A Week in Hell Hue /2 – Big Board Gaming

Prior posts: https://bigboardgaming.com/a-week-in-hell_1/

Not realizing it, the Marines of 1/1 had walked right into a deathtrap. The 800th and 802nd battalions of the NVA 6th Regiment had launched a two-pronged assault from the west in the early morning hours of January 30. Storming through the lightly defended gates, their plan was to destroy the ARVN’s 1st Division near the Citadel. However, both NVA units were repulsed by the ARVN’s elite Black Panther Battalion and their drive was abruptly halted. Brigadier General Ngo Quang Truong, 1st ARVN Division commander, a short, wiry man, had heeded the reports of mass NVA/VC troop movements and consolidated his forces in the HQ compound. Although half his men were on leave because of the Tet holiday, he managed to deploy his units and keep the enemy at bay.

While this fight was raging on, two additional units, the 804th and K4B battalions of the NVA 4th Regiment, swept in from the south and east to attack the MACV compound in Hue. Two hundred Americans held off the enemy throughout the night. Meanwhile, another NVA unit, the 806th Battalion, set up blocking positions on roads leading out of the city to the north and yet another enemy unit, the KC4 Battalion, did the same in the south, along Highway 1. In all, nine enemy battalions were firmly entrenched in the town.

Around noon, news of Alpha Company’s Hue dilemma had reached Task Force X-Ray (1st Marine Division Forward HQ) at Phu Bai. Lieutenant Colonel Marcus J. Gravel, commanding officer of 1/1, quickly set out with his operations officer Major Walter J. Murphy and Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines (2/5), attached to Gravel’s command.

Racing up Highway 1, 2/5 reached the beleaguered Marines and, with cover fire, were able to drive the NVA back. The wounded were evacuated, and Batcheller, peppered by shrapnel, was medevaced to the 1st Marine Medical Battalion at Phu Bai. Pushing forward, the Marines reached the MACV enclave and hastily established a perimeter. They also secured the Navy boat ramp and the base of the Nguyen Hoang Bridge, an important move, since it was directly across from the Citadel. A small park near the boat ramp was utilized as a landing zone (LZ). A few Marine and ARVN tanks formed a semicircle around the LZ to protect it from enemy fire across the Perfume River. The Marines had gained a small foothold.

Excerpt from :
https://www.historynet.com/storming-the-citadel/