HUE – TET OFFENSIVE TOUR

HUE TET OFFENSIVE BATTLEFIELD TOUR – 1968

Walk the Ground. Follow the Battle. Understand the History.

Join our expert battlefield guide for a full-day journey retracing the key battlefields and major phases of the 1968 Tet Offensive in Hue.

With extensive knowledge of the Vietnam War and the Battle of Hue, our guide connects the historical record with the ground you see today—using wartime maps, photographs, military accounts, unit histories, and firsthand veterans’ stories to bring the battle into focus.

This is more than a sightseeing tour. It is an opportunity to walk the ground, follow the battle, and understand how the fighting unfolded across the city and the Citadel.

WHAT WE WILL STUDY: THE BATTLE OF HUE

Seven Major Phases

1. The General Offensive

2. The Assault on Hue — January 30–31, 1968

3. Send in the Marines — January 31, 1968

4. Stabilizing the Lodgment — February 1–2, 1968

5. The Six-Block War — February 3–6, 1968

6. Reinforcing the Marines in the Citadel — February 10–20, 1968

7. The Flagpole and the Final Fighting — February 21–24, 1968

Rather than simply visiting historical attractions, we retrace the battlefield itself, following the progression of the fighting from the initial attacks in the southern city through the prolonged struggle for the Citadel.

MORNING — THE BATTLE IN THE SOUTHERN CITY

We begin in southern Hue, examining the opening days of the battle and the early response by U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese forces.

Our study includes elements of the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines (1/1)—including Alpha Company and Bravo Company—as well as elements of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines (2/5), including Golf, Fox, and Hotel Companies.

We follow the actions and movements of these units as they responded to the Tet Offensive and worked to establish and stabilize positions in the southern city.

Key Battlefield Locations

Our morning route includes important locations associated with the fighting, including:

• Shell Gas Station
• Hue Football Stadium
• Former MACV Compound
• Tran Cao Van Street
• Joan of Arc Girls’ High School
• Hue University
• Treasury
• Public Health Building
• Provincial Capital Building area
• Redemptorist Church

At each location, we examine the terrain, historical photographs, wartime maps, unit movements, and battlefield chronology to understand what happened there in 1968.

Where possible, we compare 1968 photographs with the same locations today, allowing you to see how the battlefield has changed—and what remains.

We also visit Quoc Hoc High School, one of Hue’s most important educational institutions, and discuss the city’s intellectual, political, and cultural importance before and during the Vietnam War.

LOCAL LUNCH & VIETNAMESE COFFEE

After the morning battlefield tour, we take a break for an authentic Vietnamese lunch, followed by traditional local coffee.

This is more than simply a meal break. It is an opportunity to review the morning’s battlefield sequence, examine maps and photographs, and discuss the events leading into the afternoon’s fighting in the Citadel.

AFTERNOON — THE BATTLE FOR THE CITADEL

In the afternoon, we enter the Hue Citadel, where the battle entered a very different phase.

Inside the Citadel, we examine the ground over which U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese forces fought to regain control of the Imperial City.

Our study focuses particularly on the actions of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines (1/5), including:

• Alpha Company, 1/5
• Bravo Company, 1/5
• Charlie Company, 1/5
• Delta Company, 1/5

We also examine the subsequent Marine operations involving Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (L/3/5) and other Marine elements involved in the continuing battle for the Citadel.

The exact unit sequence, attachments, and dates are examined using unit histories, wartime maps, photographs, and veterans’ accounts, rather than treating every Marine unit as having operated in the same location at the same time.

Key Battlefield Points

We examine:

• Phase Line Green
• Dong Ba Tower
• Key defensive and fighting positions within the Citadel
• The progression of the battle toward the southern portion of the Citadel
• The final stages of the fighting around the southern gate and Flagpole

Using wartime maps and photographs, we explain how the battlefield developed and how Marine units progressively fought through the Citadel.

For Vietnam veterans, former Marines, military historians, and family members returning to Hue, we can go deeper into the unit-level history whenever the historical evidence allows—examining specific battalions, companies, dates, photographs, maps, and veterans’ accounts.

THE IMPERIAL CITY

HISTORY BEYOND THE BATTLE

Finally, we explore the Imperial City of Hue, the political and cultural center of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Here, we step beyond the events of 1968 and place the Battle of Hue within the much longer history of the city.

We explore Vietnam’s political and cultural development from the early modern period through the Nguyen Dynasty and the end of imperial rule in 1945.

Inside the Imperial City, we discuss:

• The Nguyen emperors
• The imperial family
• The structure and purpose of the Imperial City
• The political importance of Hue
• Why Hue remained such a significant cultural and symbolic center during the Vietnam War

Understanding the Imperial City helps explain why the Battle of Hue was more than a military engagement—it was a battle fought in the historic heart of Vietnam.

RETRACE THE BATTLE OF HUE — 1968

This Is More Than a Tour. It Is a Journey Back Through History.

For Vietnam veterans, former Marines, military historians, and families returning to Hue, this experience offers an opportunity to connect the historical record with the ground itself.

Bring your old photographs, unit information, maps, dates, or family stories, and we will do our best to connect them with the locations and events of the Battle of Hue.

We do not simply tell you what happened.

We show you where it happened.

We compare the Hue of 1968 with the Hue of today, using historical photographs, maps, unit histories, and firsthand accounts to help reconstruct the battlefield.

WALK THE GROUND.

FOLLOW THE BATTLE.

UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY.

REMEMBER THE PEOPLE.