Hue City
United States forces attempt to retake the ancient city of Hue from the North Vietnamese forces following the events of the Tet Offensive.
History
Huế was the capital of Vietnam for nearly all of the 18th and 19th centuries, and it remained the Imperial city until 1945, when the emperor, a puppet of the French, abdicated. Its location between the northern and older parts of Vietnam and the southern and more recently annexed regions made it a logical place from which to govern. The city is also just a few miles inland from the coast, and it sits on the banks of the Perfume river, giving commercial vessels easy access to the South China Sea.
After the establishment of the North-South divide in 1954, Hue's closeness to the new border, along with its historic nature and economic importance, made the city a prime target for the Viet Cong. In the 1968 Tet Offensive, on the night of January 31st, guerrillas supplied by the North Vietnamese attacked and overran ARVN bases in and around Hue. The ARVN held out valiantly, but failed to prevent the loss of Hue to the VC. An ARVN relief force tried to retake the city over the next month, but was unsuccessful.
US Marines stationed nearby at Phu Bai Air Base were called in to assist in retaking the city. As the battle began, Hue's historical architecture led to a US policy not to bomb or shell the city, which caused a grinding war on the ground. When the policy was abandoned, the US shelling flattened much of the city and created a landscape of rubble and shell craters. By February 25th, the Marines and ARVN finally captured the Imperial Palace, where the last VC holdouts were entrenched. After a month of constant fighting, the destruction of countless historical buildings, and the loss of at least 10,000 lives, Hue was peacefully in Southern hands.
The US and the ARVN defeated the VC at Hue, inflicting about twice as many casualties as they took (around 600 killed, 3,000 wounded, compared to 2,400 killed, 3,000 wounded – the rest of the 10,000 killed were civilians in mass executions). Even so, though, the battle showed the American public that the Vietnamese communists, far from being contained north of the border, were strongly supported even in South Vietnam. Thus, the battle is seen as a major reason for the decisive shift in American public opinion against the war.
Interestingly, the traditional Vietnamese dress, the áo dài (long tunic) and the nón lá (Vietnamese-style conical hat), are most directly derived from Hue fashion of the 18th century. Hue is also famous for nón lá with poems printed on them.
Map Details
Supremacy
Objectives:
- A. Command Post (1 Point, US Army HQ)
- B. Hospital (3 Points)
- C. Governor's House (2 Points)
- D. Ammo Supply Cache (1 Point)
- E. Artillery Position (3 points)
- F. Temple (1 Point, PAVN HQ)
| Faction | Tickets |
|---|---|
| United States Army | 400 |
| People's Army of Vietnam | 400 |
| Time | |
| 40 Minutes |
Territories
Objectives:
- A. Office Building
- B. Apartments
- C. Citadel Walls
- D. Governors House
- E. Pavilion
- F. Temple
| Faction | Tickets | Role |
|---|---|---|
| United States Marine Corps | 400 | Attacking |
| National Liberation Front | 400 | Defending |
| Time | ||
| 40 Minutes |
Trivia
- The map allows the Commander (South Vietnam) to call fire support despite the real life restrictions on certain locations such as the temple.
Gallery
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