Tet turned city of Hue into bloody battlefield

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Tet Offensive started on Jan. 30, 1968, the eve of Tet (the Vietnamese lunar new year): More than 80,000 soldiers from the People’s Army — North Vietnamese and southern allies — staged simultaneous attacks on cities, towns and U.S. bases throughout the south, a mass occupation meant to inspire the rest of South Vietnam to rise up in solidarity. One of thosecities was Hue.

Battle of Hue

The battle raged for more than a month, from Jan. 31 to March 2, 1968.

Forces involved: It began with two companies of U.S. Marines and the 1st Army Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam fighting more than 8,000 members of the People’s Army — the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. It ultimately took eight battalions of U.S. Marines, troopers from the 1st Cavalry Division and 11 South Vietnamese army battalions to turn back North Vietnamese andViet Cong forces.

The toll: 384 ARVN soldiers killed, 1,800 wounded and 30 missing; 147 U.S. Marines killed, 857 THAILAND

Source: Esri, Warfare History Network

wounded; 74 Army deaths, 507 wounded. An estimated body count of Communist forces totaled 5,000 in the city; 80 percent of the city was destroyed, 116,000 civilians left homeless and an estimated 5,800 reported killed or missing. Of those, 2,800 bodies were discovered in mass graves and barely concealed smaller sites inside and outside the city.