On Jan. 31, 1968, as part of the Tet Offensive, a 19-man Viet Cong sapper team broke into the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. Their mission was to seize the main building and take hostages. They approached in a truck and a taxi. Saigon police in their path ran away. At around 3 A.M., they opened fire on MP guards, who quickly locked the gates. The sappers then blew a hole in the wall to get in. The first two, who happened to be their leaders, were killed by two MP’s, but the MP’s were shot in the backs by VC who worked at the embassy. The chancery building’s thick doors were locked when those inside heard the gunfire. The VC opened fire on the building with rocket-propelled grenades, but were not able to enter. They had 40 pounds of explosives, but they had lost the leaders who might have used it on the doors. Instead, they took shelter on the embassy grounds and fought against relief forces. First to arrive were three jeeps with MP’s. The jeeps were ambushed and several Americans were killed. A larger force was sent and exchanged fire with the sappers from the outside. A helicopter that tried to land soldiers on the roof was forced to abort because of enemy fire. Meanwhile, Saigon police refused to help. At 4:20 A.M., Gen. Westmoreland ordered the 716th MP Battalion to storm the embassy. They regained control of the grounds and when the dust cleared, all but one of the enemy were dead. 4 MP’s and one Marine had died in the siege. In the end, the commandos had not succeeded in taking the embassy, but they had succeeded in helping convince the American public that the war was going badly. This was reinforced by the American news networks who inaccurately reported that the sappers had gotten into the embassy building. Fake news is not new.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_Offensive_attack_on_US_Embassy
0 Comments