Page 222 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

of the steel bridge. In this escape atternpt they were halted by the
Marine s.
He also declared that these defeated units were appro-
xirnately 200 strong. A11 were exhausted and had been short of food
for 2 days. Sorne days before, they had sti1l been able to get food
frorn the peoplets houses but since 2 daya ago they had found nothing
to eat. They a1I wanted to ra11y but were aJraid that our troops might
fire on them by mistake.
At 0930 hours Major Thang ordered all operational forces
to cease fire and to shoot only when necessary to let the Polwar tearn
of tine 502/50 C ornpany callthe enerny out to rally.
On June 17th in the a{ternoon the rallied officer, forrner
VC Captain Phan Van Xuong called to his cornrades in arrns to corne
out and rally. They sti1l stayed behind in the Cay Thi battle area.
Later in the evening while the recorded voice of Captain
Phan Van Xuong was being transrnitted frorn the air, VC troops
began to rally by groups ol 5, 7 or rnore than 10.
By the end of June 18th 152 VC of the Quyet Thang Re-
girnent cornrnitted in Gia Dinh battle area had rallied to the Marine s
of the lst Battalion and had delivered rnany AKs, cne 60rnrl rnortar,
ten B40s,ten B 4ls,docurnents,and a large quantity of arnrnunition'
During the clash on June 17th in the afternoon, L krn to
the east of Gia Dinh, 30 VC were killed. The Marine s also captured
17 individual and 3 crew served weaPons. Also during the sarne period

of tirne in an area near Cay Thi road Junction the Marines killed 31
VC, captured 29 individual and 16 crew served weaPons.

By then the operations to the north of the Capital ended,
crowned with a rnass surrender of I5Z YC troops and cadre. This was
the hlghest nurnber of troop to surrender in the history of the conflict
in Viet Narn, This event caused agitation in the opinions of the people
in North Vietnarn. The North Vietnam Gowernrnent refused to adrnit
this failure but ascribed it to a fake event invented by the governrnent
of the Republic of Vietnarn. This denial was merely a rneasure to
soothe the North Vietnarnese anxlety and the decaying rnorale of the
VC troops,

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