Page 334 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

On the third night of Tet,unlike previous nights when the
enerny had confined his actions to sporadic harassrnent shellings, he
now launched an assault on the 23Znd Artillery Battalion. This batta-
lion had provided e{fective artillery support for friendly counterattac-
king troops at earlier stages of the Banrnethuot battle. The enerny was
thrown back leaving behind l7 killed,two captured,and five weapons.
The Z3Znd Artillery battalion suffered two killed and five wounded in
action.
The 3/45 Battalion, pursuing the retreating enerny force
northwest of the artillery battalion's position shortly a{ter daybreak,
Feb Z, accounted for an additional I9 enerny killed, five captured and
three weapons.
Other units conducting aweep operations with arrnored
support rnoved up to the besieged radio station and broke the enerny
resistance.
The sweep operations continued on Feb 3 in the Cho Nho
area and the adjoining Ale harnlet, At this harnlet the 23rd Ranger
Battalion {ound a sizeabl.e ff}ass grave with an estirnated 200 enerny
bodies. The operation only resulted in scattered, sporadic firefights
with unknown results. As darkness fell ower the city the enerny again
shelled it slarnrning IZZrnrn rockets into the cornpounds of the Military
Police Cornpany, the intelligence section, the 23rdOrdnance Cornpany
and the 23rd Transportation Cornpany. There was only insignificant
darnage done to these installations and no reported casualties.
On the sixth day of Tet, or Feb 4, governrnent troops
carried out the last stage of their sweep operations, There was only
one engagernent in town involving a pocket of diehard enerny resistance
which was positoned on Hoang-Dieu street. This pocket was elirnina-
ted in a rnatter of hours and the entire city was brought back under
virtual cornplete governrnental control for the rest oJ the day.

There was not one si.ngle enerny infantry assault anywhere
in Banrnethuot in the following days and nights. In the daytime govern-
rnent troops continued their systernatic searches for possible enerny
rernnants or suapects hiding arnong the populace or in the rubble.
During darkness and for several nights on end the enerny slarnrrred
rocket and rnortar rounds into the cityrs key areas. The enerny still
refused to withdraw frorn the city outskirts. He was regrouping and
recuperatj.ng for yet another offensive of sorts.

- 331 -