VENETIC

The Battle of Xom Ông Đội

9 May 1968

by W.S. McCallum

On the outskirts of Saigon, south of District 4:

Just when the Free World forces thought they had the VC under control after the February 1968 Tet Offensive, a second wave of assaults arrives with what came to be called the “mini-Tet offensive” in early May 1968. As part of a general attack on Saigon from the west and south, VC units advance on South Saigon, thrusting northwards over the Triple Bridge leading to Cholon (upper left corner of Box 8), only to be repulsed by stubborn US resistance. The VC are forced to flee southwards and eastwards across a second bridge into Xom Ông Đội, a hamlet which, by the 1960s, marked the southern outskirts of this part of Saigon.

Cobra helicopter gunships from the 7th Squadron, 1st Cavalry interdicting Xom Ông Đội have a bird’s eye view of the locale (Box 9):

Company A and the greater part of Company C, 6th/31st Infantry, land in an LZ just south-east of Xom Ong Doi shortly after noon on 9 May 1968. They enter the hamlet at 15:00.

At the same time, Vietnamese Marines set up a blocking position to the west, by the southern crossroads.

But where is Charlie?

Remnants of the 5th Nha Be Battalion are hiding in the vicinity, looking for an opportunity to break southwards through the cordon that has been set up around them….

A and C Companies of the US 6th/31st Infantry move in to find them.

Tightening the cordon, they also skirt around the south of the hamlet.

They are soon attracting VC sniper fire:

Rifle fire causes the US infantry to duck their heads and the fire is soon being returned. The M60’s shooting is accurate, suppressing the sniper.

While the VC sniper is keeping his head down, other infantry duck into nearby cover and start skirting around the side of his building, sight unseen.

A squad breaks into the building and climbs the stairs to the roof, taking out the sniper with an M79 blooper.

Other infantry take to the rooftops to get a better vantage point in case there are further snipers.

The rest of the hamlet shows no sign of movement however.

The Americans tighten the noose, closing off escape routes to the south of the hamlet.

And a house-to-house search of the hamlet continues.

Feeling the squeeze, the VC show themselves and open fire.

A US machine gun team opens up, but they in turn are targeted by a second VC sniper.

The combined VC fire is deadly, wiping out the advancing US squad.

Now that the enemy has shown themselves, two Cobras of the 7th Squadron, 1st Cavalry move in.

On the ground, the M60 team on the roof find themselves caught in crossfire from the VC in the street below and the sniper on the roof.

Once again, taking advantage of the rooftop sniper’s blind spot, US infantry creep up to the building, enter from the ground floor, and race up to the roof, where a desperate firefight ensues. The sniper takes out several men, but is overwhelmed.

To the south of the hamlet, the cordon is tighened further.

However there is a welcoming committee in the form of the 5th Nha Be Battalion’s 12.5 mm HMG AA unit, which opens fire on the US infantry. Their fire suppresses the lead squad.

The GIs go to ground, but they are blown away.

The Cobras cannot help but notice this new threat.

They peel off southwards, hoping to evade the AA unit’s field of fire and pop up and take them from the flank. Unfortunately, they fly directly over a company of VC sheltering in the undergrowth and some ruins.

The VC open up with everything they have: AK47s, machine guns, RPGs, and even recoilless rifles. The Cobras return fire with a barrage of rockets.

A recoilless rifle is KO’ed, but the volume of fire coming back at the two Cobras is formidable.

In rapid succession, the lead Cobra is hit by AK47 fire and then by an RPG.

The remaining Cobra continues rocketing the VC and causes casualties, but there are so many men firing back at it that it cannot hit them all….

Worse still, its rocket fire is inaccurate, with various rockets missing their targets.

While all this is going on, further pressure on the VC arrives in the form of the lead company of the 2/47th Infantry, which comes rumbling down the canal road on M113s from central Saigon, from the north-east.

Observing the demise of the first Cobra, and the columns of smoke left by the rocket fire from the second Cobra, the column leader turns south, towards where all the fighting is going on.

At that point, the second Cobra goes up in smoke as it takes a direct hit from an RPG round.

The VC commander, deciding to get out while he still can, orders his troops to withdraw southwards while the US M113s get bogged down in soft ground trying to follow them.

It was a strategic victory for the Free World forces, as they cleared the hamlet several hours earlier than was achieved in real life, but the loss of two expensive helicopters and all too many US infantry in exchange for minimal VC losses meant that the VC commander won this particular battle. While severely battered, the remnants of the 5th Nha Be Battalion would soldier on and continue the struggle.