Page 300 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

D Nang

A usually cornrnon irnpression of the first tirne visitors
about Da Nang city was that this was a place where people heard and
talked pretty much about the war, but did not have to suffer too rnuch
{rorn rt.
Two rnajor enerny assaults on Da Nang during the 1968
Tet offensive took place just outside Da Nang, not in Da Nang proper.
The city was divided into three precincts or districts - Precinct I,
Precinct II and Precinct III. Its defense perirneter arched frorn the
foot of the Hai Van pass, past the cityts two airbases, down to Narn
O and Hoa Cuong villages. Cnly people residing along this arching
perirneter bore the brunt of enerny assaults.
The first assault all started on the evening of Tetrs
Eve with the shelling of the Tra Kieu refugee carnp, the Non Nuoc or
Marble Mountain airbase. The enerny f ollowed it up with a ground
assault supported by 5?mrn recoilless cannons on the headquarters
cornpound of the lst Arroy Corps C ornrnand.
An estirnated enelny c olnpany crossed the river from
Hoa Cuong village and rnoved up to the cornpound' About a dozen
enerny troops clirr:bed up the cornpoundrs wa1l and entered the cornpoun(
itself. Nc sooner had they reached the flagpole than the defenders
opened fire cutting their retreating loute as well as preventing further
enerny infittrators, The four arrnored vehicles guarding the place also
maneuvered to encircle the trapped enerny while a r€con squad
engaged hirn inside the sprawling courtyard. Shortly before daybreak,
the enerny rnanaged to pull out with their yet unknown casualties'
leaving the defenders caring for their casualties - three killed, seven
wounded and two arrnored vehicles darnaged lightly. An AK 47 auto-
rnatic rifle was the only booty taken frorn the enerny.
The battle went by unnoticed by rnost of the city people,
as the sounds of gunfire were drowned out by those of Tet firecrackers
in ev€r ry ne ighborhood.
As dawn broke over the city, a relief force was pulled
together to conduct a sweep of the adjoining areas' It included the
zlst Ranger Battalion t}'e 3/51 Battalion and the 59th RF Battalion
with four rnachineguns rnounted light trucks. The sweep resulted in

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