Page 410 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

{oxholes {rorn which they successfully withstood heavy fire {rorn the
Arnerican Ontos tanks. The enerny fought back at the assaulting Arne-
rican troops to pin thern down again and again. This seesaw battle lasted
two days until sundown Feb 19 when airstrikes and heavy tanks were
called in. From their positions inside the school the enerny continued
harassing fires on the Sector Cornrnand headquarters throughout the
night. Airstrikes to support the Vietnarnese troops, who had taken
ovel from the Arlerican force on this battle Jront were resurned around
0730 hours Feb 20. When the Vietaarnese troops, cornrnanded by Lt Lu
Tay Tuu, rnoved in they rnei only scattereC, weak enerny resistance by
a rear-guard elernent of platoon size. This elernent had been assigned
the rnission of fighting a delaying action to help the rnain force pull out
frorn the school under cover of darkness. The rear guard also rnanaged
to escape 1ater. The school was le{t a sharnbles.

Around 0900hJhe enerny attacked the Vietnarnese positions
in Phu Khanh and Phu Long B harnlets. He was thrown back as airstrikes
were called in and a CIDG cornpany attacked frorn his rear,

During the night friendly artillery and gunships struck
enemy positions in suburban areas. No results were reported.

The following day, Feb 21 , the enerny pulled back to Phu
Khanh and Phong Phu B harnlets on the northwestern outskirts of the
city. They also pulled back to Vinh Thuy and Vinh Phu harnlets on the
eastern outskirts. Refugees carne in frorn Lai An and crowded abnost
all public places inside the city. The Lai An area, which had been
seriously darnaged during the last assault, was not a good staging area
for the enerny.
Post fighting searches of forrner battle areas ended around
1100 h. There a^{ter the people were allowed to go about freely.
All the civilian houses and public offices in the areas of
the girls school, Tran Cao Van, Hai Thuong Lan Ong, Nguyen Hoang,
Phuong rnarket, Forestry Service and city police station were eitlrer
destroyed or seriously darnaged by the fighting. Refugees returned to
their wrecked houses to salvage all that could be of sorne use to thern
and then returned to live ternporarily in the safer business sections
on the southwestern bank of the river. The {ew houses which luckily
escaped serious darnag e were also ernptied of all their furniture.

The civilian property damage sustained was the greatest
.in the cityrs raerrrory. Al1 the houses between the girls elernentary

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