New Book On Hue Out

Discussion in 'Warfare / Military' started by Strasser, Jul 31, 2017.

  1. Strasser

    Strasser Banned

    Joined:
    May 6, 2012
    Messages:
    4,219
    Likes Received:
    526
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2017
    APACHERAT likes this.
  2. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2013
    Messages:
    38,026
    Likes Received:
    16,042
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    I saw Mark Bowden talking about his book "Hue 1968." on C-Span 2 back in June and just two Sundays ago but I always came in on the tail end of the program.

    You can watch it here, it's 40 minutes long. -> https://www.c-span.org/video/?429143-6/hue-1968

    Most books on the battle of Hue are based upon individuals experiences, interviews and Marine Corps after action report.

    Bowden goes further on what was happening in Saigon during the battle in particular Gen. Westmorland not believing that the NVA had occupied the entire city of Hue.

    What we do know, the ONTOS was heavily credited for winning the battle in Hue, the U.S. Marines broke out the Thompson sub machine guns and the 5th Marines rifle regiment obliterated an entire NVA division removing the NVA division permanently from the NVA order of battle.

    Will I read this book ?

    I don't know yet.

    Editorial Reviews
    Review
    Praise for Hue 1968



    An Amazon Best Book of the Month in history

    An Amazon best history book of the year so far


    Reviews:

    Top customer reviews
    5.0 out of 5 starsthe book is painfully accurate about what it was like to be in Vietnam
    ByTommy Witcheron June 29, 2017
    Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
    Reading this book made me uncomfortable for a lot of reasons. I was a young marine and part of the volunteer group that first went into Hue at the beginning of the battle. My outfit was 2/1, then at Con Thien, so I was only in Hue at the beginning and took no part in the serious fighting that came later.
    I thought the book was carefully researched, and well written, and as honest as he could be. My criticism is only that the author glosses over the fact that journalists did have a staggering effect on the fighting, and often their stories did fuel the anti-war movement back home.
    It occurs to me that if journalists had written about the Battle of the Bulge in the same tone that Walter Cronkite and others portrayed Hue, we would have sued for peace with Germany.
    However, the book is painfully accurate about what it was like to be in Vietnam, in the Tet of 1968, and what it was like to be in a firefight. I took no exception to his portrayal of those in leadership as being both competent and incompetent because it’s true of any organization. And I appreciate the portrayal of marines and soldiers who might not have ever gotten a thank-you back home, but who proved themselves hero’s every day.
    I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the battle.

    https://www.amazon.com/Hue-1968-Turning-American-Vietnam/dp/0802127002
     
    Strasser likes this.
  3. Strasser

    Strasser Banned

    Joined:
    May 6, 2012
    Messages:
    4,219
    Likes Received:
    526
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Yes, it was a complete rout, and all done via house to house fighting. Don't recall the Marine commander's name now, but he didn't wait around and instead took on his own head to root them out. From almost total surprise and outnumbered to total victory, one of the high points in Corp history, imo.

    There were thousands of VC along with the NVA units, also crushed. Why anybody can claim it was a 'loss' still amazes me to this day; that meme is pure BS, completely driven by venal political agendas after the fact, deliberate lying.
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2017
    APACHERAT likes this.
  4. Questerr

    Questerr Banned

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2007
    Messages:
    63,174
    Likes Received:
    4,995
    Trophy Points:
    113
    The Ontos would be a pretty absurd design today given the proliferation of effective AT weaponry, but the US military should definitely bring back the 106mm RR as a direct fire support weapon.
     
  5. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2013
    Messages:
    38,026
    Likes Received:
    16,042
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male

    I have some 8 mm camera footage of an ONTOS firing all six 106 mm RR in Vietnam. I've shown the film to many Marine officers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and the most common response was "I wish we had those in Afghanistan." "I wish we had those in Iraq." and a few saying, "Every time we get something that works they declare it obsolete."

    Myself I, consider the ONTOS the best counter sniper weapons platform there ever was. Where ever there was an ONTOS there were no snipers.

    When I first arrived in-country there was always an ONTOS at the south end of the DaNang Air Base.

    One day I saw a CH-53 what looked like a small bulldozer like a D-7 slung underneath of the helicopter and said to the Marine next to me..."Looks like they're building a new fire base some where." I was still a FNG at the time. The Marine next to me said that's not a bulldozer, it an ONTOS. They attached sheets of plywood to the ONTOS so from the air it looked like a bulldozer. If the NVA knew there was an ONTOS in the area they would haul ass across the border in their sanctuary in Laos.

    The ONTOS was feared by the NVA and VC. They would avoid any area where there was an ONTOS.

    I would say by late 69 I no longer saw any ONTOS in I-Corps. They were all pulled out of the RVN. Not because they were obsolete, they weren't. Basically they ran out of spare parts since the ONTOS assembly line was closed down before the beginning of the Vietnam War.

    FYI:
    There was no Marine MOS for a ONTOS crew members. All ONTOS crew member were grunts with a 0300 MOS.

    If they were ever to make a Battle of Hue movie how could it be made without ONTOS's in the movie ? During the battle for Hue the ONTOS was paired alongside a M-48 tank. They worked as a team of two.

    M-50 Ontos in Vietnam, Battle of Hue

     

Share This Page