Page 161 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

southern outskirts of Cholon.
North of the capital city the cornrnunist First and FiJth
Military Sub-Regions had directed two regirnents and sorne saPPea
troops to Saigon, The Dong Nai Regirnent including Battalions K.3 and
K.4, and the Quyet Thang Regiment, including two battalions of the
sarne appellations, had spread thin in their atternpt to reach the city.

As early as Z3 May elernents of the Dong Nai Regirnent
had taken advantage of loopholes in the security beLt around the capital
to reach its outskirts. Although fighting started two days Iater it can
be assurned the enerny did not want to initiate it so early but had to
fight when his troops betrayed their presence,
At the beginning the enerny in-filtrated some o{ his
troops based in the area of An Phu Dong especially the light cornrnand
post of the Dong Nai Regirnent and the K;3 or Phu Loi Battalion' These
troops easily penetrated the area of the Tap Thanh Pagoda in Harnlet
Seven where they waited for the rnain body of troops to arrive. They
also expected to go frorn there to Gia Dinh Town and frorn there enter
Saigonr s First Precinct.

But their presence at the TaP Thanh Pagoda was reported
and irnrnediately brought about an operatlon by governrnent forces. In
spite of a Viet Cong atternpt to enlarge the battle area fighting was
to be lirnited to Harnlet Seven, the Cau Son Bridge, the Bang Ky
Bridge and the Cay Queo and Cay Thi sectors.
The fighting on the Bang Ky Bridge was to be the least
intense of all. Governrnent Marines quickly overcarne cornrnunist
resistance on1). to find that rnost intruders had le{t the area, leaving
behind only a few srnall units to try to secure penetration routes for

later r e inforc ernent s.
In the region of the Tap Thanh Pagoda the South Viet-
narnese airborne eleroent dispatched to counter the cornmunist threat
encountered strong and deterrnined resistance frorn the enerny. The
insurgents had also prepared thernselves for the fight and it was to
take the governrnent troops 13 full days to restore order in this section
of the city. It was declared pacified on 5 June 1968.
Cn the cornrnunist side the Quyet Thang Regirnent with
its two battalions, Go Mon I and Z, arrived at the Rach Ong area on
the last day of May. They irnrnediately tried to reach the Cay Thi
section to reinJorcc those already within the big city. They were

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