First Battle of Saigon

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=First Battle of Saigon
partof=the Vietnam War


caption=A dead Viet Cong on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. 31 Jan. 1968
date=January 30, 1968 - March 7, 1968 during the Tet Offensive
place=Saigon, South Vietnam
casus=
territory=
result=Allied tactical victory
Communist propaganda victory
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1=Nguyen Van Thieu William Westmoreland
commander2=Vo Nguyen Giap
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=
casualties2=
casualties3=
notes=The First Battle of Saigon fought during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War was the coordinated attack by communist forces, including both the North Vietnamese Army and the Vietcong, against Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam.

Background

In 1968 the communists launched the Tet Offensive. They attacked South Vietnam from all sides, largely by undercover VC.

Saigon was the main focal point of this offensive, but a total takeover of the capital, by military units, was not intended or feasible. They rather had six main targets in the city which 35 battalions of Vietcong were to attack and capture: the headquarters of the ARVN, President Thieu's office, the American Embassy, the Tan Son Nhut air base, the Long Binh Naval Headquarters, and the National Radio Station.

Battle

Attacking from all sides of the capital Saigon, the NVA, and VC launched 35 battlions at Saigon. Sapper Bns and the local forces attacked the Presidential Palace, the National Radio Station, the U.S. embassy, and other principal targets.

The 5th Vietcong Division launched an attack on the military bases at Long Binh, and Bien Hoa. The North Vietnamese 7th Division launched an attack on the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, and the 5th ARVN Division at Lai Khe. The VC 9th Division attacked the U.S. 25th Infantry Division at Cu Chi.

Adams photograph

The fighting in Saigon produced one of the Vietnam War's most famous images, photographer Eddie Adams' Pulitzer Prize-winning image of the summary execution of a Viet Cong prisoner on February 1, 1968.

Nguyen Van Lem was captured by South Vietnamese national police, who identified him as the captain of a Viet Cong assassination and revenge platoon, and accused him of murdering the families of police officers. He was brought before Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the chief of the national police, who briefly questioned him. General Nguyen then drew his sidearm and shot the prisoner. Nguyen's motives may have been personal; he had been told by a subordinate that the suspect had killed a police major who was one of Nguyen's closest friends, and the major's family as well.

Present at the shooting were Adams and an NBC television news crew. The photograph appeared on front pages around the world and won eight other awards in addition to the Pulitzer. The NBC film was played on the Huntley-Brinkley Report and elsewhere, in some cases the silent film embellished with the sound effect of a gunshot. General Westmoreland later wrote, "The photograph and film shocked the world, an isolated incident of cruelty in a broadly cruel war, but a psychological blow against the South Vietnamese nonetheless."

Aftermath

By early February, the Communist 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 Cholon suffered especially, with perhaps hundreds of civilians killed in the American counter attacks.

Notes

References

*cite book
author=James R. Arnold
title=The Tet Offensive 1968
publisher=Praeger Publishers
year=1990
id= ISBN 0-275-98452-4