guest-smith-g-1

BATTLE of HUE

By G.M. Smith, USMC

Prolog

In the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, a division-sized force of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) soldiers launched a coordinated attack on the city of Hué. Their targets were the Tay Loc airfield at 16°28′35″N 107°34′7.8″E, the 1st ARVN Division headquarters in the Citadel, and the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) compound in the New City on the south side of the river. Their strategic objective was to "liberate" the entire city to help sweep the Communist insurgents into power.

At 02:33, a signal flare lit up the night sky and two battalions from the NVA Sixth Regiment attacked the western bank of the fortress-like Citadel on the northern side of the city. Their objective was to capture the Mang Cu Compound, the Tac Loc Airfield, and the Imperial Palace. The NVA Fourth Regiment launched a simultaneous attack on Hué's headquarters of the U.S. MACV Compound in the southern part of Hué. At the Western Gate of the Citadel, a four-man North Vietnamese sapper team, dressed in South Vietnamese Army uniforms, killed the guards and opened the gate. Upon their flashlight signals, lead elements of the 6th NVA entered the old city.

North Vietnamese regulars poured into the old imperial capital. The 800th and 802nd Battalions pushed through the Western Gate and then drove north. On the Tay Loc airfield, the "Black Panther Company", reinforced by the division's 1st Ordnance Company, stopped the 800th Battalion. Although one battle account stated that the South Vietnamese "offered no strong resistance", the NVA report acknowledged, "the heavy enemy ARVN fire enveloped the entire airfield. By dawn, our troops were still unable to advance."

The fighting for the airfield continued to seesaw, with first the ARVN having the upper hand and then the Communists, the 802nd Battalion struck the 1st Division headquarters at Mang Ca. Although the enemy battalion penetrated the division compound, an ad hoc 200-man defensive force of staff officers and clerks staved off the enemy assaults. General Truong called back most of his Black Panther Company from the airfield to bolster the headquarters defenses, which kept division headquarters secure.

At 08:00, North Vietnamese troops raised the red and blue Viet Cong banner with its gold star over the Citadel flag tower. Three United States Marine Corps battalions were protecting the air base at Phu Bai (approximately ten miles southeast of Hué), Highway One and all western entrances to Hué, when there should have been two complete regiments. The Commanding Officer of the Marines in Hué was Colonel Stanley S. Hughes, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who had already been awarded the Navy Cross and Silver Star for action in World War II and was eventually awarded his second Navy Cross for Hue City.

My Story

Copyright, GM Smith, 2012

Just another day of waking up and eating another box of C- rats. Guess it’s better than the alternative.
Sometimes we have nothing to eat for a day or two.

Boy! When that happens it feels like the pit of your stomach is eating you alive. It growls and hurts and drinking water doesn’t help at all. You get so hungry you even get to looking at some of the bugs these local people eat. Tried one once. Couldn’t get it down. Then the water I drank come up too, leaving a foul taste in my mouth for the next couple of hours. Sometimes when we were on patrol I’d feel weak from lack of food, then KABOOM! A round would be shot at us. Suddenly I wasn’t hungry any more! Head count was taken and luckily no one was hit.

We started walking through the town of Hue. We were strung out along each side of the street. We had buildings that we had to search, one at a time. We went through the first building and it was empty.

As we continued to move along the road, an AK-47 started rattling off at us. RRRaaattttaaattt! One of our men hit the ground. It was my point man. Damn. Just try getting volunteers for point now. Of course, when the shooting started we all moved like a bunch of quail.

“Damn where is that SOB?” The AK sounded off again. We let loose and all our shit flew off in the direction the fire came from. We finally brought the enemy down. When the shooting let up, we moved our dead out while the Medics were taking care of the wounded. Then we continued the search.

I got to thinking, “These guys are good.” “To good to be Viet Cong.” We soon found out they were hardened North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Troops.

One of my men started shooting at a building. He hit one of the guys he had seen. As we approached the building we saw the guy was in NVA uniform. He was dead and hanging out a window. “Keep your eyes open guys.” Seemed to me the bad guys are hiding like rats.

I thought to myself, “If I was NVA, where would I get to see any movement in the whole town?” “Ah Hah!” Why sure, I’d get up to a high place where I could watch the whole area.” And there it was, like a big jewel, there was tallest building in town.

"SHIT!" More folks were shooting at us again. Doesn’t anyone else get tried of this crap? I started shooting at buildings, trying to draw their firepower. Only two guns sounded off this time, a Chi Com machine-gun and an AK47. They were close, but far enough away that I’m here telling this story. Somebody yells, "1st team? You see where that fire is coming from?” "Take it out!” "Ready? Move out!" “Everyone else cover them!”

All kinds of bullets started flying. We poured fire in the direction of the enemy guns. Then an RPG came out nowhere. It was heading for a truck that was sitting beside the road. Kaboom! Thank God, no one was around the truck when the RPG hit it. Shrapnel flew everywhere but everyone was OK. Smart little fucker. He’ll probably try something new now.

I called up the M79 grenade launcher... about that time I heard a rifle go off approx 500 meters.....the bullet I heard go through the air...it missed me and hit my radio man.....my M79 man sent off 5 rounds in the area we heard the round come from........It got awfully quiet.....now

All of a sudden. Kapow! One of our troops fired his M79 grenade launcher in the direction of where the RPG came from. We heard a scream. We sure were hoping that was the bastard that fired the RPG. An AK opened up again. Its bullets zinging around in our area.

The NVA gunfire was getting heavier. The increase in fire from such a small area made us think the NVA were being reinforced so we called in some reinforcements ourselves. It was getting late in the day now an dark sets in fast and its getting harder to see. We heard the 155mm rounds as they made their approach and “Bingo!” on target! “Fire for affect!” Four more rounds landed where the fire had been coming from and everything got real quiet over there.

It was dark so we set up a perimeter to wait for reinforcements. I gave the new guys that old pep talk about how if you sleep you could die. I think I made the point quite clear.

Morning come and head count was taken and everyone seemed to be OK. Nothing seemed to be moving so we took teams and broke going through the buildings but very cautiously.....these fuckers were to good to be VC that weren't regular army

LAST HALF OF BATTLE HUE

You could faintly hear the radio and had to get a new radio man.......to go with it...it will soon be dark ...the bad thing about this the troops are getting tired and sleep follows .......on them fast also...so perimeter had to be established . We could hear on the radio that Dong Ha was under attack and so was Khe Sanh.......These guys are trying to split us up and thin our troops down easier to over run....I think these guys could have to if this continued the way it was going.

Phu Bai had to be the main target....our hospital was located on that air field and the next closes one is setting in the ocean(USS HOPE) .... I received orders to go back to go to Khe Sanh....It took nineteen days to take the area back and then I was getting ready to go home.

Im sure they were still fighting after I left .....a lot of lives were lost on both sides......God saved mine and a few others.....but it was a tragedy for everyone on both sides.....

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