Page 344 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

welcorning ritual as if nothing was going to happen. In the srnall hours
of the night firecrackers rrrere still heard in the various sections of
the city.
During Tet day sorne of the city's de{ensive units were
ordered to change their positions, sorne were reinforced and gorne
were partly shifted elsewhere. These rnovernent were airned at dis-
rupting the enernyrs intelligence and assault plans.
Opposing the enernyrs 48th Battalion and two local guer-
rilla cornpanies were three PF platoons guarding the RF-PF Training
Center. At the citadel tir.e 3 /4 Battatrion rninus, two RF cornpanies
rninus, tl'e gz3rd. and 983rd, plus the I/4 APC Squadron were confron-
ted by the enernyrs 406th Sapper Battalion, 505A Sapper Cornpany,
107 PK Battalion, 409th Sapper Battalion, and 84th Battalion also
rnostly understrength units. To cope with the enernyrs C95 Cornpany
at the city jail were the 4?4th RF Cornpany and trrro understrength PF
platoons which norrnally guarded the sector cornrnand cornpound.
A rnajor eni:rny force was cornrnitted to the assault
against the airfield special zone comrnand cornpound which was also
the 4th Infantry Regirnentrs cornrnand headquarters. It included the
401st Regirnent with the 407th, ZOth and 38th Sapper Battaliong as
well as six cornpanies Czz, Cl6, Cr95, C74, 571 and 5068 plus an
82rnrn rnortar corrlpany. Ranged againSt these units were the 4fZ
Regirnent Cornrnandts garrison, its Second Battalion, an engineer
cornpany, a l05rnrn howitzer cornPany, a l55rnrn howitzer platoon and
a few rniscellaneous units frorn platoon to cornpany size.
Col. Nguyen Van Toan, Cornrnander of the lZth Tactical
Zone, directed the friendly forcesr defense and c ount er - of{ensive frorn
his headquarters frorn the beginning of the enerny's action' He was
inforrned of each enerny moverrlent frorn the east and south toward the
headquarters cornpound through his telephone and radio network. He
ordered the 1/4 APC Squadron to rnaneuver out of the cornpound to
strike the enerny on his flanks sorne twenty rninutes after the enerny
assault started. The arrnor units drowe the enerny into neighboring
residential areas using lateral forrnations. Many enerny bodies were
left behind at the horsecart station on Vo Tanh road and in the adjoin-
itrg sugarcane fields. The enemy pressures around the vast zone
cornrnand cornpound were broken only one hour later, The enerny
chose to defend frorn the adjoining residential sections, rnostly frorn
civilian concrete houses, Not one of the arrnor vehicles involwed in

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