Page 26 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

idea what it was all about. In srnall provincial and district towns the
authorities were rrrore successful in cornrnunicating their orders to
the local trooP s.

Che sara sara with the Viet Cong nation-wide offensive
on and gaining rnornenturn in the first hours of the carnpaign it was
feared that Hanoi was about to realize its finat objective of conquering
South Vietnarn. During the hollday period a total of 28 provincial capi-
tals were attacked along with the sprawling rnetropolis of Saigon-Cho-
lon. The following surnrnarires the situation.

In the nationts northerrnost provinces, rnilitarily known
as I Corps, the Corornunists attacked Hue at 0200 hours on 3l Januarll
then followed up with sirnilar assaults on Quang Tri, Quang Tin, and
Quang Ngai only two hours aJter the Hue push. In II Corps - the High-
lands and the coastal provinces - Phan Thiet was hit at about the sarne
tirne while the highLan<i resort oI Dalat was attacked during the early
hours of Z February.

In the provinces surrounding Saigon, rnilitarily known as
III Corps, the Comrnunists aLso launched a series of we 11- c oor dinated
attacks against vital rnilitary and political installations during the
early hours of 31 January. The headquarters of the 25th Infantry Di-
wision in I{au Nghia province was assaulted the following rnorning. In
the early hours of l F ebruary, in stallations in Binh Duong and Bien
Hoa provinces were assailed' Long-Khanh was to -be added to the list
the f ollowing niqht.
In the Mekong Delta (fV Corps) C ornrnuni st pressure was
acutely felt in Phong Di.nh, Vinh Long (1 Feb' ), in Kien Hoa, Dinh
Tuong, Kien Giang, and Vinh Binh (2 Feb.), in Kien Tuong (a Feb. )'
and finally at the headquarters of the 44th Special Zone at Cao Lanh
in the early hours of 5 February. Go Cong was the target for another
V. C. assault the following night and Bac Lieu was struck five days
late r .
Chronologically, the V.C' Tet offensive included the

f ollowing actions :
Tetts Eve : Qui Nhon, Konturn, Pleiku, Darlac,and Nha
Trang ; all these Cities are located either in the highland or central
c oa st.

31 Januarv : Saigon-Cholon, Gia Dinli, Can Tho and
Vinh Long (f If fV- Corps); Phan Thiet (II Corps); and Hue, Quang
"ttd

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