Page 349 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

the enerny in the residential areas, especially at the Catholic o'rned
Kirn Thong school and the citadelrs east gate. Throughout the rnorning
neither o{ these {riendly units ever succeeded in relieving enerny
pressure frorn these areas because of the heavy enerny Iire' Airstrikes
were finally requested in the afternoon with the approval of the
schoolrs owner, the 1oca1 parish priest. Sorne eighty enerny bodies
were counted and 28 weapons, including one flarnethrower, were seized
in these areas. One arrnor Lieutenant and live rnen were killed and
19 rnen were wounded. One Cornpany frorn the 3f4 Battalior', which
btocked the enernyrs route into the city frorn the east, engaged an
advancing enerny force and in{licted serious casualties upon it'

In the east gate battle the 3f4 Battation was so badly
understrength that the Division cornrnand had to send one of its own
garrison cornpanies io reinforce the battalion, The cornpanyrs colTr-
rnanding officer Capt Nguyen Van Thanh was killed by enerny sniper
fire. Another division staff officer, Lt Dung, was also killed while
trying to get back to his house to bring his {arnily out of the enerny
controlled area.
It was not untit rnid rnorning that an armor unit could be
rnaneuvered into position for counterattack on the enerny held RF-PF
Training Center on the other side of the Tra Khrrc river' The Center
was guarded by over twenty rnilitiarnen when the enerny Iaunched the
offensive early in the rnorning. The centerrs deputy cornrnander, a
Lieutenant, was killed along with sorne of his rnen. His boss, Maj Te'
and the other rnen withdrew to the Tra Khuc bridge and rnade their
way to the position of tt''e +f4 Battalion for a counterattack' The hill-
top center was lost to the enerrry without the knowledge ol tihe 4f 4
Battalion. Thus, when some of the enerny carne down the hi1l, the
bridge guards thought they were RD cadre and did not open fire'

Actually only one conlpany of tir'e 4f 4 Battalion was
stationed at the Tra-Khuc bridge, The other two cornpanies were
being positioned about three and {our kilorneters away when the enerny
started the offensive. The enerny was not aware o{ this fact and thus
left the outnurnbered. Tra Khuc bridge guards alone when he storrned
into the training centel, He only fired one round of 60rnrn rnortar at
the bridge wounding two rnedics, 3rd Lt Hoa and Corporal Quy'
This was the third tirrre in one year that this training
center had fallen into enerny hands. One tirne the enerny disguised
themselves as loca1 villagers and carne to \tatch the rnovie lnd then
took over the center in a surprise n raid.

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