Page 358 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

8..

Like their counterparts in other towns and cities of Viet
Narl the top Nha Trang rnilitary cornrnanders had anticipated the
snsrnyrs Tet offensive rnany hours before it rea1ly rnaterialized. They
did not know exactly how soon and when. Indications of rnajor enerny
troop movernents toward the city lirnits con{irrned earlier sketchy
intelligence reports of the offensive plans.
First to be detected was the enernyrs Regirnent IBB rein-
forced by four sapper cornpanies, four provincial rnobile cornpanies
and one engineer corrlpany. A1I told the regirnent had three cornbat
battalions and 8 cornbat support cornpanies.trVell before Tet, the enerny
stepped up his pressures on the outer perirneter of Nha Trang. The
friendly forces, Vietnarnese and Korean, retaliated with ground sweepg
which covered tens of square kilorneters. The 9th Korean (White Horse)
Division bore the brunt of these sweeps. Enerny field cornrnanders,also
well before Tet,had to study and discuss the irnplernentation of the
North Vietnarnese Cornrnunist Partyrs Resolution No 13 governing the
enernyrs Winter-Spring Carnpaign. This carnpaign included two stages -
preparatory and o{fensive - to be carried out before, during and after
T et.
The enerny dared not launch the of{ensive be{ore Tet.
Local troop cornrnander judged that the enerny would not be so sharne-
less as to violate the Tet truce so blatantly and carry out the offensive
during the period. They guessed that the enerny would launch the offen-
sive sornetirne after the truce ended or soon therea{ter. Their estirna-
tes proved wrong and the enerny capitalized handsornely on the factor
of surprise - at least in the first {ew hours of the o{{ensive'

The enerny started their offensive with the {iring of six
rounds of 8 Zrnrn rnortar on the Navy Training Center. A1I six shells
landed outside the center. It was 35 rninutes past midnight or 35
rninutes a{ter the Lunar New Year. knrnediately after the shelling'
{Iare ships {rom the 6Znd Air Squadron becarne airborne. Counter-
battery {ire was also provided.Then it was a1l quiet again at least {or
a while.

It was not until Z AM, or sorne 85 rninutes a{ter the
initial rnortar {ire, that the enerny launched the infantry assault on
the city. According to staternents by a captured enemy rnortar rnan
the six rnortar rounds should have been closely {ollowed by the planned
ground assault. The delay rniqht have been caused by belated troop

- 36r -