Battle Story: Tet Offensive 1968 E-Book

Andrew Rawson

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

By the end of January 1968 the American people thought their armed forces were winning in South Vietnam after three years of escalating conflict. Then the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong struck back, hitting military and political targets across the country. While the NVA and Viet Cong suffered a military defeat, they dealt a huge blow to US support for the war. If you want to understand what happened and why − read Battle Story. Detailed profiles examine the background of the opposing commanders, as well as the contrasting tactics and equipment of their fighting forces. Contemporary accounts reveal the true story of this pivotal battle and its consequences for the Vietnam War. Specially commissioned maps analyse the key developments during the battle. Excellent photographs place the reader at the centre of the fighting. Orders of battle show the composition of the opposing forces' armies.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Title

Introduction

Timeline

Historical Background

South Vietnam’s Geography and Weather

From French Colonial Rule to Communist Takeover

The Campaigns, 1965–67

The Armies

Tactics

The Commanders

The Soldiers

The Kit

The Days Before Battle

Planning the Tet Offensive

Deploying for Battle

Digging in, Ready for Battle

NVA and Viet Cong Objectives

Allied Intelligence Mistakes

Opening Rounds at Khe Sanh

Premature Attacks

The Battlefield: What Actually Happened?

The Battle for Quang Tri

The Battle for Da Nang

The Battle for Hue Begins

The Battles for Long Binh and Bien Hoa

The Battle for Saigon

Prolonged Battles

The Battle for Hue Citadel

The Siege of Khe Sanh Comes to an End

After the Battle

The Military Outcome

The Mini Tet Offensive, May 1968

The War Continues

The Legacy

Reaction to the Tet Offensive

Withdrawal of Combat Troops

The NVA’s Final Offensive

The Human Cost

Remembering

Orders of Battle

Further Reading

Copyright

INTRODUCTION

By the end of January 1968, American troops had been fighting in South Vietnam for almost three years. This was, however, part of a much longer war, which had been rumbling along since the end of the Second World War.

Most towns and hamlets were under Viet Cong control, while the South Vietnamese government was on the verge of collapse when the first US Marines came ashore in March 1965. The US military set about establishing bases across the country, driving the Viet Cong from its ‘sanctuaries’ (safe areas) and helping the South Vietnamese armed forces to restore law and order. All the while, General William C. Westmoreland reassured the American politicians and press that progress was being made and that the war could be won.

By the end of 1968 there were 485,000 US troops based in South Vietnam and they had brought two-thirds of the country’s population centres under government control. The number of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops in the country was estimated at only 220,000, while 81,000 had been reported killed in 1967. Communist recruitment in the villages was also falling, while the number of men moving down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the route connecting North and South Vietnam via Laos and Cambodia, had been considerably reduced.

US ground troops had been engaged in military operations across South Vietnam for nearly three years by the beginning of 1968. (NARA-111-CCV-362)

While the American public were weary of the war, the military was promising that improvements were being made and Westmoreland was predicting that it would be over by 1970. However, progress had to be consistent or the people and the politicians would lose confidence in his predictions. Westmoreland stated that the war was entering a new phase in November 1967: ‘when the end begins to come into view’. Other agencies supported his view and both the politicians and public were appeased.

Hanoi had other ideas; it was planning to counterattack multiple targets across South Vietnam. It aimed to infiltrate towns and cities ahead of widespread attacks against government buildings and military installations. But military action was the beginning; the catalyst which would start a people’s revolution and overthrow the Saigon government.

The plan would start with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) overrunning Khe Sanh combat base near the border of North Vietnam, recreating the Viet Minh’s 1954 victory against the French at Dien Bien Phu. The Viet Cong (VC) would make the initial attacks in all but the north of the country, while the NVA would exploit the chaos.

As 31 January 1968, the Vietnamese New Year and the Year of the Monkey, approached, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), the United States’ command for all military forces in South Vietnam, knew that the NVA and the Viet Cong were planning attacks to coincide with the celebrations, but they did not know where. They also had no idea about the strength or ferocity of what was about to be unleashed.

The helicopter changed the face of tactical operations in what was a war without frontlines and where the enemy often looked the same as the civilian. (NARA-111-CCV-97)

After 20 January, the eyes of the Free World focused on the NVA attacks against Khe Sanh combat base, near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). However, over the days that followed, tens of thousands of NVA and Viet Cong soldiers covertly moved into position. They crawled through tunnels and mingled with the holiday crowds to reach their assembly points in towns and cities across the country, finding arms caches waiting for them.

On 30 and 31 January, the NVA and the Viet Cong attacked dozens of targets across South Vietnam, including government buildings, military installations and cultural targets. Over the days that followed, the world watched the battle unfold on their televisions as United States and South Vietnamese troops fought side by side to regain control of the towns and cities.

While normality was quickly restored in most areas, the damage had been done because the attacks had undermined American support for the war. During those fateful days, the politicians in Washington DC and the rest of the American people had lost faith in their military. General Westmoreland had predicted that the end was about to come into view, and it had; however, it was not the outcome he was hoping for.

Following the Tet Offensive, Westmoreland was replaced by General Creighton W. Abrams. President Lyndon B. Johnson stepped down after poor results in primary elections and was replaced by President Richard Nixon, who had promised ‘peace with honour’ in the Vietnam War. It was not long before American troops were being withdrawn, giving the South Vietnamese armed forces a greater responsibility for operations.

COMBATANTS

2.6 million American servicemen and women served in Southeast Asia: half of them saw combat; over 58,000 were killed; thousands more were wounded; and all of them had been affected. Estimates of the number of Vietnamese men, women and children who died vary from 1 to 3 million.

The last American troops left South Vietnam in June 1972, but the struggle continued for another three years. By the spring of 1975, the NVA was ready to enter South Vietnam one more time and the attacks began on 10 March. The South Vietnamese forces were soon overwhelmed and chaos reigned across the country as people tried to escape the advancing Communist troops. On 29 April, President Gerald Ford ordered Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of American Embassy staff from Saigon. The following day there were chaotic scenes as helicopters flew to the embassy compound while NVA tanks drove through the streets of the city.

TIMELINES

1967

Pre-Tet Offensive

January–May:

Two North Vietnamese divisions shell American bases south of the DMZ, including Khe Sanh, the Rockpile, Cam Lo, Dong Ha, Con Thien and Gio Linh

8–26 January:

Operation Cedar Falls in the Iron Triangle, the Communist stronghold region north-west of Saigon. 30,000 troops discover large quantities of supplies and kill over 700 Viet Cong in the large area between the Saigon River and Route 13. No decisive battles take place

21 February:

Operation Junction City begins in War Zone C, north of Saigon. 35,000 troops find large supply caches, but cannot locate the Viet Cong headquarters

24 April:

American air attacks on North Vietnam’s airfields begin. The attacks continue all year, seriously depleting the North Vietnamese capability to carry out retaliatory air attacks

May:

Air battles over Hanoi and Haiphong; twenty-six North Vietnamese jets shot down

Late May:

US combat units intercept North Vietnamese Army units moving across the Cambodian border and through the Central Highlands

Autumn:

200 officials arrested in Hanoi, removing opposition to the Tet Offensive

1968

Mid-January:

Three NVA divisions close in on Khe Sanh, focusing MACV’s attention on the security of the combat base

21 January:

NVA bombardment of Khe Sanh begins, marking the start of the seventy-nine-day siege. One shell destroys the main ammunition dump, leaving the base dependent on air resupply

24 January:

NVA tanks overrun a Laotian Army battalion near Khe Sanh

30 January:

Operation Niagara sees over 1,000 tons of bombs dropped around Khe Sanh

Beginning of Tet Offensive

30–31 January:

Attacks begin in the Da Nang area, twenty-four hours too early. Following early successes, the Allied forces quickly regain control of the situation. US and ARVN troops across the rest of South Vietnam are put on high alert

The Battle for Hue

31 January:

During the early hours, the NVA sneak into Hue’s Citadel and take control of key installations. Meanwhile, the Viet Cong seize Hue’s modern suburbs south of the Perfume River

1 February:

ARVN begin clearing Hue Citadel while US Marines start south of the river

10 February:

ARVN troops still struggling to remove the NVA from the Citadel while US Marines have control of the southern suburbs

The Attacks in Saigon

31 January:

Sappers hit key buildings, including the Presidential Palace, the American Embassy and the main radio station. There are also attacks against Tan Son Nhut airbase and Bien Hoa military headquarters in the north of the city

1–4 February:

US troops deploy to regain control of the city streets. The heaviest fighting is in the Cholon district in south-east Saigon

Attacks across the Rest of the Country

31 January:

The Viet Cong attack over a hundred provincial and district capitals. Over the days that follow, US and ARVN troops restore control across the country

The Siege of Khe Sanh Continues

5–8 February:

Attacks resume against the combat base

7 February:

Lang Vei Special Forces Camp is overrun

The Battle for Hue Citadel

10–11 February:

1/5th Marines enter the Citadel

12–21 February:

The Marines fight side by side with the ARVN in a bloody urban battle

22 February:

The Stars and Stripes are hoisted above the Citadel’s south-eastern wall

2 March:

Operation Hue City ends

Securing Saigon

5–17 February:

Operation Tran Hung Dao I, the clearing-up operation across Saigon

Post-Tet Offensive: the Siege of Khe Sanh Ends

30 March

26th Marines strike back, making its first attack since the siege began

1 April:

1st Marines advance along Route 9, at the start of Operation Pegasus

8 April:

2/7th Cavalry enter Khe Sanh base, bringing the seventy-nine-day siege to an end

Saigon

17 Feb–28 March:

Operation Tran Hung Dao I, the continued clearance of Saigon with scaled down forces

8 March–7 April:

Operation Quyet Thang (Resolve to Win), restoring order in Saigon and the surrounding five provinces

16 March:

Massacre of around 400 civilians in My Lai hamlet by troops of the Americal Division. Repercussions immediately felt across the American armed forces and there was outrage across the world when the news broke in 1969

8 April–31 May:

Operation Toan Thang (Complete Victory), securing the area around Saigon

The Mini Tet Offensive

5 May:

119 targets attacked across South Vietnam. Many are over in hours

10 – 12 May:

The Battle for Kham Duc Special Forces Camp

12 May:

Mini-Tet Offensive ends

25 May:

Viet Cong attack six pagodas in Saigon; they are quickly stopped

June:

General Westmoreland approves the demolition of Khe Sanh combat base

1 June

Beginning of Operation Toan Thang II (Complete Victory II), the continued security of the provinces around Saigon

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

South Vietnam’s Geography and Weather

South Vietnam’s varied terrain and seasonal weather affected the nature of warfare waged in the country. While battles were usually fought in rugged mountains, thick jungle, paddy fields or river deltas, a great deal of the fighting during the Tet Offensive took place in urban areas, ranging from the temples in Hue’s ancient Citadel to Saigon’s poorest suburbs.

South Vietnam can be split into three topographical areas: the Central Highlands, the Central Lowlands north of Saigon, and the Mekong Delta south of the capital. The Central Highlands sit astride South Vietnam’s border with Cambodia and Laos, where mountain peaks range from 500–1,000m. The mountains are covered by tropical forests, with some areas covered by multi-canopy trees and elephant grass, and others covered by smaller trees and thick undergrowth. Bamboo thickets, rubber plantations and farms are scattered across the area.

GEOGRAPHY

South Vietnam is long and thin and is never more than 100 miles wide for much of its length. It has over 900 miles of coastline; starting at the Demilitarized Zone, next to the 17th Parallel and the border with North Vietnam, down to the Cambodian border in the Gulf of Siam to the south.

Time after time troops were flown in by helicopter, only to find their adversaries had disappeared. (NARA-111-CCV-93)

The Central Lowlands is the narrow, heavily populated strip along the coast. The Mekong Delta, south of Saigon, is criss-crossed by rivers, canals and paddy fields. It floods during the monsoon season, leaving most areas underwater.

Temperatures are high all year round, apart from in the mountains along the Laotian border. Humidity is always high and monsoons and tropical cyclones alternatively sweep the northern and the southern regions. An average of nearly 3,000mm of rain falls on Hue between November and February, while Saigon has an average of nearly 1,500mm between June and September.

From French Colonial Rule to Communist Takeover

Resistance fighters fought the Japanese across French Indochina during the Second World War. US Army officers watched when Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence in September 1945. In August 1950, US advisors set up the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina, in Saigon to control military aid being sent to Southeast Asia.

THOSEWHOFORGETHISTORY…

Ho Chi Minh never forgot the lessons learned during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. He hoped to repeat the victory by surrounding the US Marines combat base at Khe Sanh, near the Demilitarized Zone, in January 1968. His plan was to overrun the base, scoring a military and political victory over the Americans.

Ho Chi Minh’s troops fought a guerilla war against the French until General Henri Navarre decided to draw them into open battle in November 1953, establishing a base at Dien Bien Phu near the Laotian border. Minh’s soldiers occupied the hills surrounding the base and tightened their stranglehold until the French were forced to surrender on 7 May 1954. Two months later, hostilities came to an end and French Indochina was split into two along the 17th Parallel: the Communist north and the Democratic south.

While the French handed over the south to President Ngo Dinh Diem’s regime, it became clear that the South Vietnamese armed forces needed assistance to secure the country. In March 1955, more US military advisors arrived in South Vietnam and, eight months later, the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, began running training programs.