Page 73 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

' Battalion 4 Thu-Duc or 4f t65l- had the role o{ cutting
the Bien-Hoa Highway.
I Battalion Binh-Tan Six or 6/165,. was in charge of

the area of Phu -Tho and Ba -Hat.
I Battalion Long-An 508 was to control the area of Binh_
T -y.
I Special Group F. 100 had the rnission of attacking the
radio station, Gate Five of Tran Hung Dao Carnp, the Navy headquar-
ters, the U.S. Ernbassy, and the Philippine Ernbassy.

To rneet this threat the South Vietnarnese Arrny brought
as rnany troops as possible to Saigon- As of4 February total ARVN
strength in Saigon had reached ten battalions, not including the thou-
sands of policernen in the capital.

Operation Tran Hung Dao

On 5 February 1968 an operation code narned rrOperation
T ran -Ltr/ng -Daotr .was launched under the direct cornmand of General
Cao Van Vien, Chief of the Joint General Staff, Its purpose was to
speedily elirninate the Cornrnunist threat in S:rigon. Major General
Tran Thanh Phong, Chief of Staff, was to serve as Chief of Staff and
Brigadier General Cao Hao Hon as Vice Chief of Staff of the operating
forces.

Operation Tran Hung Dao narned after the nationrs
greatest 1616 - three tirnes victor over the Mongolian hordes seven
centuries ago - was to take place in Saigon and the neighboring areas,
Saigon, originally consisting of five tactical areas of responsibility
was given a sixth such area which was entrusted to U. S. troops. The
five subdiwisions under South Vietnarnese responsibility were as
follows :
Zone ttAtt under the reponsibility of Major General Du
Quoc Dong, cornrnander of the Airborne Division. Zone trBr with
Colonel Nguyen Thanh Yen, deputy cornrnander of the Marine Corps,
Zone 'Cr with Brigadier General Nguven Ngoc Loan, Director General
of the National Police. Zone ttDtt with Colonel Tran Van Hai, cornrnan-
der of the Ranger troops. Zone Ett with Brigadier General Ngo Dzu.
And Zone trFrr was entrusted to the U. S. High Cornrnand (See chart).

Zone A. Zone ttAtt was rnade the responsibility of the

_79_