Page 176 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

Police Station. As they were preparing for the task, a police riot unit
arrived on the scene and a hand-to-hand fight ensued that resulted in
the death of four cornrnunists and the capture of another two. The ene-
rny withdrew in the direction of Rrad 46.

knrnediately an operation was ordered that at once resul_
ted in heavy contact with the enerny when the operating troops approach-
ed the leather factory o{ Phu Tho. The operating troops included the
33rd Ranger Battalion, the Fifth Reconnaissance Cornpany, and an
armored group but this strong force could not advance in the face o{
deterrnined resistance frorn the enerny. A ternporary halt was ordered
and airstrikes $/ere ca1led in to support the ground fighters.

The situation appeared to deteriorate the fcllowing day
for in spite of air intervention and flares illurninating the sk), through-
out the night rnore enerny troops calrre in. On 5 May, enerny txoops
appeared practically everywhere in the Phu Tho and Road 45 areas.
Meeting with the press on that day, Police Chief Major Nguyen Dinh
Lan of the Sixth Precinct told journalists that the cornrnunist pressure
against his area had grown rnore intense.

After 50 hours of fighting, the cornrnunist battle strength
here had increased rnany times substantiating the theory that they
again wanted to penetrate the Sixth Precinct, frorn where they could
easily reach the Fi{th Precinct and enter the downtown section o{
Saigon. Like during the rrTetrt attack this cornrnunist atternpt was to
be blocked at Road 46.

That night, however, many srnall groups of Viet Cong
crossed Minh Phung Street and killed Colonel Darn Van euy when he
was on his way to inspect some police units near the Duy Linh plaza.
Frorn a high building bordering on the street Viet Cong gunners hit the
colonelrs jeep with two rockets that turned the vehicle upside down.
Colonel Quy was {ound to be kil1ed by an AK.47 bullet.

Meanwhile, in order to block the Viet Cong infiltration
rnovement, an elernent of the US Ninth Infantry Division had, been dis-
patched to Binh Thoi where it clashed with the enerny and inflicted on
him heavy casualties. A few houfs later the enerny intensified his
effort to send rnore rnen to the Duy Linh Plaza at the end o{ Tran euoc
Toan Boulevard. This was to bring about the intervention of the 35th
Ranger Battalion under Major Ho Van Hoa and a local police force.

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