General Truong's Battle Against Hue

General Truong had a sense of unease as the Tet holiday began on 29 January. Although his intelligence staff did not think the enemy had the capability or the intention of launching a major attack against Hue, the general was painfully aware of the city’s vulnerabilities. His division was tough and battle tested but stretched uncomfortably thin throughout I Corps. Two battalions of the 3d Infantry Regiment were west of Hue, one on a routine sweep mission and the other undergoing training at the Van Thanh Division School, while the remaining two battalions of the regiment were searching for the enemy near the coast southeast of Hue. The 1st1st Regiment was stationed at Quang Tri City fifty kilometers to the northwest, and the 2d Regiment was another twelve kilometers …show more content…
He ordered his division’s reaction force under the command of First Lieutenant Tran Ngoc Hue to send 3 platoons south of the river to act as security for the provincial headquarters, the power station, and the prison. Two other platoons were split up and dispatched to guard the gates entering the Citadel. The deployment left Lieutenant Hue with one platoon and his headquarters section (about 50 men) to guard the division command post. Truong also sent Lieutenant Nguyen Thi Tan’s 36-man Reconnaissance Company on a river and area surveillance mission three miles southwest of the city, the most likely avenue of approach. Elizabeth Jane Errington stated in book The Vietnam War as History, “…the chief of the National Police called several of his close friends to a secret meeting. He told them that he had reliable information that the city was going to be attacked by a strong enemy force the next day. His advice to his friends was to gather up their families, get some water and provisions, and stay in hiding until the assault was over. The police chief reportedly disappeared during the