Page 210 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

the battalion divided the zone of action into 4 areas A, B, C and D.
A and B areas were IZOrn frorn Ngo Tung Chau Street and were cleared.
On the rnorning of June 6th the paratrooPers continued to
sweep objective C where Truc Larn Pagoda was situated. At 3 orcl<-'ck
in the afternoon the fighting in Cay Thi area suddenly increased in
intensity. The VC frorn their positions around Linh Son and Truc Larn
Pagodas opened uP with 5?rnm recoilless rifle and B.40 fire. Also frorn
behind thick barnboo hedges enemy autornatic weapons poured out
deadly bursts of fire. Many paratroopers fel1 dead and the objective
stilL rernained untaken.
The 9th company c ornrnanded by Lieutenant Tan assault-
ed the objective 3 tirnes but was driven back by heavy rnachine gun
fire each tirne. It was the first tirne in this battle that gOrnrn guns
and 8 lrnrn rnortars had been used. Artillery and rnortar shells uncea-
singly pounded the enerny positions, digging up hedges of barnboo by
the roots which fell onto the heads of the advancing trooPs. Following
the barrage of about 1000 artillery and rnortar rounds, the paratroopers
assaulted and were able to seize the objective at 1ast.

On the rnorning of June 7th to reoccupy Linh Son Pagoda
the paratroopers crossed the prolonged portion of Hoang Hoa Tharn
Street which had been closed by the enerny for 3 consecutive days. In
thi6 area trees were scorched, barnboo hedges uprooted, tornbs
devastated with large stains of blood everyvrhere and stinky odors
ernitting frorn debris, There were about 30 dugouts with well built
entrance hatches, thick tirnbers over the roofs rein{orced with fur-
niture and clothes and on top a layer of earth. Many shel1s had hit
these ernplacernents without causing significant destructi.on. Most of
thern were built in a U-shape with 2 parallel vertical hatches through
which the defenders could fire at the attackers. Our troops also
discovered 5 AKs and a rnass in which corPses were decornposing.

The battle at Cay Queo was really fantastic. The enerny
when destroyed in one position would appear in another.
On June ?th the presence of the enerny was reported
again in rnany places in Gia Dinh such as in Giac Hoa Pagoda area,
Cay Thi Road Junction and behind the Lido swirnrning pool. This
appearance was an indication of another battle to take place soon.

A{ter 4 cgnsecutive days of hard fighting in the quadran-
gle Ngo Tung Chau, Hoang Hoa Tharn, Le Quang Dinh streets and in

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