Page 156 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

Also in this general area a grnall Viet Cong force tryrng
to reach the Rach Ban bridge was met by Major Tran Minh Cong at -
the head of a police squad, The enerny opened fire and slightly woun_
ded the rnajor whose rapid reaction resulted in the death of one of the
intruders. Paying no attention to his wound, cong irnrnediately ord.ered
his troops to assault a house in which the intruders had soughi refuge.

The cornrnunists tried to resist but the gallant policernen
shot one of thern to death and took two wornen cad.re prisoners. In this
house police later found eight AK.47 autornatic rifles, four Chinese
Cornrnunist pistols, a loudspeaker and a rnirneograph rnachine.
Cau Kho was the third area to be penetrated by the Viet
Cong but when a police group was sent in, cornmunist resistance was
found to be very weak. The sweep was cornpleted by 1000 hours resul_
ting in one enerny dead, four captured including two wornen cadre,
and four individual weapons conliscated. The wornen were about ZZ
years of age and had all necessary papers to allow thern to live undis_
turbed in governrnent controlled areas.
The De Tharn front was much rnore serious at the begin_
ning but police here, too, were rnost effective and the area returned
to norrnal in the ajternoon,

In the Third Precinct, a four-rnan sapper group of Viet
Cong appeared on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street but they were speedily
elirninated, Fighting began at 0500 hours when a police jeep was hii
by VC sniper fire starting an operation which becarne the responsi_
bility of the local riot police unit.

When the Viet Cong group, which included three rnen and
a girl, sought refuge in a house of Alley 22 the owner of the place at
once notified police of their unwanted presence, A search was irnrne_
diately undertaken reBulting in two cornrnunist d.ead and the two others
captured including the gir1. Two AK.4? autornatic riJles and two pis_
tol.s were also taken along with sorne explosives, The Ban Co area
settled back to norrnal.
At Xorn Chieu in the Fourth precinct four women cadre
had barely started their propaganda activities when they were captured.
They had four Chinese Cornrnunists pistol6. In the Fifth precincithe
enerrly was still in control of the main adrninistrative building when
Lieutenant Colonel Le Ngoc Tru, the local police chief, led hi, troop"
in an assault on the VC held building,

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