The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Tet 1968 - Jan. 31st, 2004

http://members.fortunecity.com/stalinmao/Vietnam/VietnamWar/tet.html ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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TET OFFENSIVE


1968

Tet: The Turning Point

Four-star General Vo Nguyen Giap led Vietnam's armies from their inception, in the 1940s, up to the moment of their triumphant entrance into Saigon in 1975. Possessing one of the finest military minds of this century, his strategy for vanquishing superior opponents was not to simply outmaneuver them in the field but to undermine their resolve by inflicting demoralizing political defeats with his bold tactics.

Giap was prepared to take a gamble. His divisions had been battered whenever they met the American forces in conventional combat and the VC- if not exactly on the retreat -was at least being pushed backwards. Hanoi was perfectly aware of the growing US peace movement and of the deep divisions the war was causing in American society. What Giap needed was a body-blow that would break Washington's will to carry on and at the same time would undermine the growing legitimacy of the Saigon Government once and for all.

In one sense, time was not on Giap's side. While Hanoi was sure that the Americans would tire of the war as the French had before them, the longer it took, the stronger the Saigon Government might become. Another year or so of American involvement could seriously damage the NLF and leave the ARVN capable of dealing with its enemies on its own. Giap opted for a quick and decisive victory that would be well in time for the 1968 US Presidential campaign.



Giap prepared a bold thrust on two fronts. With memories of the victory at Dien Bien Phu still in his mind, he planned an attack on the US Marines' firebase at Khe Sanh. At the same time the NVA and the NLF planned coordinated attacks on virtually all South Vietnam's major cities and provincial capitals. If the Americans opted to defend Khe Sanh, they would find themselves stretched to the limit when battles erupted elsewhere throughout the South. Forced to defend themselves everywhere at once, the U~ARVN forces would suffer a multitude of small to major defeats which would add up to an overall disaster. Khe Sanh would distract the attention of the US commanders while the NVA/VC was preparing for D-day in South Vietnam's cities but, when this full offensive was at its height, it was unlikely that the over-stretched American forces would be able to keep the base from being overrun and Giap would have repeated his triumph of fourteen years before.

It's highly doubtful that the NVA/VC expected to hold all or even some of the cities and towns they attacked, but the NLF apparently did expect large sections of the urban populace to rise up in revolt. With a few exceptions, this didn't happen. South Vietnam's city dwellers were generally indifferent to both the NLF and the Saigon Government but the VC clearly expected more support than it actually got. The object of attacking the cities was not so much to win in a single blow as it was to inflict a series of humiliating defeats on the Americans and to destroy the authority of the Saigon Government.

When the US/ARVN forces finally drove the NVA/VC back into the jungle, there would be left behind a wasteland of rubble, refugees, and simmering discontent. Stung by their defeats, the Americans would lose heart for the war and what was left of the Saigon Government would be forced to reach an agreement with the NLF and Hanoi which - after a time - would simply take over in the South. This offensive would begin in January 1968 at the time of the Vietnamese Tet (New Year) holidays.



The village of Khe Sanh lay in the northwest corner of South Vietnam just below the DMZ and close to the Laotian border. Khe Sanh had been garrisoned by the French during the first Indochina war and became an important US Special Forces base early on during the second. Its importance lay in its proximity to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. From Khe Sanh, US artillery could shell the trail and observers could keep an eye on NVA traffic moving southwards. If necessary they could call in air-strikes or alert CIA/Meo raiding parties across the border in Laos. Special Forces working with local Montagnard tribesmen also harried NVA traffic in the area and were a definite nuisance to Hanoi. In 1967, the Marines took over Khe Sanh and converted it into a large fire base. The Special Forces moved their base to the Montagnard village of Lang Vei.



Towards the end of 1967, it was obvious that Giap was planning something. Broadcasts from Hanoi were speaking of great victories and of taking the war into the cities of South Vietnam. Two NVA divisions- the 325th and the 304th were spotted moving into the Khe Sanh area and a third was positioning itself along Rout#9 where it would be able to intercept reinforcements coming in from Quang Tn. The two NVA divisions near Khe Sanh had fought at Dien Bien Phu and the warning was clear. Westmoreland picked up the gauntlet and began to reinforce the base despite predictions of upcoming bad weather which could hinder air support and interfere with vital supply planes.

Appearances to the contrary, Westmoreland had no intention of duplicating the French mistakes at Dien Bien Phu. American airpower was capable of delivering devastating attacks on concentrations of enemy troops and - apart from anti-aircraft guns - was unopposed. Helicopters and parachute drops by low-flying cargo planes reduced the dependence on re-supply by road.



By late January, some 6,000 Marines had been flown in to reinforce the Khe Sanh garrison and thousands of reinforcements had been moved north of Hue. The NVA build-up also continued; 20,000 North Vietnamese were ultimately moved in around Khe Sanh but other estimates put the number at twice that. Initially, Giap would position his artillery in the DMZ and then send his assauIt troops against the fortified hills surrounding Khe Sanh which the Marines had captured in the dogged fighting in 1967.

Having captured the hill positions, Giap reasoned, the NVA artillery could be moved onto the heights above the beleaguered base. Then - as happened at Dien Bien Phu - waves of determined infantry would steadily grind away until the defenders were pushed into a corner and finally over-run. The White House and the US media became convinced that the decisive battle of the war had begun. TV news reports were so obsessed with Giap's threatened replay of Dien Bien Phu that day-to-day life at Khe Sanh became lead-story material even when it showed nothing other than anxious Marines waiting for something to happen.



The first attack began shortly before dawn on January 21st, when the NVA attempted to cross the river running past the base. It was beaten back but followed by an artillery barrage which damaged the runway, blew up the main ammunition stores, and damaged a few aircraft. Secondary attacks were launched against the Special Forces' defenses at Lang Vel and against the Marines dug-in on the hills surrounding Khe Sanh but these attacks were aimed more attesting the defenses than anything else. The next day, helicopters and light cargo aircraft flew in virtually every few minutes replacing lost ammunition but the weather began turning worse.



The NVA began a concentrated artillery barrage and moved their troops forward to begin building a network of entrenched positions in which they could prepare for further assaults on Khe Sanh's outer defenses. Anti-aircraft guns and the worsening weather made incoming supply flights difficult running skirmishes designed to break through on Route#9. Air and supporting US forces moved-up to engage the NVA in running skirmishes around Khe Sanh and were intensified and despite the weather- pounded the North Vietnamese hour after hour.

Electronic sensors of the types running along the McNamara Line surrounded Khe Sanh. Seismic and highly sensitive listening devices enabled the Americans to monitor everything from normal conversations to radio communications. Overhead, high-flying signal-intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft intercepted communications traffic over the entire front and to and from command centers in North Vietnam. While the world was watching the drama unfolding at Khe Sanh, however, NVA and VC regulars were also drifting into Saigon, Hue, and most of South Vietnam's cities.



They came in twos and threes, disguised as refugees, peasants, workers, and ARVN soldiers on holiday leave. In Saigon, roughly the equivalent of five battalions of NVA/VC gradually infiltrated the city without anyone informing or any of the countless security police taking undue notice. Weapons came separately in flower carts, jury-rigged coffins, and trucks apparently filled with vegetables and rice.

There was also a VC network in Saigon and the other major cities which had long stockpiled stores of arms and ammunition drawn from hit-and-run raids or bought openly on the black-market. It was also no secret that VC drifted in and out of the cities to see relatives and on general leave from their units. Viet Cong who were captured during the pre Tet build up were mistaken for regular holiday-makers or deserters. In the general pattern of the New Year merry-makers, the VC's secret army of infiltrators went completely unnoticed.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[SAMWolf]

Morning Darksheare.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Bulldogs. Snippy didi a great job on the last two threads.

[Darksheare]

Morning.
Just got the car inspected today.
It passed.
Even though I probably should replace the passenger side ball joint, drive shaft and bearing.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning Sam, how you feeling today? So sorry you are ill. I still have an ugly cough that does not want to let me go.

Stay warm Sam, this stuff is ugly.

[snippy_about_it]

Oh no. You still have the cough. You are at least a week ahead of me on this. I was hoping the cough would leave soon darn it. Grrrr. This is a tough one.

[SAMWolf]

Today seems to be the day it hit full strength, headache, cough, congested, chills, etc. Just got up cuz the bedroom is being cleaned.

[SAMWolf]

Air pollution inspection?

[bulldogs]

A great home remedy for colds and congestion:

Take 1 pound of fresh ginger root, cut it up and simmer it in water for 3 hours. Keep the lid on it so the water (tea) does not evaporate. Tastes real nasty but it works every time.

[Darksheare]

Don't have one of those due yet.
Besides, the cat converter is probably so clogged and melted that the pollution inspection would read wacky dacky.

But the exhaust system still works.
*chuckle*

[Soaring Feather]

Well, get back into that bed ASAP.

[Soaring Feather]

Thanks for the tip. Not sure I will be able to use it, I have no fresh ginger and would have to walk to the store to get some.

[snippy_about_it]

Your welcome. Vietnam will always be a tough subject.

[snippy_about_it]

Hmmm. You're not there yet, should I sing you a lullaby?

[Light Speed]

VC Sappers light up flight line..

Satchel charges....grenades,Runners tossing them....MP's and Soldiers attempting to achieve containment in the chaos that broke out everywhere it seemed during TET.

Mortar teams..RPG teams....teams left behind on pure suicide missions to continue the havoc..knowing the U.S. would eventually ident them in place and kill them as the hunt played out.

Giap put an effective action forward that did unhinge the U.S. opperation structure...

The U.S. was able to recover via asset numerics and communication.

The Cong did all this principly with low yeild munitions....and it was brilliant.

Giap tried to devide South Vietnam in 65..and was stopped cold in the Idrang...here his scheme to create an uprising in the south failed.
This occured again during TET..the populace was to fickle to commit...the years of Communist propiganda and terror influence failed.

U.S. forces would have won Vietnam for Democracy if the politician had not interviened so much..

A war of wills....

The North eventually got is desire..but principly on the fact that the U.S. withdrew military projection from Vietnam.
The South got what they desrved in a sense...for they never commited to the U.S. assistance.
In the end..their fickle habits earned them bondage..loss of freedom and poverty as the Communist ident easily filled the vacumn.

Giap was a master..no doubt.
But at every chess move..even in its shocking brilliance..the U.S. countered with resolve and co-ordiantion to route them.

The Idrang showed the metal of the U.S. armed forces.

Idrang would teach Giap that this would be a long fight...and his forces would suffer near 7-1 losses in the field.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

For...


..'WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE and YOUNG'..


...at the Battle in the Valley of Death that was the IA DRANG of November 1965.


http://www.lzxray.com


http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_collection.htm
(IA DRANG-1965 Photos)

.

[snippy_about_it]

Excellent post Light Speed. Good afternoon.

[snippy_about_it]

Hi Ronnie, thanks for the bump at the Foxhole.

[Light Speed]

Hi snippy: )

Although the IA Drang was different than TET ..it is a key comparison point in the overall scope..that being Giaps move to create an uprising from the souths populace which would be like a wave to overwhelm U.S. command.

A failure at IA Drang could have..could have seen a chaotic fall back akin to what occured in the Korean war.

Reaction and recovery is everything in war...failure in this regard requires force projection several times to effect a return to what was..and here..this outcome is still an unknown.
losses are the tally in this regard of reaction and recovery.
In WW-2....untold numbers of *Hundreds of thousands of Russians perished ,,just reacting and overcomming the German military offensive at Stalingrad.

The U.S. losses during IA Drang counted to the last individual.

Failure at IA DranG could have changed the scope of Vietnam..and if the fickle politician had behaved in 65 like thay did later...the picture of the U.S. defeated and sent packing quickly would have shocked the world and ruined Americas credibility in the cause to stall communisms advance.

IA Drang may seem a little action comparred to so many of the battles of the Vietnam war...yet it was zenith in its message and success.

Americas soldier had the needed character...America would fight!

[Professional Engineer]

My next e-mail to him will ask him to explain why that I heard his political stand was "To the left of Ted Kennedy and behind Barney Frank".

ROFLMAO You're bad.

[snippy_about_it]

Speaking of American soldiers with character..
The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Lt. Col. Harold G.(Hal) Moore - Sep. 6th, 2003.