Page 362 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

larger bands using {orged identification' The underground agents had
lived in town for sorne time or had been city residents with adequate
and regular identifi c ation s . This was the first tirne theT surfaced frorn
their underground status in order to openly fight city defenders. The
larger part of this Group emerged frorn the Dong Bo (Ox I'ield) jungle
war zone.
Group I split into five task tearns : Team I attacking the
cityrs western section with the radio station, the Ngo Quyen Carnp, the
railroad station area andwater Tank Hill ; Tearn II striking the cityrs
eastern section with the provincial adrninistration headquarters, the
Khanh Hoa Sector Cornrnand and the Fi{th Logistics Cornrnand cornpound;
Tearn lII striking the cityts southwestern section with the carnPs of the
55lst Signals Cornpany, the 51st Transportation Battalion, the arrny
stockade and the Pontoon Engineer C ornpany ; Tearn IV attacking the
northern section of the city with the rnission of blowing up the Xorn
Bong bridge and blocking reinforcement frorn the Noncorn Training
School ; Tearn V serving as the artillery suPPort unit.

Group II included only two companies of the understrength
8/18B Battalion with a cornbined total of about 300 rnen. Its assignrnent
was to block government reinforcernent and relief troops. It perforrned
this rnission in the Binh Cang area.
In addition the enerny also kept two reserve cornpanies of
the 9/I8B Battalion to bolster the 8/t8B Battalion in case the latter
rnoved into town,
The enerny's subsidiary political and agit-prop units in
Dien Khanh district, according to enerny docurnents, were assigned to
herd civilians in and out of town and into anti-governrnent dernonstra-
tions and riots. Their purpose was to give the enerny ground o{fensive
a strong touch of a people's revolution to overthrow the local govern-
rnent. The enerny had planned to conduct four such demonstrations
which were to start frorn the Phuong Cui, Phuong Sai, Cau Ha and Cho
Darn areas outside the city. These dernonstrations were to convetge
on the Cong Hoa (Republica.r) Square which was opposite the province's
inforrnation service building. In addition the enerny planned to lead
two rnarches frorn the city's suburbs into town. These and other rnar-
ches had been conceived to bolster the proposed Khanh Hoa Alliance
for Dernocracy and Peace and to dernand that the allied troops pu1l out
of Vietnarn and "stop interfering in Vietrnese affairs'r-

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