Abstract
Operation Hue City marked a line of departure for the US Marine Corps in the Vietnam War. It was the first, largest, and costliest urban operation that Marines had waged since the urban operation in Seoul during the Korean War. The fighting in Hue dramatically differed from previous engagements that Marines had fought in Vietnam. Failure to respond to intelligence reports of heightened communist activity left US personnel largely unprepared for the onslaught. Marine units, however, quickly adapted to the situation and learned many useful lessons about effective urban operations. Operation Hue City proved militarily successful but politically damaging to American involvement in the Vietnam War. The initial fissures in America’s commitment to Vietnam emerged from among the ashes of emperors during Operation Hue City.
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References
Archives, Collections, and Manuscripts
U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Quantico, Virginia
Historical Inquiries and Research Branch
Vietnam Operations
Archives and Special Collections Branch
Vietnam: Tet Offensive Operational Material
Chuck Gilbert and Ned Clark papers
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Taylor, W.A. (2020). Among the Ashes of Emperors: Operation Hue City—January 1968. In: Fremont-Barnes, G. (eds) A History of Modern Urban Operations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27088-9_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27088-9_8
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