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Battle for Hue: Tet 1968

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The Tet Offensive was long over in most parts of South Vietnam but the fighting carried on from house to house in the city of Hue. Nolan vividly captures the efforts of those left to defend and take back the city.

Action in Vietnam was generally in the lush mountainous jungles of the countryside. However, the battles of Hue were as deadly as any city fighting of WWII. The defenders were in battle day after day with little or no releif. Platoons literally fought to the last man.

I have read most of Nolan's books on Vietnam and consider this a must for anyone attempting to know and understand what the American fighting man experienced in-country. His work is a fantastic testimony to the valiant effort of a few to stave off the attack of a well prepared and persistent enemy.

An excellent book. Perhaps the only improvement would be the addition of more detailed maps so that the reader is able to follow the events as they arise. As a Marine veteran, I seldom read anything concerning the Vietnam war because most of the books are not very factual. However, this book is well written and reveals a great deal of research. There is NO fiction here. Nolan once again demonstrates his outstanding literary talents. I agree, I dont understand how Hollywood has let this slip away.

THE AUTHOR, KEITH WILLIAM NOLAN, DUMPS THE BATTLE FOR HUE CITY IN YOUR LAP. A COMPLELLING ACCOUNT OF THE U.S. MARINES FIGHT FOR THE IMPERIAL CITY OF SOUTH VIETNAM IN 1968. NOLAN DOES A FANTASTIC JOB IN PROVIDING JUST ENOUGH FOREGROUND SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE FIGHT. SUPERBLY WRITTEN THROUGH THE EYES OF NUMEROUS VETERANS THIS BOOK LEAVES YOU DASHING ACROSS STREETS AND SLAMMING INTO COURTYARD WALLS.

THIS IS NOT DIALOGUE AS PRESENTED BY VETERAN'S. RATHER IT IS A MASTERPIECE IN WHICH HE TELLS THE STORY OF THE BATTLE FOR HUE CITY USING THESE VETERANS IN CHARACTER.

THIS BOOK IS EASY ON THE EMOTIONS, LEAVES YOU WITH A VERY GRAPHIC SENSE OF THE BATTLE, AND AN AMAZINGLY LIGHT READ.

SEMPER FIDELIS!

The latest read I've experienced from Keith Nolan, Tet 1968 gave me an understanding I never got from text books or movies. I felt that I was there, and understood how the grunts felt. I have read most of Nolan's other works and find this to be a deserving addition. My next is Into Laos/Lam Son 719, which I was finally able to track down after four years. I expect more of the same realism, unwavering accuracy, and action filled narrative that I did in Tet 1968.

Keith William Nolan died in 2009 from a familial type of lung cancer at the age of 44.

I read every one of his books, and re-read several of them, including this one.

His writing style, especially for historians and military veterans, was absolutely engaging. Nolan had the uncanny ability to synthesize complex battles and campaigns into readable histories, using a combination of military unit history, oral history, and classic published history.

Nolan was simply head and shoulders above other war historians, particularly 'Nam historians.

Nolan's works are studied at War College and West Point.

Not a Veteran, and yet he served.

Reading this book I felt like I was in Hue reliving the battle. I enjoyed the writer's style and easy to follow flow of the storytelling. A must read for any serious Viet Nam war history buff.

Unlike most battles of the war in Vietnam, the Battle for Hue City was a house-to-house urban street fight against a well-armed enemy that held fortified defensive positions in the third largest city in the country. Hue was a two-part city divided by the Perfume River. North of the river was the old walled city, known as the citadel. South of the river was a smaller part of the city, with substantial government, educational and church buildings.

In late January 1968, the North Vietnamese ("NVA") and the Viet Cong ("VC") without detection successfully infiltrated thousands of soldiers and large quantities of food and ammunition that would be in place for a surprise attack in the early morning of January 31, the start of the national Tet holiday. Surprise was achieved and suddenly there were North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers everywhere, attacking the key points in both parts of Hue. The 1st Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam ("ARVN"), which was at half-strength because of the holiday, had its headquarters in the northeast corner of the citadel. In the southern part of Hue, across the Perfume River, was the Military Assistance Command Vietnam ("MACV"), consisting of U.S. Army and Marine advisors, and a group of Australian advisors to the ARVN. After heavy fighting, both the ARVN headquarters and the MACV repulsed the initial North Vietnamese attacks. Except for those two limited areas, the NVA and VC were in control of both parts of Hue.

The book details the agonizing efforts to get Marine reinforcements to the scene in the face of North Vietnamese attacks along the highway and poor weather, which inhibited air support. The author then walks the reader with the Marines along the narrow streets of the southern part of Hue City where the North Vietnamese and VC had embedded themselves in stone buildings. At every turn of the road, the Marines encounter machine gun fire from fortified positions. Eventually, the southern sector is cleared and the Marines are ordered to link up with the ARVN and clear the citadel of the enemy. All told, the battle lasted twenty-six days. The narrative is very well written and it personalizes the experiences of many of the Marines on the scene.

The story virtually ignores the role of the ARVN, except to repeat a host of negative comments made some of the Marine grunts and their officers. Then, a little more than halfway through the book, there is a complimentary summary of the fighting by the ARVN Black Panther Company during the first week of the battle. Near the end of the book, there is another paragraph or two containing favorable comment about the Black Panther unit at the close of the battle. Those two comments seem out of place. It gives the impression that these two parts may have been added in response to criticism of the text omitting any coverage of the ARVN. Unfortunately, the coverage of the ARVN participation in the battle does not have the same level of factual detail that accompanies the story of the Marines. The number of ARVN killed and wounded was about double that of the Marines. The number of casualties inflicted on the enemy by the ARVN is not stated.

Although many photographs and two maps enhance the story of the battle, the map of Hue City is marred by the book binding which runs right across the southern part of the Perfume River, obliterating most of the things that the reader will want to see. It would have been better had the map been repositioned on the page or, in the alternative, been made smaller.

This author shows lack of knowledge about the North Vietnamese and Vc troops who fought at Hue. This lack of knowledge means that the readers have no clue of why the battle Hue lasted for several weeks.

According to two recently publish Communist books: "Hue, Spring 1968, Ban Nghien Cuu Dang[the Communist Party Research committee], Hue, 1988" and the "Tck-tkn [General offensive-General Uprising 1968, Ban Nghien Cuu Dang[the Communist Party Research committee], Ho Chi Minh City, 1988". The Nva/Vc troops in Hue consist of 4 full strength regiments: the E1, E5, E8, E9 and several battalions from the E6 regiment several sapper battalions (E is the NVA denote for regiment). Only the South Viets Hac Bao Company, most of who during the New Year was on leave, defended Hue. The Nva attacked on the first day of the Lunar New Year and quickly gain control of the city. After which they release 2,300 violent criminals from the city prison and armed them and the city VC sympathizers to form the "Nghia Quan"[Rightous Army]. In total the Nva/VC have around 9,000 to 10,000 troops in the city including the "Nghia Quan' criminals. On the second day of the New Year, the ARVN 1st Airborne Brigade consists of the 2nd and 6th battalions fought their way into Hue by way of An Hoa. They succeeded in getting into the city and later the ARVN 9th Airborne battalions; fresh from their victory at Quang tri also joined them. It's true that the S. Viets ask the Americans for help after the second week of battle but it was not due to S. Viets troops cowardice, it was due to lack of men power(which the author did not clarify).

The ARVN who fought at Hue consists of the Airborne, then later the Marines, Rangers and the 1st Division, the best fighting force in Vietnam war. However, initially, the S. Viets leaders do not want the ncient city of Hue to be destroyed and forces the S. Viets and Americans to fight with little or no air and artillery support. This means the cost in retaking the city from 8,000 well-fortified enemies has to be done hand to hand. During the week of the battle, the S. Vietnamese 2nd and 7th battalions went from 500 men each down to only 200 men. The S. Viets 9th airborne battalion went from 400 men to only 100 men, the rest were killed and wounded. The S. Viets marines and ranger battalions that later came to join in the fight was fresh from the battles in Saigon without replacement and were all at or around half strengths. A typical S. Viet airborne battalion consists of 500 men, 800 men for the Vietnamese marine battalion and 450 men for the Vietnamese ranger battalion. The Nva/VC also lost a tremendous number of men and o both sides settle down to defensive and probing attacks. This also is true for the USMC since the US marines for the first two weeks or so, fought only during the day and then retreat to the MACV compound at night, this go on until sufficient troops and allies replacement have arrive. The battle for Hue was bloody and vicious, the S. Viet dead was twice that of the U.S marines, as for the Nva/VC most of their troops die during the battle for the city.