The Battle of Hue: February 2, 1968 — I Like to Hear Myself Talk History

Expanding the Toehold

***Pfc. Dominic Carango of Hotel/2/5 covers fellow Marines on the streets***
*US National Archives*

The third day of the Battle for Hue dawned again cold, rainy and overcast. None of the soldiers within the darkened streets harbored any illusions at this point regarding the difficulty of the fight ahead, and the growing pile of body bags at the MACV compound paid a mute testimony to the savagery of the fighting. The compound would today run out of bags as casualties mounted.

Word had generally not gotten out about the fighting in Hue, but that would soon change. This morning Gene Roberts, a correspondent for the New York Times who had been staying at the MACV compound, sent out his own firsthand account of the fighting in Hue. This would be published in the morning edition, across the front page. This represents the first even somewhat accurate report in the American media about the ongoing battle.

Outside the city, Elements of the 1st Cavalry Division were preparing to move out for Hue. Cobra helicopters of Bravo/2/5Cav today flew a mission to sweep the area west of the city for enemy forces. They later report 38 enemy KIA on their mission. This was not to be the only movement today, however, as the 2/12Cav is sent out by air from Camp Evans to the ARVN outpost at PK17 further down Highway 1. They are to march from PK17 to the city, closing off the NVA route of reinforcement and resupply within the city in the process. The troopers, under the command ot Lt. Col. Dick Sweet, are to move out in the morning. Almost no intelligence is available, aside from a vague report about possible enemy activity in the area of the village of Thon La Chu, which lies in their path.

***A Marine of Alpha/1/1 fires his M16 from behind a tree***
*USMC Photo*

The Citadel

In the citadel General Truong had spent the previous day consolidating his position in Mang Ca and marshalling reinforcements, and this continued today. He now had an additional battalion of 1st Division infantry, as well as the 1st ARVN Airborne Task Force, which had been airlifted into the citadel over the day. With these new units, a counterattack was commenced on the morning of February 2, with the Hac Bao, who had distinguished themselves defending Tay Loc Airfield when the offensive began, leading the 2nd and 7th ARVN Airborne Battalions to retake the airstrip. This was accomplished, representing one of the largest gains by allied forces thus far in the battle.

1/3/ARVN was then deployed to follow the paratroopers, with the battalion pushing along the northwestern wall of the Citadel to secure the flank of the ARVN advance to the airfield. While this was happening, the other 1st Division elements, surrounded outside the Citadel, remained unable to break out. Despite this, they were also still holding tenaciously in the face of the NVA attacks on their position.

***The Citadel: 2-2-1968***
Mang Ca/ARVN 1st Division Headquarters - The ARVN pushes out of the compound today, to drive the NVA back along the northern wall of the citadel.
Tay Loc Airfield - ARVN forces successfully recapture the airfield today
North Wall - ARVN troops advance along the wall to secure the flank of their drive on the airfield
Position of 3/1/ARVN and 4/1/ARVN - The two ARVN battalions remain surrounded against the wall near the southern corner of the citadel, but are holding
Imperial Palace/NVA Headquarters
Dong Ba Post Office - Location of a major VC indoctrination center

***Marines advance with tanks at intersection of Dui Tan and Le Loi Near Hue University*** *USMC Photo*

The Triangle

Despite the terrible situation, for many at MACV it was devolving into something of a routine. On the roof of the main building of the compound, for example, sandbags had been erected along with a cooler full of orange soda and radio. Men sent up here would later recal casually listening to the Senior Bowl on AFVN while periodically taking potshots at NVA on the streets below.

The day began in the triangle with the Marines of Golf/2/5 heading out from the MACV at 0950, bound for the MACV communications post on the edge of the sugar field. The mission is over quickly, with the staff extracted and the transmitter disabled before the Marine pulled back to MACV. The next move of the day would come at 1200, as Golf/2/5 attacks the NVA in the Hue University main building. The structure, situated on the intersection of Highway 1 and Le Loi Street, provided a commanding view of the approaches to the bridge as well as the LZ at Doc Lap Park. They would not be able to enter the building until after hours of fighting, with the point units entering at 1445. As they do so the Marines of Foxtrot/2/5 begin to clear the other structures directly around the MACV compound. AS they clear the nearby National Police Station, they encounter two officers holed up in the attic with a captured machine gun. They are vetted and sent to MACV.

Meanwhile, to the south at Phu Bai, another Marine company was being loaded onto trucks to be driven into the city. The men of Hotel/2/5 were loaded into a convoy of seven trucks, along with the two Army quad .50 trucks, but with the increasing NVA presence on Highway 1 orders came down to cancel the move at 1000 pending the arrival of additional units. These would arrive an hour later, in the form of two more Army M42 Dusters and two Marine M50 Ontos tank destroyers. They finally departed Phu Bai at 1417, with all the Marines loaded for bear with thousands of rounds for small arms as well as numerous M72 LAW rocket launchers. This force was commanded by Marine Capt. Ron Christmas.

***A group of vehicles lef by an Ontos pull up alongside the MACV compound***
*USMC Photo*

Despite earlier concerns about the NVA on Highway 1, the convoy made it past the roundabout without incident, but a cratering charge caused a truck to crash as they crossed the causeway over the sugar field. The NVA then opened fire from the surrounding buildings, and the Marines were forced to sweep and clear the buildings with support from the armored vehicles in the convoy. The convoy is eventually able to get moving again, leaving three Marines stranded in the crater. These three would later fight up the street to the MACV alone.

The reinforcements joined into the ongoing fight for Hue University at 1600, as the Marines already there were mopping up the last pockets of NVA resistance within the school. The NVA would counterattack at the University at 1815, but were repulsed at 2200, leaving the building under the control of the Americans. This represented the first major success for the Marines in Hue, but other targets still remained. The ARVN were still holding at the Thua Thien Provincial Prison several blocks west of MACV, and yet another mission is ordered in the afternoon, with the attacking Marines being ambushed on Truong Dinh Street. In the ensuing struggle one Marine, LCpl. Ernie Weiss, grabbed two M16s and fired them from the hip (“Rambo Style”) to cover the extraction of a fallen fellow Marine. The attack was called off soon after.

The Marine company commanders now in Hue; Christmas, Meadows and Downs, were by now thoroughly unimpressed with Col. Gravel’s leadership. They were of the opinion that Gravel was not pushing back hard eough against unrealistic orders from Phu Bai, and the effects on the morale of the Marines in the city was beginning to show after three days of fruitless, bloddy attacks. Later that night however, as Hotel/2/5 took up its new positions inside Hue University, good news arrived. Word begins to circulate that the commander of 2/5, Col. Ernest “Big Ernie” Cheatham, is coming to the city in the morning to take command of the situation. Indeed, Cheatham had already arrived at Phu Bai that afternoon.

Having set up at Phu Bai, Cheatham had busied himself studing what information was available concerning the Marine Corps’ urban warfare doctrine, and subsequently set to gathering as much equipment as he could for the battle ahead. This haul would include large stocks of hand grenades and C4 explosives, as well as flamethrowers and recoilless rifles, and several old M20 Super Bazookas along with ammunition. Cheatham intended to immediately begin to rectify the situation in the city tomorrow, putting an end to the nearly suicidal attacks that were being ordered by Phu Bai.

The Prison had been holding for three days against determined NVA attacks, and on the night of February 2 it finally fell. One of the ARVN guards opened the gates to allow the NVA to storm the building, quickly killing the other guards and securing the facility. The NVA then quickly set about releasing and arming all of the inmates housed within, making no distinctions between the political prisoners (VC and sympathizers) and violent criminals. These would quickly join in both the fighting in the streets as well as the death squads that roamed.

February 2, 1968

Expanding the Toehold

The Citadel

The Triangle

February 3, 1968

February 1, 1968

I Like to Hear Myself Talk History