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Battle of Hue Timeline

(January 31, 1968 - March 3, 1968)

The Battle of Hue was fought during the Vietnam War as part of the 1968 Tet Offensive, when North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces captured the city of Hue in central Vietnam. U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese forces waged weeks of intense urban combat to retake the city, resulting in heavy casualties on all sides, widespread destruction of the historic imperial city, and the discovery of mass graves containing thousands of civilians executed during the communist occupation. Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Background

End of Huế's era as national capital

1945

In 1945 Huế ceased to be the capital of Vietnam under the Nguyễn dynasty, ending more than 140 years of imperial rule centered on the city. Its historical importance remained a source of symbolism throughout the Vietnam War.

Image source: Huế

End of Huế's era as national capital

Buddhist crisis centers on Huế

May 8, 1963 - Nov 2, 1963

Huế had been at the center of the Buddhist crisis of 1963, a period of political and religious unrest in South Vietnam that drew international attention and destabilized the government of Ngô Đình Diệm.

Image source: Buddhist crisis

Buddhist crisis centers on Huế

Buddhist Uprising erupts in Huế

Apr 5, 1966 - Jun 19, 1966

The Buddhist Uprising of 1966 was another period of unrest in which Huế stood at the center. Other than the city's Catholics, its population of Buddhists and intellectuals were lukewarm supporters of the Nguyễn Văn Thiệu–Nguyễn Cao Kỳ government.

Image source: Buddhist Uprising

Buddhist Uprising erupts in Huế

Westmoreland strategy credibility undermined within Johnson Administration

Nov 1, 1967 - Nov 30, 1967

Events in November 1967 undermined the credibility of General William Westmoreland and his strategy of attrition warfare within the Johnson Administration, setting the stage for the strategic shock delivered by the Tết Offensive.

Image source: William Westmoreland

Westmoreland strategy credibility undermined within Johnson Administration

American forces committed in Vietnam for nearly three years

Jan 30, 1968

By the beginning of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive on January 30, 1968, which coincided with the Vietnamese Tết Lunar New Year, large conventional American forces had been committed to combat operations on Vietnamese soil for almost three years.

Image source: Tet Offensive

American forces committed in Vietnam for nearly three years

Battle Events

Trị-Thiên-Huế Political Directorate issues battle instructions

Jan 26, 1968

In a 3,500-page document issued by the Trị-Thiên-Huế Political Directorate, political cadres were given specific instructions: destroy and disorganize the Republic of Vietnam's administrative machinery from province and district levels down to city wards, streets, and wharves; motivate the people of Huế to take up arms, pursue the enemy, seize power, and establish a revolutionary government; and recruit local citizens for military and security forces.

Image source: Battle of Huế

Trị-Thiên-Huế Political Directorate issues battle instructions

PAVN-VC launch coordinated attack on Huế

Jan 31, 1968

In the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, a division-sized force of PAVN-VC soldiers launched a coordinated attack on the city of Huế, beginning the longest battle of the Tết Offensive.

PAVN troops cross canal bridges toward key targets

Jan 31, 1968

After battling RF troops guarding a series of four bridges over the canal, some PAVN troops crossed into the city and headed for targets including the Montagnard military school, the CORDS center, the Le Loi transportation camp, the provincial administration complex and prison, and the Thừa Thiên Provincial Headquarters.

Sappers seize Treasury Building, post office and radio station

Jan 31, 1968

A company helped a group of sappers seize the Treasury Building, the post office and a radio station a few blocks to the north, securing key administrative and communications sites in the early hours of the battle.

Encircled battalion breaks out at night to Nha Nanh hill

Jan 31, 1968 - Feb 1, 1968

Losses continued to mount throughout the day from mortar and small arms fire, and that night the battalion commander decided to break out from the encirclement by a night march to an ARVN position on Nha Nanh hill, from where they could be resupplied and casualties medevaced.

Marines begin assault into southern Huế

Feb 1, 1968

US Marines began house-to-house fighting to retake southern Huế. The initial assault was on the left flank by Company A, 1/1 Marines, which was tasked with securing a Catholic chapel and the Jeanne d'Arc High School.

Marine assault on Treasury Building repulsed

Feb 1, 1968

The Marines tried to assault the Treasury Building but were stopped by fire from over 100 PAVN defenders and flanking fire coming from the Le Loi Elementary School, illustrating the brutal nature of the urban combat.

Operation Huế City concludes

Mar 2, 1968

On March 2, 1968, the Marines concluded Operation Huế City, ending the longest single engagement of the Tết Offensive after roughly a month of intense urban warfare.

Media Coverage

William Tuohy reports from Huế

Feb 8, 1968

Correspondent William Tuohy filed one of many news reports covering the fierce fighting in Huế, part of extensive international press attention to the battle during February 1968.

William Tuohy files second dispatch on battle

Feb 9, 1968

As fighting continued in Huế's streets, correspondent William Tuohy filed further reporting on the grinding urban combat between US Marines and entrenched PAVN forces.

Walter Cronkite films special report in Huế

Feb 10, 1968

CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite visited southern Huế to film footage for a special report on the Vietnam War. His subsequent broadcast famously expressed skepticism about the war's progress, influencing American public opinion.

Image source: Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite films special report in Huế

Peter Braestrup covers battle developments

Feb 12, 1968

Journalist Peter Braestrup reported on the Battle of Huế, contributing to the wave of media coverage that shaped perceptions of the Tết Offensive back in the United States.

Lee Lescaze reports on Huế fighting

Feb 16, 1968

Washington Post correspondent Lee Lescaze filed a report on February 16 amid the continuing struggle for control of Huế's Citadel and southern districts.

Bruce Pigott reports from Huế

Feb 17, 1968

Correspondent Bruce Pigott's February 17 dispatch added to the steady stream of frontline journalism documenting the prolonged urban battle in Huế.

Lee Lescaze files follow-up report

Feb 19, 1968

Lee Lescaze again reported on the battle on February 19, as Marines pressed slowly northward against determined PAVN resistance in Huế.

Lee Lescaze continues coverage

Feb 20, 1968

Lescaze's February 20 dispatch chronicled the continuing close-quarters combat in the ancient imperial city, which had become the war's focal point.

Lee Lescaze reports on third week of fighting

Feb 22, 1968

On February 22 Lee Lescaze reported on the third week of the battle, as Allied forces methodically cleared PAVN strongholds block by block.

Lee Lescaze reports late February dispatch

Feb 24, 1968

Lee Lescaze's February 24 report covered the final phase of the fight for the Citadel, with the last organized PAVN resistance collapsing in the following days.

Fred Emery reports from Huế

Feb 25, 1968

Correspondent Fred Emery filed a report on February 25 as the month-long battle neared its end, with Allied troops completing the recapture of Huế.

Peter Braestrup reports on battle's conclusion

Feb 29, 1968

Peter Braestrup filed a report on February 29 as the battle wound down, marking nearly a full month of continuous combat in the city.

Post-battle reporting on Huế aftermath

Mar 7, 1968

In the days following the end of the battle, correspondents including William Tuohy and Peter Braestrup filed March 7 reports examining the aftermath, destruction, and consequences of the fighting in Huế.

Legacy

USS Hué City commissioned

Sep 21, 1991

The Navy Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Hué City, commissioned in 1991, is named after the Battle of Huế, honoring the Marines who fought there.

Image source: USS Hué City

USS Hué City commissioned

Fallujah operation compared to Battle of Huế

Nov 1, 2004 - Dec 23, 2004

The November 2004 anti-insurgent Marine operation in the city of Fallujah, which took place during the Iraq War, has been compared to the Battle of Huế as a defining example of intense urban combat.

Image source: Second Battle of Fallujah

Fallujah operation compared to Battle of Huế

Battle of Huế remembered as longest battle of the Tết Offensive

Jan 31, 2018

Fifty years later, historians continue to note that while the fighting elsewhere in South Vietnam during Tet was generally confined to a week or less, the battle for Huế was the longest, lasting from January 31 through March 2, 1968, and it remains a touchstone for studying urban warfare and the media's impact on public opinion.

Key Facts

  1. The Battle of Hue began on January 31, 1968, when North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces launched a surprise assault on the city during the Tet Offensive.
  2. It was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, lasting about 25 days of fierce urban combat.
  3. U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese troops had to retake the city house by house, including fighting inside the heavily fortified Citadel, the former imperial capital.
  4. During their occupation, communist forces executed thousands of South Vietnamese civilians and government officials; mass graves were discovered after the battle.
  5. The battle was a tactical victory for U.S. and South Vietnamese forces but became a strategic turning point that shifted American public opinion against the war.

Source

This Battle of Hue timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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