The Battle of Hue 1968

Fight for the Imperial City

James H. Willbanks, Ramiro Bujeiro

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English

Osprey
01 March 2022

History; Asian history; Vietnam War; Land forces & warfare; Battles & campaigns

Series: Campaign

In late January 1968, some 84,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops launched a country-wide general offensive in South Vietnam. The bitter fighting that raged in Hue for more than three weeks drew the attention of the world.

Hue was the ancient capital of Vietnam, and as such, had been previously avoided by both sides; it had not seen any serious fighting prior to 1968. All that changed on the night of January 31 that year when four North Vietnamese battalions and supporting Viet Cong units simultaneously attacked and occupied both parts of the city straddling the Perfume River.

The Communist forces dug in and prepared to defend their hold on the city. US Marines and South Vietnamese soldiers were ordered to clear the city, supported by US Army artillery and troops. A brutal urban battle ensued as combat raged from house to house and door to door. Eventually, the Marines and the South Vietnamese forces retook Hue, but it was a bloody fight and resulted in large-scale destruction of the city.

This illustrated volume details one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Tet Offensive, which led to a sea change in US policy in Vietnam.

By: James H. Willbanks
Illustrated by: Ramiro Bujeiro
Imprint: Osprey
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 248mm, Width: 184mm,
Weight: 312g
ISBN: 9781472844712
ISBN 10: 1472844718
Series: Campaign
Pages: 96
Publication Date: 01 March 2022
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Dr James H. Willbanks is a decorated Vietnam veteran and Professor Emeritus of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Dr Willbanks joined the CGSC faculty in 1992, when he retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel with 23 years' service as an Infantry officer in various assignments in the United States and overseas, to include a tour as an infantry advisor with a South Vietnamese regiment during the 1972 North Vietnamese Easter Offensive. Prior to his retirement from Federal service in 2018, Dr Willbanks served as the General of the Army George C. Marshall Chair; prior to that, he served as the director of the CGSC Department of Military History. Dr Willbanks is the author or editor of 20 books, and his work has featured widely in the US and international media.