Page 378 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

Qui Nhon

Since. coloniaL days Qui Nhon city has been the rnain
gate for the supply of seaborne cornrnodities for a large portion of the
Central Vietnarn high1an,1s. The expansion of its port facilities and the
cornpletion of the repair works on Highway l9 have established the
vital econornic and strategic irnportance of the city even rrlore clearly.
This highway links Qui Nhon to Pleiku and leads to Konturn in the
North and Banrnethuot in the South.

The enerny as early as I965, atternpted to take over the
city or at least rnake it the countryrs worst troublespot. He failed
rni.serably in the face of the deterrnined paci{ication drives by the Allied
and local forces stationed there.In early 1967 Qui Nhon becarne one of the
caknest places in the country. Civilian life returned to norrnal even in
the rural areaa several rniles around the city. Towns people, working
for Allied and Vietnarnese governlnent agencies, were better off than
at any other tirne.

In the face of the overwhekning superiority of the friendly
{orces the l8th Viet Cong Regirnent had to break up into srnall units and
rnelt away into rernote xulal areas. The R"egirnent avoided all rnajor
engagernents. The enerny tried to fight a rnajor battle in Qui Nhon proper
within the frarnework of his general off.ensive plan, in order to deflate
the popular rnlth concerning its invulne rability. He cornrnitted a
rrreager assault force o{ less than battalion size - sorne 200 rnen -
to the battle. This battle could only be regarded as a token contribution
to his highly - publicized countrywide general offensive.

A. THE CUI NHON BATTLE

The enerny wanteci very rnuch to capitalize on the elernent
of surprise in the conduct of his assault. The assault, however had been
anticipated by the friendly forces who had gotten prepared for a counter-
attack. Factors unknown to friendly forces, however, were exact know-
ledge of when and how the enerny would unleash their ground assault. Lt.
CoI Phan Minh Tho, chief of Binh Dinh Province, sent out loudspeaker
trucks to roarn throughout the city on the afternoon of Tetrs Eve, to
inforrn the people that firecrackers were banned. This was a counter-

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