Page 409 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

School around I00Oh, Feb 18, to reinforce the Quang Trung Carnp de-
fend.ers. These Arnerican units assaulted the school under the covering
fire of the Ontos. As the covering fire lifted, they had to withdraw since
the enerny held outfiercely frorn their entrenched Positions. The enemy
positions were so close to the frlendly ones as to rnake close air support
aknost iropossible. Airstrikes were conducted against enemy positions
in other areas such as Binh Hung, Phu Vinh, Dai Tai, the cityrs
slaughter-house, and Giang Thanh. An estirnated enerny company also
held out in the jail cornpound. More friendly reinforcements came.
Two cornpanies of the 3f44 V retnarrre s e Infantry Battalion reached the
city's sector cornrnand headquarters in the afternoon. The cornrnanding
officer of the 23rd Tactical Zorte, Col Truong Quang An arrived aboard
a chopper around 1600 h.
Col An ordered the relief battalion to recapture the jail
before sundown. The Battalion, cornrnanded by Maj Mai Nang Luong,
was taken over by Col, An after the rnajor was hit in the stornach
while trying to take a good look at enerny positions frorn a vantage
point in the rnulti-storied Chinh Tarn School. Co1. An fired his pistol
and hurled rocks frorn behind his rnen to encourage thern to storrn the
enerny positions. The assault on the jail was so strong that the enerrty
was cornered in one of the wards, A grenade assault wiped out the
last enerny rernnants. Thirty seven enerny bodies were counted. One
Paillard Bolex rnovie carrrera containing a short strip of exposed fikn
was seized frorn an enerny body. The fikn strip contained pictures of
the enernyrs attack on the Trinh Tuong Carnp fikned during his first
as sa111t two weeks earlier.
The jail was cornpletely retaken about 1700h.Feb I8, This
action also resulted in the relief of the besieged police station which had
corne under enerny rnortar fire frorn the Bu'r Quang pagoda area'
Frorn 0200h'to daybreak Feb l9 the enerny atternpted to
attack other points in the city but failed everywhere' Throughout the
day of Feb 19, the enerny stil1 held out in the populated areas of Tran
Cao Van, Cho Go and the city hospital.
Other enerny elernents positioned frorn Phu Tai Ham'let to
lhe slaughter house as well as in the Phu Khanh and Phu Phong B
harnlets across the river were strafed by jet planes frorn dawn to dusk'
The Arnerican units, rneanwhile, fighting the enerny in the
girls elernentary school and neighboring populated areas, still {ailed to
flush hirn out of these positions. The enerny had dug solid trenches and

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