Page 352 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

On the second day of Tet, Jan 31, the enerny launched
desperate assaults on the post office and the radio station. He was
thrown back at both places.

A nurnber of enerny troops who were Iost or hidden in
populated areas continued taking potshots at governrnent troops. A
deterrnined sweep operation was conducted in all suspect areas with
no significant results. The city was back to norrnal a few day later
except for the long curfew irnposed on its civilian population.At night
the enerny slarlrned rnortar she1ls into the city in a carnpaign of
harassment. The shelling continued for two weeks in succession.

The Tet of{ensive cost the enerny an estirnated 500 killed,
including I00 in the airfield perirneter areas, over I00 at the RF-pF
Training Center and nearly 200 inside the city. 300 assorted weapons
were seized and a nurnber of others captured in action throughout the
town,

The friendly side suffered 55 killed, 138 wounded and
one rnissing. Forty three assorted weapons, roostly individual wea-
pons, were destroyed by hostile fire during the fighting.

C. SIDELIqHTS OF THE FIGHTING

',Vhen
the enerny troops invaded populated areas they sent
aII o{ the locaI civilian residents out of their hornes toward safer
areas. People in unaffected areas closed their houses and'stayed horne.
Many of thern however, were curious enough to follow governrnent
tanks and arrnored carriers on counterattack operations to watch the
fighting. Generally the city people seerned disciplined and calrn.
Enerny agents led a crowd of about 1,000 people frorn the Thien An
Mountain area into an anti - gove rnr:tent rnarch on the city. This rnarch
was swiftly dispersed on the outskirts.
The fighting caused cornparatively high civilian casualties
in the city; 61 were killed and ZZ wounded. There were even higher
casualties arrrong people in district towns scattered thoughout the area.
District residents su{fered 322 ki1led and 315 wounded. The province
of Quang Ngai Iost a total of 383 civilians killed and 337 wounded.

Civilian property darnage throughout the province was
generally rnoderate with 1,093 houses cornpletely destroyed and 927
lightly darnaged. Inctuded in this total were the IZZ structures