Page 288 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968
P. 288
Citadelts walls and ciwilian houses to organize their defense against
our c ounterattack.
The enemy fought friendly counterattack forces mainly
by fighting as close to thern as possible in order to avoid or discourage
friendly artillery and air support. On the first day he fought fiercely
and alrnost continuously; that night he harassed friendly forces and
never let thern rest. Next day, he again fought fiercely and continu-
ous1y. His tactics consisted of fighting in skirrnish forrnations, by
concentrating his groups for attacks, by coordinating ground assaults
with artillery, by sniper fire, by srnal1-group delaying actions
against friendly advancing troops, by attacking the rear or the flanks
of friendly forrnations. At night he sent out srnall groups to conduct
harrassing attacks with 840 and B4I RPG fire on our positions.
The enerny took extensive casualties frorn friendly
heavy artillery and air support.
An estirnated 7, 500 enerny troops participated directly
in the Hue battle, They consisted of at least three regirnents of Z, 000
rnen each plus the sappersbased in and around the city.
According to Viet Cong docurnents the Viet Cong suf-
fered 1,042 killed and a larger nurnber of wounded, Those killed
included a regirnental cornrnander, eight battalion corrrrnanders, 24
c ornpany cornrnander and 7Z platoon leaders. The enerny attack con-
sj.sted of two phases : the offensive phase frorn Ja.n 30 through Feb 6
and the defensive phase frorn Feb 7 through 25.
While occupying the city the enerny clairned to have
persuaded sorne 500 young people to join his ranks, He seized a
treasury safe with four rnillion piastres and Iiberated 1,800 prisoners
frorn the city jail. He also clairned that he succeeded in forrning the
Peoplers Alliance for Dernocracy and Peace with Professor Le Van
Hao as chairrnan, Mrs Tuan Chi, Venerable Thich Don Hau and two
unidentified Cornrnunists as alliance rnernbers.
The enerny forces received orders to withdraw frorn
Hue on Feb 23 but we did not regain control of the entire city until
the end of the following day.
D. - LESSONS LEARNED
Enerny docurnents revealed sorne ofthe f ollowing short-
cornings cornrnitted by his units :
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