Battle of Saigon (1968)
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First Battle of Saigon | |||||||
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Part of the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War | |||||||
Black smoke covers areas of the capital city and fire trucks rush to the scenes of fires set during attacks by the Viet Cong during the festive Tet holiday period. Saigon, 1968. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
South Vietnam United States Supported By Australia |
Viet Cong North Vietnam | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu William Westmoreland Robert McNamara |
Trần Độ Trần Văn Trà | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | 1,100 killed |
The First Battle of Saigon, fought during the
Background
In late January 1968 the VC launched the Tet Offensive attacking U.S. and South Vietnamese positions across South Vietnam.
Battle
The Vietcong launched 35 battalions at Saigon. Sapper Battalions and the local forces attacked the Presidential Palace, the National Radio Station, the U.S. Embassy, and other principal targets.
The VC 5th Division launched an attack on the military bases at
Adams photograph
The fighting in Saigon produced one of the Vietnam War's most famous images, photographer Eddie Adams' image of the summary execution of a VC prisoner on February 1, 1968. Nguyễn Văn Lém was captured by South Vietnamese national police, who identified him as the captain of a VC assassination and revenge platoon, and accused him of murdering the families of police officers. He was brought before Brigadier General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, the chief of the National Police, who briefly questioned him. Loan then drew his sidearm and shot the prisoner. Nguyễn's motives may have been personal; he had been told by a subordinate that the suspect had killed his six godchildren and a police major who was Loan's aide-de-camp and one of his closest friends, including the major's family as well.
Present at the shooting were Adams and an
Aftermath
By early February, the communist's high command realized that none of their military objectives were being met, and they halted any further attacks on fortified positions. Sporadic fighting continued in Saigon until March 8. Some sections of the city were left badly damaged by the combat and U.S. retaliatory air and artillery strikes in particular. The Chinese district of
As cited in the Spector book on page xvi, "From January to July 1968 the overall rate of men killed in action in Vietnam would reach an all time high and would exceed the rate for the Korean War and the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters during World War II. This was truly the bloodiest phase of the Vietnam War as well as the most neglected one."
The Vietcong attacked targets in and around Saigon with much success during the May Offensive from 5 to 30 May, 1968.
References
- ^ Winslow, Donald R. (April 19, 2011). "The Pulitzer Eddie Adams Didn't Want". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "1968 Eddie Adams SN1". World Press Photo. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
Bibliography
- James R. Arnold (1990). The Tet Offensive 1968. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-98452-4.
- ISBN 0-02-930380-X
- CBS news coverage (1968)