Page 417 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

Dalat

A. - BEFORtr THE OFI'ENSIVE

Unlike Nha Trang where a unjJied cornrnand wa6 on
hand at the tirne the enerny offensive broke out, Dalat found itself in
a rather ernbarassing situation as no specific assignrnents had been
defined arnong the various forces stationed in the area.

In principle, rnore than 3,000 soldiers belonging to
the Military Acaderny, the riot police training center and the Sector
C ornrnand should have been awailable in Dalat City at anytirne. But
when the enerny attack occurred, although it had been predicted two
days before, the nurnber of the cityrs reserved elernent turned out
to be too srnal1 (only 40 rnen and 5 V-100 arrnored vehicles), Other
forces rernained in passive defense positions within their barracks,
instead of taking cornbat positions in and around the city.

As Dalat had been a peaceful, rornantic city away frorn
the war, its residents, rnilitary and civilians alike, found it hard to
beliewe that their beloved city could ever becorne a battle ground,
This explained the unpreparedness of both sections of the cornrnunity
when the Cornmunists launched their offensive.

It was, the aJternoon of the second day of Tet when the
Cornrnunist offensive against South Vietnarnese cities had already
spread throughout the country that the Tuyen Duc Sector Cornrr-rand
decided to place its troops on alert. But only 60 per cent of the local
force could be found and ca1led back to duty frorn their Tet celebrations
although rnilitary patrols rnade house-to-house calls on of{ duty
soldiers. Sorre of ther-n were found amid excited garnb).ing parties.
C ornrnanding officers will learn frorn this bitter experience that the
rnore peaceful the location of their assignrnents rnight appear, the
rnore vigilant they should rernain for its defense.
Life in Dalat was norrnal throughout the third morning
of Tet with rnany vacationers frorn Saigon flocking into the city. They
were very worried by news reports broadcast by the local radio on
the fighting flare-up across the country including Saigon,
On the evening of the sarne day each of the local forces
were watching frorn their own location while Sector Cornrnand trooPs
took positions at two strategic points; the comrnand headquarters and

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