [4]:17173, Leaving Company A behind to secure the MACV Compound, Gravel took Company G, reinforced by the three M48 tanks from the 3rd Tank Battalion and a few ARVN M24 light tanks from the 7th Armored Cavalry Squadron, and attempted to cross the Trng Tin Bridge, the main bridge over the Perfume River. 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 enemy usually pulls them all together and tries to build a buffer, said Christmas. The supporting fire continued throughout the day, but the PAVN did not abandon their positions. They were unsuccessful and Company F sustained casualties of three dead and 13 wounded. During this action Sergeant Gonzalez was killed while firing on PAVN machine gun positions. Valerie OBerry/CommStrat Office A forward fighting line was maintained directly opposite the Marines with a secondary line two blocks back. In this Feb. 1968 photo, a unit of the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment U.S. Marines, rests alongside a battered wall of Hue's imperial palace after a battle for the Citadel during the Tet Offensive. 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? Urban battles are also known for close combat fighting. [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. [14]:81 On 5 February the Marines recaptured the Hu Central Hospital complex (162747N 1073513E / 16.463N 107.587E / 16.463; 107.587), rescuing Lieutenant Colonel Pham Van Khoa (the Mayor of Hu and Thua Thien Province chief), who had been hiding in the grounds. [4]:199 On 14 February the Marines resumed their attack supported by Marine and Navy gun fire and Marine close air support. [9]:32022 The PAVN-VC no longer tenaciously defended each building, relying more on sniper fire, mortars and rockets. On 24 February, the 5/7th Cavalry, rejoined its detached company and the armored cavalry platoon from the 3/5th Cavalry, near the western corner of the Citadel. Marine. [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. 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: 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 initial press statements by MACV played down the events in Hu, claiming that only a part of the city had fallen to a small enemy force, that the city would soon be fully restored to South Vietnamese Government control and that the main attack would be directed against Khe Sanh. Richmond,Virginia23220, Galleries, Store, & Caf daily 10:00 am-5:00 pm Meanwhile, the other two IL14s, which had been modified to drop bombs, had orders to bomb Mang Ca. [9]:288 That evening VC sappers succeeded in blowing up the An Cuu bridge, cutting the road link to Phu Bai. The Tet Offensive began on January 30 as the North Vietnamese occupied Hue City. [9]:18586 The Marines then tried to assault the Treasury Building in the next block, but were stopped by fire from the 100 plus PAVN defenders and flanking fire from the Le Loi Elementary School. [12]:3839, In the early morning a U.S. Army helicopter was shot down over the city; the crew sought refuge with a group of ARVN in a small compound. Few returned. US Marines spent nearly a month fighting a brutal urban battle to retake the city which was 80% destroyed by the battle's end, according to H.D.S. Hu, the ancient imperial capital city of Vietnam, had a population of nearly 140,000, making it the third largest city in the Republic of Vietnam, commonly known as South Vietnam. [4]:168[12]:4344, The ARVN 3rd Regiment had an even more difficult time. One of the offensives chief targets was the city of Hue. Due to the Tt holidays, large numbers of ARVN forces were on leave and the city was poorly defended. Its pretty easy to get emotional, but what leaders get paid for is to stand above the emotion. On 4 January 1968, MACV J-2 (military intelligence staff) received a report that a Vietcong sapper team had obtained jobs at the Tan Son Nhut airbase from which they planned to attack MACV. However, the shock of the Tet Offensive, coming so soon after General William Westmoreland's "End in view" tour of the U.S. in November 1967, undermined the credibility of Westmoreland and his strategy within the Johnson Administration. If the Marines penetrated the forward line the PAVN moved to the secondary line and then reoccupied the abandoned positions at night. 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. You have to work out how to deal with it. Once again, NCOs must think outside of the box to accomplish the mission. Lt. Gen. G. R. (Ron) Christmas, USMC (Ret. [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. 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. 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. Under cover of supporting fire the Marines secured part of the ridgeline, killing three PAVN for the loss of one Marine killed. But why was it so destructive? 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. 3 kilometers (1.9mi) southwest of the Citadel, on the north bank of the Perfume River, was the Van Thanh divisional training center and a two-gun detachment of 105mm howitzers. The Battle of Hue, part of the Tet Offensive, 1968 The Tet Offensive. Vietnamese young boys and girls fill sandbags. New Hue was located on the southeast bank of the river. 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 Battle of Hue was one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the Vietnam War. On 15 February Company D led the renewed attack against the Dong Ba Gate with Company C defending its flank. 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. [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. [9]:370, On 11 February Company H, 2/5 Marines secured a bridge over the Phu Cam Canal (162725N 1073441E / 16.457N 107.578E / 16.457; 107.578) and the block on the opposite side of the canal. In the resulting confusion, the convoy exchanged fire with a Marine unit already in the city. Its alive and well today and is in response to your leadership, said Downs to the SNCOs gathered in the lecture hall. In a 539-page narrative, Bowden delivers a work of grand. Maj. John Canley's actions during the battle of Hue City, Vietnam, in 1968 have him one step away from receiving the nation's highest award for combat valor, the Medal of Honor. This blog post will present an American military intelligence map from each era. [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. [9]:49698 Over the coming months U.S. public opinion turned decisively against the war. 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. [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. 23 February saw little progress, prompting a frustrated Abrams to suggest that the Vietnamese Marine Corps should be dissolved. 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. Like previous case studies focusing on Stalingrad and Mosul, the Battle of Hue also plays an outsized role in the way the US military conceptualizes urban warfare. The Best Things To Do In Hue, Vietnam. One of my more memorable experiences during the monthlong battle for Hue City, February 1968, was when my assistant machine-gunner, Marcus, and I were ordered to stay behind on the enemy's side of . In one instance, Downs says there was a machine gun directly down a street that his Marines needed to cross to advance their attack. 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. On 23 February, the 2/12th Cavalry and the 2/501st Infantry, resumed their battle at the Sau Canal. By the beginning of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive on 30 January 1968, which coincided with the Vietnamese Tt Lunar New Year, large conventional American forces had been committed to combat operations on Vietnamese soil for almost three years. By dawn, our troops were still unable to advance". The operational plan was for the Marines to move west from Ty Lc and then turn south. They tried again five days later, but once again, bad weather prevented them from locating Mang Ca. [12]:7376, The 3rd Brigade would not reach the west wall of the Citadel until 25 February by which time the PAVN-VC had successfully withdrawn from the battlefield. 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 the Marines encountered few PAVN in their sweeps they located various abandoned infrastructure that had been used to support the battle, including a 3km trench system with over 600 fighting holes. Whether you like it or not you are all leaders and someday, one way or another, you will be involved in urban operations, Christmas said. Hue, city, central Vietnam. Youve got to protect your corpsman, said Downs. [12]:2729, At least two PAVN regiments, two sapper battalions, and an assortment of VC local forces were based in Tha Thin Province. The year 1968 marked a crucial turning point in the Vietnam War. 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