Page 296 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

spread frorn Long Hung to the M Zone, through La Vang and Thach
Han.
- The 9th Airborne Battalion, freshly airlifted frorn Saigon as a reser-
ved force to help Quang Tri people enjoy a happy Tet, guarded the
Hanh Hoa Thon and Tri Buu areas.

- Positioned clo6est to town was a cornbined special group of cornbat
' (riot) police and RD cadrernen.

At 0400h,on the second day of Tet or Jan 31, the enerny
unleashed a heavy shelling barrage and a cornbined ground assault
upon the city. The 8th NVA Regirnent, infiltrated frorn north Vietnarn
only eight days earlier, participated in the battle.

Major enerny assaults were launched on the Tri Buu
area, about I krn frorn the city, where enerny troops disguised thern-
selves as ARVN paratroopers to swoop on an airborne platoon. But
their plot was expeditiously uncovered by our paratroopers, The
irnposters had worn rubber tire sandals rather than the genuine
jungle boots.
In its assault on the De Tu area, which adjoined the
city jail, the enerny force overran an airborne platoon stationed in
Hanh Hoa Thon and got into the Tri Buu area" But it never succeeded
in reaching the jai1, which had been owerrun in the April 1967 assault
on Quang Tri city. But in Hanh Hoa Thon, the airborne platoon suf-
fered serious casualties, trying to throw back the overwhekning
enerny force.
At the sarne tirne, the other enerny groups lndiscrirni-
nately assaulted the city frorn various sides. Two enerny sapper
platoons rnanaged to fight their way into the city'
Cornbat police and Regional Forces troops on rnachine-
gun-rnounted trucks threw back all of the enerny assault waves
against rnilitary and adrninistrative structures.
-
As daylight dawned on the city, the enerny withdrew,
leaving behind his dead, In the De Tu area near the jail hundreds of
enerny bodies were left behind to be seen by the crowds of civilians.
The civilian casualties were very light' probably
because aI1 civilian houses had their own shelters and bunkers'

The enerny fired rnany lZZrnrn rockets into the city but
these inaccurate rni6siles rnissed their targets and caused no darnage
or casualtie s.

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