February 16, 1968
Putting the NVA Against the Wall
After a day of intense fighting for the Dong Ba Gate, the Marines in the eastern Citadel were preparing to push southward, crushing the remaining NVA against the southern wall and the Perfume River beyond.
Thick clouds of black smoke rise from the Citadel
US National Archives
The Citadel
At 0430 the NVA launched another counterattack in the Citadel, and again the US Marines were driven from the Dong Ba Tower they had fought so hard for the day before. The tower itself was, by now, little more than a mound of rubble, but the fighting for the wrecked building was fierce until the Marines finally retook it for the last time shortly before dawn. Two Marines, Sgt. Bob Thoms and Selwyn Taitt, were able to spring to the base of the tower, lobbing in grenades to clear it.
Marines in position near the Dong Ba Gate, with the ruined tower in the background. Note the Marine in the foreground armed with a captured Chinese Type 56 AK rifle.
Image uploaded by user manhhai on Flikr, Stars and Stripes photo, Original Color
As the tower was secured again, the NVA attempted limited counterattacks along the US line on Mai Thuc Loan Street, with little success. The Marines launched their own attack at 0800, with Delta/1/5 pushing into the heavily defended area along the wall south of the Dong Ba Gate while Bravo/1/5 advanced into a series of heavily fortified concrete buildings. Charlie/1/5 encountered little resistance near the Palace, and many of its Marines were sent to aid Bravo Company. Alpha/1/5, which had been badly mauled during the initial action near the Dong Ba Gate on February 13, was operating near the northwestern corner of the Imperial Palace, and found itself under heavy fire from RPGs, with the resulting casualties resulting in the near destruction of what remained of the company. When a patrol is trapped, the demoralized men refuse to volunteer to rescue them until Lt. Pat Polk arrives to take command, personally leading a squad to rescue them under heavy fire. With the boost in morale provided by Polk’s leadership as well as replacements, the company was able to remain combat effective.
Marines speak with civilians at a roadblock
US National Archives
At 1200 in the area near the Palace where Charlie/1/5 was operating Corporal Paul Cheatwood would become the only enlisted man to win the Navy Cross during the Battle of Hue, when he volunteers to take a squad to neutralize an NVA machine gun nest. He ended up separated from the other Marines and encountered eight NVA soldiers, who he engaged with his sidearm and grenades, clearing the nest but suffering wounds in the process. He is later evacuated.
Meanwhile, Delta/1/5 again pushes onto the wall itself, engaging the NVA both atop the structure as well as on the streets. For a while they are cut off by the NVA, but by the end of the day the rest of the company has linked up with them. As they do, for the first time the skies today are consistently clear enough for air support, with both RVNAF A1 Skyraiders and assorted USMC and USAF planes flying sorties over the Citadel. Naval artillery was also being fired into the Citadel, although with limited effectiveness, as the trajectory of the guns often put the shells into the walls or overshoot.
Vietnamese refugees around a hut in the Perfume River
US National Archives
In the western Citadel, the Vietnamese Marines continued to push southward as well, as the NVA abandoned their positions near the Chanh Tay Gate to regroup further south. The 4th RVNMC Battalion, which had been stuck at Phu Bai due to a lack of transport, also arrived today to further reinforce the South Vietnamese forces in the Citadel.
Also today, intercepts from NVA radio by the ARVN at Mang Ca confirmed that the NVA was using the Imperial Palace as a headquarters as well as a field hospital and supply dump, and in response ARVN mortars began to fire on the Palace, disrupting the NVA operations there. By the end of the day only nine blocks remain between the RVNMC line and the southern wall. The same remain for the Americans, although it should be noted that the South Vietnamese face larger residential areas as opposed to the compacted, heavily built up area the Americans do.
“Message, intercepted from the commander of the enemy force inside Hue to his superior, states that original commander of the force inside Hue had been killed or wounded. He recommended to withdraw. Senior officer ordered new commander of the force in Hue to remain in position and fight.”
Today the Signals Intelligence staff at Phu Bai intercepted a conversation between the NVA commanders in the Citadel and their superiors that confirmed the ARVN reports they had killed the commander of the 6th NVA Regiment the previous day. It also confirmed that the NVA had orders to stand and fight to the death in Hue. The NVA commander in the Citadel also today came to the conclusion that the civilians were serving as little more than human shields for the advancing American and South Vietnamese forces, and in turn issued orders for free fire on civilians in the battle zone. The communist dream of a general uprising was truly dead.
Vietnamese women wash clothes in the Perfume during the battle
US National Archives
The Citadel: 2-16-1968
Mang Ca - 1st ARVN Division Headquarters
Tay Loc Airfield
RVNMC Line
USMC Line
Dong Ba Gate - After falling to the NVA again in the morning, US Marines retook the gate for the last time today before pushing south along the wall
Alpha/1/5 Position
Imperial Palace - NVA Headquarters, today hit by ARVN mortar fire
Huu Gate - The main artery of NVA reinforcement and resupply into the Citadel, today ARVN artillery destroys an NVA battalion seen marching into the city through the gate
Citadel Gates - Flags indicate controlling faction
The Hamlets
Today General Creighton Abrams flew from Phu Bai to PK17, where he met with General Tolson to discuss the situation at Thon La Chu. Reports from Lt. Col. Vaught, commander if 5/7 Cavalry at Thon Lieu Coc Thuong, suggested as many as three thousand NVA dug in around the hamlet, with a defense in depth prepared with pillboxes interlinked with trench lines. Tolson requests Abrams provide additional air and artillery support assets, as well as quad .50 trucks and M42 dusters. All are approved.
A volley of shells is fired from USS Providence at a target in Vietnam
Date unknown
Meanwhile today, the cavalrymen themselves remained in position, as the the area around Thon La Chu, known to the men o 5/7 Cav as TT-Woods, was subjected to a concentrated air and artillery bombardment. USAF planes hit the area with radar guided bombs dropped through the overcast, their 35 tons of ordinance and 10,000 pounds of napalm joined by a thousand shells from the Army battery at PK17 and four thousand naval shells. The NVA remained in their positions despite the massive bombardment.
The Hamlets 2-16-1968
Thon Lieu Coc Thuong - 5/7 Cavalry Position
Nui Nha Nhan - 2/12 Cavalry Position
Thon Bon Tri
Thon Que Chu - Massive US artillery barrage and aerial bombardment occurs throughout the day.
Thon Que Chu - NVA Tri-Thien Hue Front Headquarters