Page 424 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

Another enerny force also cornposed of elernenis of the
Z 75th Regir-Irent iu the neantime iook positions at the Gia Vien area
T
and the Ke Sat cemetery (Ho Nai) about 500 rneters away frorn the
Frenzel Jones carnp o{ the US l99th Brigade (Long Binh). The enerny
kept firing heavily into the c arnp in support of a sapper unit that was
atternpting to penetrate the perirneter through a underground water-
pipe, They were not successful and were uncovered before they could
erne rge.
In the rnorning of the Znd day of Tet US armed helicop-
ters repeatedly attacked enerry positions and destroyed C ornrnuni st
anti-aircraft guns between the Ho Nai church and the Phu Tao (Ao Uai)
area. Thev also supported a forrnation of tanks that attacked the
enernyrs rear frorn highway One. Two of the tanks were destroyed by
VC B.40 rockets near the Phu Tao church. The others returned to
their base -
Toward noon upon Iearning of the failure of their sapper
unit the Comrnunists decided to withdraw to the Dia spring north of
Trang Born. Pursued bv helicopter gunsbips they left behind 1.00 bodies.
Mernbers o{ the enerny cornrnand of the Bien Hoa front were reported
arcong the dead.

The following day ARVN forces and the US 199th Brigade
Iaunched a joint search-and-destroy operaiion around Bien Hoa. A
total of 527 Cornrnunists were killed and 40 captured'

About 500 civilian houses were burned down during
the fighting in front of the III Corps c ornrnand headquarters, and in
the Gia Vien and Phu Tao (Ho Xai) areas, Civilian casualties included
10 dead and 50 wounded"
As the flghting ended six refugee centers were irnme-
diately set up by the local authorities at the Nguyen Du school, Tan
Lap Ternple and four other places.

The Rornan Catholic priest of the Ho Nai parish later
reported that 19 Cornrounists who surrendered at his parish had been
overcorre with {ear and said they had been deceived by their superiors.

The rnajority of enerny soldiers launched into the battle
consisted of North Vietnarnese teen-agers who rrere cornplete
strangers to the area. Ordered by their super:iors to rrtake overrr the
province they had expected little resistance {rorn our side" Their
ranks were cornpletely shattered and destroyed by our heavy fire-

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