The Tet Offensive: Vietnam’s Bloodiest Year | Greatest Tank Battles | War Stories

1968 is the

bloodiest

year

of the Vietnam War American

tank

s are caught in the heat of fighting. There is a misconception that the

tank

s you know were not used much in Vietnam. The tank commander said: bring it to the left, bring it to the left. We started shooting to win the war, the Americans unleashed the military power of their armored forces, our two tanks used savage firepower, but the North Vietnamese counterattacked by sending their own tanks into battle. The next thing I remember seeing was the bullet coming towards us now to the north and south. fight to decide the fate of Vietnam tank against tank in the final phase of the war, North Vietnamese armor really proved decisive the city of H in central Vietnam with its historic citadel and temples P has long been revered by the people Vietnamese as the former imperial capital and center of its culture, but today many buildings are in ruins, riddled with shell and bullet impacts marked by combat during what the Vietnamese people call the American War.

The 1968 war is fought in Vietnam as forces from the North and South fight for control. of the country since 1954 Vietnam has been divided into North and South along the 17th parallel the north is led by hoi Min who is fighting to unify all of Vietnam the partition of the country into two parts the leaders in the north mainly hoochi men simply refused to accept that it was always their goal to reunite Vietnam as a single country, more than just a national conflict, the fighting in Vietnam is also a front line in the global cold war between the United States and Russia, American interest in the war Vietnam was directly related to The Cold War was to avoid Soviet influence in Asia.

They thought that if South Vietnam fell, Indonesia, the Philippines and all of Asia would go communist in 1965 next. American leaders believe the only way to stop Hoan's fighters is to engage them on the ground. Forces to Vietnam on March 8 a small expeditionary force of 3,500 Marines and two tank platoons lands on Denai the Americans are caught in wave after wave of guerrilla attacks by the communists ambushes, rocket-propelled grenades and land mines inflicting heavy casualties on Americans Tanks were not ready for the Vietnam War in 1965, but the broader point must be made: the American military establishment was not ready in an effort to crush the enemy.

United States increases troop levels to half a million as its armored force grows to hundreds of tanks From 1965 to 1968, the number of American tanks increased in South Vietnam because they believed the communists were going to launch more conventional operations. The Northern Command, LRA, is in fact preparing a major

offensive

in 1968, they will attack all of South Vietnam during the New Moon. Holiday

year

known as T and Americans will now have the opportunity. They want to destroy the enemy with their overwhelming firepower. They believed they could lead the communists into a conventional battle. They could defeat them.

January January 1968. A fateful year begins in the Vietnam War. In h City, the streets are full of Vietnamese celebrating the new year and among them are thousands of communist fighters who have infiltrated the city disguised as civilians. The explosions of January 31 shake the city. The Ted Offensive begins. 75,000 communists attack. Towns and cities all over South Vietnam and nowhere else. Is the fighting fiercer than the city of Ha? The American and South Vietnamese defenders are overwhelmed when guerrillas appear out of nowhere in one day. The communists control much of H. City H had particular symbolic importance to the South Vietnamese, as it was the former capital. of the country, American and South Vietnamese reinforcements are rushing to the scene, including M48 tanks from the 3rd Marine Corps Tank Battalion that we had always trained that we will be in the jungle and that we will be in the brush and in this third country in the world and suddenly we are in a city.

I got there and some of the buildings burned down and there were fires in the city and they actually fought street by street and house by house and they called us and said, "Okay, let's saddle up, jump into the tanks and take off the M48 patent." ", is ideal for tank-on-tank combat with a 90mm gun and 110mm frontal armor, but on city streets it is vulnerable to fired anti-tank weapons." at close range Urban combat is always unpleasant because you are fighting at extremely short distances, it's like fighting in a three-dimensional maze, we come to a street corner, I'm looking through this little periscope, suddenly, like in the distance I see a couple of figures running, the tank commander said where, take it to the left, take it to the left, he said, take it further to the left and start shooting, and N9 times out of 10 you didn't even know you were shooting at it. you just shoot, we would have these 5 minutes of crazy action and then we pull back, but in a way there is no front line to withdraw from the fight, it's everywhere we park the tanks and wait for the next call to action and I didn't.

I don't want to get out of the tank the first time because the North Vietnamese were around, tanks in particular are vulnerable because anywhere you have open windows, open doors, building debris, the tank can be attacked from ground level, the tank can being attacked from above two tanks were next to each other, two tank crew who had been outside, everyone was sitting around, the North Vietnamese mortar entered right between the two tanks and took out two or three of the 14 or 15 crew that they were going. There, that first day, almost everyone had been evacuated and replaced by someone else.

When you arrive in a country in a combat zone like Vietnam, they give you a little time to acclimatize and give you some guidance on what to do. It was to be expected but there was no time for that, we found out we were going in and we went in, that's where we first found the vehicle which is the tank I ended up in, we were basically replacing the crew that got hit. and uh, I found myself as a replacement gunner, I was in a pretty horrible condition, it was to be expected, you know, the tank commander had basically had his face taken off, so there was blood around the tank commander's cup and he I could see inside the turret.

The inside of the tank could be covered in blood, body parts, things like this, but they just put you in that tank and you moved on, so I thought, "Oh my God, what's going to happen now?" All I remember is that the Pluto commander told us what to expect, you know, this was not a country of tanks. He says we will go through streets in an urban environment. Tanks offer the disadvantage that they are limited to the roads and areas they can move through so that the communists can attack more easily. ambushes in areas where they thought the tanks would go, guys could be hanging out the window, trying to drop a satchel load on it, if someone shoots you with heavy weapons in front of you, you're basically stuck on this street and all you can do es back off, but the tank is going much slower than what is shooting at you days after the armored reinforcements arrive, the Americans still can't dislodge the communists from ha, the United States was worried about public opinion in the battle of ha, since having the Vietnamese communists take the city for a period of time was embarrassing since as the fighting drags on above us, commanders are worried that images of tanks destroying the historic city will anger the American public, the rules for participation in h were more restrictive because it was an urban area and one of The strange things about this war I realized I had heard of it, but I thought it was just the veterans making fun of the newbies , they told me that sometimes they were in a shootout and they had to ask permission to I returned fire, I said no, that doesn't happen.

I was walking down a street and I happened to be looking through a scope at a window of a building and I saw this flash and a tree branch went flying like something had HIIT. I'm looking at this building. The driver saw the gun, but he didn't know what it had. RPGs were North Vietnam's main anti-tank weapons. They were essentially a reusable grenade launcher, but were absolutely deadly to navigate. Tell the can Commander let me put it in there He says no, wait what you have to call and request submission to the fire. He had visions of 900 rocket propellant grenades, all pumping holes in the tank and turning it evil.

Time slowed down a bit. The tank commander got permission from him and before the word fire came out of his mouth that blew a hole in the building, the communists are finally expelled from Ja, but much of the city is in ruins. American casualties are high and confidence in a quick victory in Vietnam is shaken American public opinion was the major victim of the Ted Offensive Before the Ted Offensive American politicians said we can see the light at the end of the tunnel we are about to defeat the Vietnamese communists the fact that the Vietnamese communists could launch A major

offensive

throughout South Vietnam suggested that light was not near the end of the tunnel. 40,000 South Vietnamese civilians are victims of the Ted Effect Offensive and more than 45,000 communist fighters are dead or wounded, but their men's forces are still fighting on other battlefields where they hope to turn the tide of the war in the remote mountains. from central Vietnam a rusting American tank recalls the fierce

battles

fought here in 1968 a reminder that the North Vietnamese were entering a new phase of the war with a new weapon their own tanks the NVA had tanks as early as 1959, however , they were in a school, they did not use their tanks in battle until 1968, at that time the NBA was equipped with the PT 76, it was a tank manufactured by the IET, an amphibious tank, it was useful to infiltrate South Vietnam, so that can move them from North Vietnam across the number of waterways they would have had to cross and now the NVA will use their tanks to spearhead a major attack to take over the large American combat base at Kesan, they will infiltrate from North Vietnam North through Los Angeles and Crossing the border along Highway 9 and attacking Quesan, it was believed that the invasion of Quesan would be a prelude to a much larger operation to take parts of the northern provinces of South Vietnam. .

If they had been able to take the northern provinces, it would represent a discernible defeat. victory Highway 9 South Vietnam January 1968 the NVA begins its advance along the highway NVA infantry and tanks will attack their main objective Kasan must first take a small US Special Forces base protecting the route just 10 km away in Long V la Mass of North Vietnam Almost 2,000 soldiers and 16 tanks to attack and defend the base are only 24 American Special Forces soldiers supported by 450 local mercenaries. Well, we got a call from the captain in Long Bay who said, "Okay, long stretch, Greer, go ahead and bring in your troops." We're going to disperse them around the perimeter so we can defend this camp.

He said the other night that there were some tanks in Los Angeles. He said he thought there were about three or four of them and I said, "Okay, why are you?" telling us that tanks had never been used before in the South Vietnam War and that what was happening in Los Angeles was his business, so when we moved, we established our position, started digging bunkers and everything that the artillery of North Vietnam in the mountains began shooting at the five Special Forces. base, they could look right at us, so they were putting up some pretty effective fire every night.

The night of February 6, 1968 falls on Lang and at this point we sense that this may be the communists are about to unleash their attack. Leading the assault will be the PT 76 of the NV's 198th Tank Battery. The PT 76 is a Soviet-designed light tank with a crew of three, it is armed with a 76.2mm main gun but has only 17mm of frontal armor when the North used tanks. At Lang for the first time it represented the beginning of a change in their strategy, they were prepared to combine conventional operations with Gorilla operations when the PT 76 reached the base perimeter, the sudden appearance of so many NVA tanks took the Americans by surprise.

Sergeant in the bunker with me, he said sir, I only have one thing to tell you: we have tanks in The Wire. I said, seriously, tanks in The Wire? Come on man, suddenly I'm like, oh, wow, look at that. that is a Russian tank that is a PT 76 the Americans come out of their bunkers and prepare their main anti-tank weapon the 106 mm recoilless rifle and then boom the 106 is fired they knocked out the first tank they opened thegap they put the second The round took down the second tank placed around took down a third tank, but the Americans soon ran out of ammunition for the 106, just as the NVA sends more tanks to the attack, the Americans fire mortars to try to stop the second wave of tanks, but the NBAA Press the tank PT 76 It tilts down with a long reverse, so I dropped under the wall, you know I had a light anti-tank weapon and I open it, I take the safety off the light tactical weapon M72 or the law fires a 66 mm.

A high explosive anti-tank projectile that should penetrate the armor of a. I click it and throw it to the ground. Let me know the law is proving to be unreliable and the PT-76 tank is shutting down so I tried three of these things and they wouldn't. I didn't fire, so with the third one I lined up the sights right in front, where I thought the driver would be in the tank. I go and I can see the bullet, it goes down like that and it hits right where I go boom and it goes up. in the air like it's not supposed to, the rocket bounces harmlessly off the PT 76, now the tank crew turns their attention to the American bunker and then the tank stops, cl cl, starts moving its big cannon towards us, you know, and I thought.

It's time to get out of this bunker. The North Vietnamese have adopted the American tactic of using overwhelming tank firepower. Lang's defenders are on the brink of defeat after a few hours of combat. The Vietnamese hold most of Lang Base any longer and the remaining Special Forces fall back to their last defensible position, the Tactical Operations Center or speak, which is this underground bunker where all the Ros radios and command signals are turned off and the NVA wastes no time. As we fully pressed their attack on the defenders in the tactical operations center and sure enough we heard a tank and here it comes boom boom boom but the Americans have learned a lesson about the pt-76 and I said, I think we can kill it from the side I said that Don't shoot him in the front, it doesn't work, we apply that law on the arm of the tank, so we shoot him down and here comes one behind him, so I shoot but it doesn't kill him, they can.

I'm not going anywhere and destroy the runway so now they're brandishing the gun so I still have a law on my shoulder and I went ahead and fired another PT 76 is destroyed the relentless NVA tank attack approaches in a long retreat and the Defenders comes out another tank here we go with the old one, so I knew what was about to happen desperately without anti-tank weapons Long laugh He heads to the talk to look for more, so I went down the stairs just as I reach the bottom and the a concussion me threw through the entrance, so that was pretty much the beginning of the end for us, the NVA tanks overran Lang trapped in the talk bunker, the Americans refuse to surrender, I mean, they were hanging all over the sewing hangar and shooting and St and suddenly this tank stops above this bunker, we can see the earth falling out of the sea.

At the corner, driving a multi-ton steel beast and spinning it over and over the bunker, it was likely that in their minds they had caused a surrender, but Lang's defenders hold out in the bunker in an act of desperation, calling for a airstrike against the NVA, they are at the top of their own position, such decisions are never made lightly, they are going to get involved in something that could sacrifice their own lives for the greater good the dangerous tactic pays off when airstrikes They force NVA tanks and infantry to retreat and allow American Le TR troops to escape on February 7.

The North Vietnamese eventually take Lang, losing seven tanks in the attack but proving their armor can be decisive against the Americans with Lang eliminated. , the NVA now focuses its attack on the large American base at nearby Kesan in Quesan. Lang's survivors, including Long Reer, are arriving from the 24 American special forces. 21 are casualties but they find they have exchanged one version of hell for another queson is under intense artillery bombardment with shells landing every 10 seconds in early 1968 queson was surrounded had been isolated by North Vietnamese forces immediately before Ted's offensive and subjected to prolonged bombing raids against the North Vietnamese Siege of Kesan trapping about 6,600 South Vietnamese marines and troops and a detachment of M48 tanks.

I volunteered for a tank mission and volunteered to go to Quan. The siege of Quesan for me personally was, I hope, the closest I get to hell. The US base is a battalion of the 325th NV Division with about 600 soldiers preparing to assault the outpost on Hill 64 near the western edge of Kesan Combat Base and a position known as The Rock Quarry. . The rock quarry was a null place where there were two. tanks one in front and one behind the other uh as if hidden from the enemy February 8, 1968 in the early hours of the morning the NVA soldiers were approaching the American perimeter we would go out very voraciously at night uh looking for enemies with our zeeon scope, they dug trenches and tunnels leading to our lons until they were between 50 and 100 m from our trenches and our lines.

NVA soldiers silently creep forward to plant explosives under the barbed wire that could melt through our lines like a hot knife through butter. Of course, we didn't know what was coming and now the NVA commanders give the signal to attack and I heard the bugle clearly and knew what it meant and saw the flares. It is the signal to detonate dynamite and make holes in the perimeter cable. NVA machine guns and mortars begin firing on the base. We were hit by a barrage of artillery mortars. NVA infantry storm the hill toward the American position. It was the Alpha 1 19 outpost that was on Hill 64 and they were being overrun.

The marines withdrew. their bunkers and retreat, the NVA reached the top of their Hill 64 with the intention of destroying the American positions, but there were only a couple of things standing in their way and they were two tanks in places like the Kesan tanks that could not hold the ground, but We could certainly try to prevent someone else from taking the maneuver of the American tanks behind the enemy attackers, but they are forced to fire on their own positions now protected by the NVA, so we had to warm up something there and That's what the tank commander did and that's what the gunners were shouting and shouting and asking us to fire a dozen and a half dozen shots and place many of them directly into the same bunkers that our troops were in, just Minutes before our tanks put out Savage Firepower, the counterattack forces the NV to retreat. but not before they demolished American bunkers in the battle for Hill 64, the North Vietnamese lost 150 tank kills and played a pivotal role in the siege of Quan.

We showed the enemy that we could be at any point they chose and that we could be there in a matter of moments The NVA loses thousands of men attacking Kesan The siege is finally lifted in April, but soon after the Americans completely withdraw from the base which they had fought so hard to maintain. 1968 is the deadliest year of the war for the United States, with more than 15,000 Americans killed in combat, the death toll fueling the anti-war movement, with protests breaking out across the United States. United and around the world. 1968 represents a turning point for the American will to fight what the American public discovered they were attacking. having to pay a much greater cost to save South Vietnam from the communists and it is at this time that the American public began to turn out in much larger numbers than before, as the United States grows tired of the war, the North Vietnamese remain determined to continue Fight and defeat your enemies, new offensives are planned and tanks will be crucial as the communist campaign to unite the country expands.

Hoi's guerrilla fighters are now a modern army ready to take on the most powerful nation on Earth. 1969 to replenish its forces in the South. Vietnam, the NVA moved troop supplies and tanks south through the Hoochi Min Trail, a series of routes that ran thousands of kilometers through jungles. The Hoian Trail was a nickname for the communist route for communications. Logistics and infiltration in South Vietnam to disrupt enemy supplies. In chain, the Americans have a line of fire bases along the Hoien Trail from which to attack the communists. One of the most isolated is the Benet Special Forces Camp, located in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, near where the Hoim Min Trail runs through neighboring Laos and Cambodia. an important target due to its location, if they had been able to take it, it would have opened the door to operations that could split the country in two.

The base occupies three hills, with the West hill being the closest to the trail. It is protected by the tanks of Company B. of the 1st Battalion of the 69th Armored Regiment of the US Army. In early 1969, NVA commanders decide to attack Ben Head, leading the attack on the base, there are up to 10 tanks PT 76, the NBA believed that tanks would play a decisive role at Benh Hat on March 3, 1969, three M48. Tanks are entrenched on West Hill protecting Ben Hat Firebase. We had them entrenched. They were in trenches. You know, all that was sticking out was a gun tube.

What's happening? As night falls on the base, all is quiet until the Americans hear the engine. noises coming from the other side of the nearby border The Special Forces Unit had a team with one of their lieutenants and they reported that there were tanks moving between us and the borders. We took out our night vision devices and scopes and started looking. We saw the PT 76 is out there, the first tank-on-tank battle of the Vietnam War is about to begin. To be honest, I'm overall surprised that he came to us. Ben Head represents tank-on-tank action by accident.

I find it hard to believe the North Vietnamese would do it. Use a PT 76 against an M48. Two PT 76s are quickly knocked out of action, but the third approaches the American tanks and opens fire. The next thing I remember seeing was the projectile coming toward us and getting closer to us. The bigger the projectile seemed. I like that it just fell over, but it didn't hit the loader hatch and when it did, it knocked a tank commander out of the compartment, threw me off the rear deck, he and I ended up 15 20 feet behind the tank, cut the The two crewmen on my left, half on Two each, half on the rear deck and half on the ground, the pt-76 shell killed and wounded the M48's crew, knocking it out of action. , the remaining American tanks.

They beat the NBA attackers, finally the communists retreat at dawn. The next morning is when they saw that at least two tanks had been destroyed, although the North Vietnamese would launch more infantry and artillery attacks in the coming months, they failed to capture Ben, but the tank-on-tank battle fought here marks a deadly escalation in the conflict the NBA's use of tanks represents an increase in NV's confidence and ability to wage conventional war in July 1969, more than 40,000 Americans have died in Vietnam and there is still no end to the war in sight September 2. North Vietnamese leader Hoi Min dies, but his dream of a united and independent Vietnam lives on.

You can K 10 of our men for everyone, us, Ken, yours, but even us, those who are outside, you will lose and we. They will win The Americans begin peace talks with the North Vietnamese and announced that they will begin to withdraw their troops. We have adopted a plan that we have developed in cooperation with the South Vietnamese for the complete withdrawal of all American ground combat forces that the American tankers had. They were among the first to arrive in South Vietnam when the US believed they could win a quick victory with their overwhelming firepower. Now they are among the first to return home as North Vietnam transitions from guerrilla warfare to conventional warfare.

Its tankers are preparing to play a bigger role. their fight to unite the country and as the American war is ending, the fighting in Vietnam enters its decisive phase 1972 the majority of American forces withdrew from Vietnam leaving the South alone to defend itself due to the American withdrawal, the economy of South Vietnam was weaker than them. He doesn't have that much money to spend on his own defense. However, the north strengthens its forces with the help of the Soviet Union and communist China, who supply them with new and powerful tanks. Soviet aid allowed them to rebuild their forces for future operations.

The North Vietnamese did believe they could defeat the South in a conventional war in the spring of 1972. The Communists launcha new offensive. The attack will be the largest of the war and will be led by hundreds of tanks. When people think about Vietnam and tanks, most people make jungle assumptions. but there were areas that were very, very good for tank employment, particularly in the northern provinces. The main tank assault falls in the border provinces where the communists believe the enemy is weakest. This was the first time the North Vietnamese used tanks and masses during the war.

In Vietnam, for the attack, the North Vietnamese deployed 30,000 soldiers and more than 150 tanks that defended the northern provinces. There are almost 30,000 South Vietnamese soldiers and dozens of M48 tanks. On March 30, 1972, the attack begins as NVA troops cross the border into South Vietnam with them. two armor regiments that include the most modern tank, they have the t54, the t-54 is a Soviet designed main battle tank intended for tank warfare, its arm with a 100 mm main gun and is almost 10 cm long frontal armor, the NVA plan. Use their tanks to capture the provincial capitals of Quang Tree and when given control of the northern provinces, to do so they must cross a vital bridge over the Kavet River in the city of Donga.

The Donga Bridge was important because I could drive. armor traffic had it fallen into communist hands they would have been able to continue further south and reach Saigon as NVA tanks approach donga the South Vietnamese army rushes its newly formed 20th tank battalion to defend the bridge. They have 42 M48 tanks and are ordered to hold donga at all costs the South Vietnamese tanks take position on High Ground overlooking the bridge they wait for the NVA tanks to come into range as the NVA tanks approach the bridge they enter a kill zone South Vietnamese open fire with deadly weapons Accuracy: 11 enemy tanks are hit, but a T-54 reaches the bridge and begins to impale a lone South Vietnamese marine meant to stop it with an anti-tank gun.

If the bridge is captured intact, the NVA can advance to Quang Tree City. His first shot misses. he has one rocket left his second shot jams the enemy's turret the crippled t-54 retreats the defenders blow up the bridge preventing the NVA tanks from crossing the communist offensive continues for another 7 months, at which time the north loses hundreds of tanks but They gain control of around 10% of South Vietnam. The Vietnamese communists denied that the end was in sight. At the beginning of 1975, the NVA mounted another offensive, but their tanks began to attack positions in the south and advanced towards the capital Saigon on 30 April 1975 as the last Americans flee the tanks of the The 23rd Nevada Armored Regiment reaches Saigon.

One of the iconic images of the war is one of those tanks that knock down the doors of the presidential palace in a short time. The Vietnam War is finally over. The entire country is now ruled by the communists in the final climactic phase. of the war, North Vietnamese armor really proved decisive. More than 5 million Vietnamese die in the

battles

fought in the Vietnam War. War cemeteries and memorials bear witness to the terrible price they paid to be unified and independent.