Page 175 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

On the other side of the airport the organic defense force
of the airbase occupied a line going frorn the Tornb of Bishop Adran to
the Paratroops Camp of Hoang Hoa Tharn on Le Van Duyet and Nguyen
Van Thoai Street. There were sorne Arnerican trooPs standing guard
at various US installations. Along this line facing the cernetery there
was a platoon of Korean soldiers keeping a watch frorn the Korean
Radio Station they were assigned to defend. The cornmunistg were
locked in a tight noose.
To cornplete the noose Skyraider fighter bornbers arrived
at 0830 hours to pound suspected VC positions in the cernetery. At
about noon the Seventh Airborne Battalion under Major Nguyen Van Ngoc
arrived frorn Bien Hoa to attack the enerny. The crack airborne troops
irnrnediately assaulted the enerny position within sight o{ an admiring
public cornposed of Iocal residents and journalists frorn many nations.

The assault carne to a quick end resulting in 60 cornrnunist
dead, 11 captured, and 30 weapons confiscated. Included in this booty
was a ?5rnrn recoiless rifle which the enerny had fortunately not used.
It was also fortunate that cornrnunist troops had {ailed to occuPy the big
Quoc Gia Nghia Tu School {rorn where they could have created rnany
difficulties for the c ount e rattacking troops.

In this battle over 100 civilian houses on Le Van Duyet
Street were destroyed. The Sheli Gas Station at the Bay Hien Intersec-
tion also was set afire but the fire was put out by a big storrn one of
the rnany in that season.
According to Viet Cong prisoners the enerrry unit was an
elernent oi t:he ZTZnd Regirnent (CT. 9 Oivision) with the task of pene-
trating this area for an all out attack on the Tan Son Nhut Airbase and
the nearby Hoang Hoa Tham Carnp of the Airborne Division. They,
however, carrre too late for a surprise attack. Those that reached the
French cernetery were cornpletely destroyed while the others took to
their heels in the direction of Phu Tho Hoa.
Although the battle ended in the afternoon rf 6 May, it
was to take the governrnent troops another day to end all comrnunist
resistance in this area, especiall)i that of sorne Viet Cong who had
taken refuge in the pilot farrn of the Ministry of Agriculture' Traffic
on Nguyen Van Thoai Street was back to norrrral on 8 May.

I-bs- Eellle-eg Ejlh-Ebsl (S-tz uay) : The battle in this
area started at about 0400 hours when a Z0 rnan Viet Cong force rnade
its appearance on Binh Thoi road in an atternpt to attack the Cau Tre

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