Page 368 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

The CIDG cornpanies suffered seven killed and ten wounded. The deci-
mated enerny battalion withdrew to the we st.
On Tet Day rnorning, Jan 30, enerny agents rnarshalled a
civilian dernonstration with about 200 banner and flag-waving people
frorn Dien Khanh district. The crowd dispersed swiftly after its Com-
rnunist leaders were shot and arrested. Arnong the leaders were two
enerny agitation - pr opaganda agents.

The enerny po sitioned in neighboring civilian houses still
fired harassrnent fire on the oefenders of the radio station whose arn-
rnunition stocks were running dangerously low. By rnid rnorning each
of the de{enders only had an average o{ thirty rounds per rnan. The guard
platoon leader, Master Sergeant Ngoc, sent one o{ his rnen out of the
station to the logistics company cornpound to ask for arnrno supplies'
The rnan was caught halfway and ki1led by the enerny. One of the trap-
ped civilian employees of the radio station, Mr Nguyen Dong, volunteered
to do the risky job. He took a brief handwritten note frorn Sgt Ngoc to
the logistics rnen and sorne two hours later, around noon, one truck
rnanaged to rnake its way into the partly besieged radio station with
sorne 7,000 rounds. The defenders alrnost ernptied their guns ofthe
last rounds o{ arnrno in order to provide fire cover {or their buddies
who were bringing the arr]rn o in frorn the truck which was an enemy
tatget at this tirne. The resupply really saved the stationrs guard
platoon that night when the enerny attacked again to seize the station.
The assault was thrown back without rnuch difficulty.

The enerny force of about Z1 rnen was alrnost wiped out
at the province adrninistrative headquarters cornpound, though it had
succeeded in entering it. The province chief, LTC Khanh, and his farnilT
were at their residence, inside the cornpound during the entire night'
The enerny apparently did not believe the province chief lived in so
srna11 a house well inside the cornpound. The enerny left the house
rrntouched LTCKhanh took his wife and their four children into an in-
door bunker where they stayed until he brought them out aboard an
arrnored car around nine orclock the following rnorning, Tet Day' After
taking his wife and children to the bunker.LTC Khanh and his four
soldier bociyguards swiftly rnanned the cornpound's only two arrnored
personnel carriers. One of the two carriers could not rnove, its batte-
ries were dead so it had to stay in place and strafe at the advancing
enerny. The other carrier did an even rnore beautiful job and accoun-
ted for the larger part of the 17 enerny killed. The rernaining four
enemy chose to fight frorn inside the province adrninistrative office

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