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The '''Massacre at Hue''' |
The '''Massacre at Hue''' is the name given to describe the summary executions or mass killings that occurred during ]'s capture and occupation of the city of ] during the ], considered one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the ]. The civilians killed during the battle fall into two broad categories: 1) those killed as a result of the battle itself and 2) those killed as a result of summary executions committed by communist cadres. The '''Massacre at Hue''' concerns only the latter category, though estimates vary greatly from a few hundred to two to three thousand. In addition to suspicions of propaganda from both sides (South vs. North), the military battle itself compounds the confusion. For example perhaps forty percent of the city was destroyed during 26 days of intense combat, and 116,000 of the Hue's 140,000 population were left homeless. The U.S. and South Vietnamese forces claimed over 5000 communist forces were killed within the city, and another 3000 in the immediately surrounding area. On March 2, 1968, the battle for Hue was officially declared over. During the months that followed, several mass graves were discovered in and around Hue containing the bodies of 3000 men, women and children. A number of US and South Vietnamese authorities took the discoveries, as proof that a large-scale communist atrocity had been carried out in and around Hue during its four-week occupation. However it was not simply the discoveries per se which added to evidence of mass executions, ''"many of the victims were bound with hands wired behind backs, rags stuffed in mouths, bodies contorted but without wounds (indicating burial alive). ... others bore wound marks but there was no way of determining whether they died by firing squad or incidental to the battle."'' (See Douglas Pike link below) | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
In the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, during the Lunar New Year celebrations, the ] and ], or ], troops simultaneously attacked 70% of the major cities and villages in South Vietnam, including Saigon and Hue. While the communist forces saw initial success, their assaults were quickly turned back in all areas except Hue. | In the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, during the Lunar New Year celebrations, the ] and ], or ], troops simultaneously attacked 70% of the major cities and villages in South Vietnam, including Saigon and Hue. While the communist forces saw initial success, their assaults were quickly turned back in all areas except Hue. | ||
The NLF set up provisional authorities shortly after capturing Hue, and was charged with |
The NLF set up provisional authorities shortly after capturing Hue, and was charged with destroying the existing government administration within the city and replacing it with a ''revolutionary administration.'' Working from lists of "cruel tyrants and reactionary elements" previously developed by VC intelligence officers, many people were to be rounded up following the initial hours of the attack. These included ]ese soldiers, civil servants, political party members, American civilians and other foreigners. These individuals, according to VC documents captured during and after the seige, were to be taken to the jungles outside of the city and held and punished for their crimes against the Vietnamese people. The disposition of those who were previously in control of the city was carefully laid out, and the lists were detailed and extensive. Those in the Saigon-based government police apparatus at all levels were to be rounded up and held outside the city. High civilian and military officials were also removed from the city, both to await study of their individual cases. Ordinary civil servants working for "the Saigon enemy" out of necessity, but did not oppose the revolution, were destined for reeducation and later employment. Low-level civil servants who had at some point been involved in paramilitary activities were to be held for reeducation, but not employed. There are documented cases of individuals who were executed by the NLF when they tried to hide or otherwise resisted during the early stages of Hue's occupation. | ||
During ] ], the ] and the South Vietnamese infantry counterattacked and recaptured the city after weeks of fierce fighting. | |||
] | ] | ||
In late ] ], acting on reports by Vietnamese Communists and POWs, local South Vietnamese authorities found several mass graves. In each site, hundreds of bodies of the missing were buried. There were reports that many of the victims were tied to each other by ropes, electrical or telephone wires and that they displayed signs of having been shot, beaten or stabbed to death. It was inferred that during the Marine and ] attack, North Vietnam's forces had rounded up those individuals whose names it had previously collected and had them executed or sent North for ]. |
In late ] ], acting on reports by Vietnamese Communists and POWs, local South Vietnamese authorities found several mass graves. In each site, hundreds of bodies of the missing were buried. There were reports that many of the victims were tied to each other by ropes, electrical wires or telephone wires and that they displayed signs of having been shot, beaten or stabbed to death. It was inferred that during the Marine and ] attack, North Vietnam's forces had rounded up those individuals whose names it had previously collected and had them executed or sent North for ]. | ||
It was established that a number of the victims were ] ], killed for providing ] to civilian refugees in local churches. Others were claimed to have been marched off for political ] but were shot when American or ARVN units came too close. | |||
It was determined that a large number of people had taken sanctuary from the battle in a local church. Several hundred of these people were order out to undergo indoctrination in the "liberated area," and told after which they would be allowed to return home. After marching the group south 9 kilometers, 20 of the people were seperated, tried, found guilty, executed and buried. The others were taken across the river and turned over to a local communist unit in an exchange that even included written receipts. It is probable that the remaining captives were to be re-educated and returned, but many were apparently shot days later when American or ARVN units came too close. | |||
The ]s within Hue itself were largely of those who had been picked up and executed for various "]" offenses |
The ]s within Hue itself were largely of those who had been picked up and executed for various "]" offenses. There is some doubt that the NVA/VC had planned these executions beforehand but unquestionably it was the largest Communist ] of the war. | ||
==Aftermath== | ==Aftermath== | ||
The |
The massacre, in terms of the numbers executed by the communist cadres had been disputed. A first summary was published for the U.S. Mission in Vietnam by , then working as an FSO for the ], in 1970, while he was also a widely recognized scholar, holding positions as the Univ. of California at Berkeley and Texas Tech, who "produced an extensive body of writings about Communist doctrine, strategies and tactics in Vietnam" (see link). Later authors often relied on his account. Other early sources include front-line reporters serving under a strict code of conduct imposed by U.S. forces and agencies. Later sources, contending with these earlier accounts, most prominently D. Gareth Porter's account, served to skew the account in the favor of the communist regime, again reflecting the contentions associated with this series of mass killings. | ||
⚫ | In November 1974, when a ] film produced by South Vietnamese reporters about the Tet Offensive was shown to an American audience of more than 200 ] officers in ], almost none of the audience had ever heard of the full details of the atrocity. Many afterwards said that had they known the savage slaughter at the time, they would have acted differently while serving in Vietnam. | ||
⚫ | Marilyn B. Young in ''The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990'' contends, "In the early days of the occupation, there were indeed summary executions ... and as the occupation ended in the firestorm of artillery and aerial bombardment, retreating NLF troops executed many of those they held in custody (rather than either releasing them or keeping them prisoner), not in the numbers Saigon and Washington charged, but certainly enough to have posed troubling questions for the people of Hue who survived..." By contrast |
||
⚫ | Marilyn B. Young in ''The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990'' contends, "In the early days of the occupation, there were indeed summary executions ... and as the occupation ended in the firestorm of artillery and aerial bombardment, retreating NLF troops executed many of those they held in custody (rather than either releasing them or keeping them prisoner), not in the numbers Saigon and Washington charged, but certainly enough to have posed troubling questions for the people of Hue who survived..." By contrast Douglas Pike's account, referencing the government of So. Vietnam's estimated civilian casualties summarizes with the following figures: | ||
Total estimated civilian casualties: | |||
7,600 - Combined dead and missing | |||
Battle related: | Battle related: | ||
1,900 - Wounded (hospitalized or outpatients) with injures attributable to warfare | 1,900 - Wounded (hospitalized or outpatients) with injures attributable to warfare | ||
|
844 - Estimated civilian deaths due to accident of battle | ||
Partly or wholly related to mass killings: | Partly or wholly related to mass killings: | ||
1,173 - First finds-bodies discovered immediately post battle, 1968 | 1,173 - First finds-bodies discovered immediately post battle, 1968 | ||
809 - Second finds, including Sand Dune finds, March-July, 1969 ( |
809 - Second finds, including Sand Dune finds, March-July, 1969 (est.) | ||
428 - Third find, Da Mai Creek find (Nam Hoa district) September, 1969 | 428 - Third find, Da Mai Creek find (Nam Hoa district) September, 1969 | ||
300 - Fourth Finds-Phu Thu Salt Flat find, November, 1969 ( |
300 - Fourth Finds-Phu Thu Salt Flat find, November, 1969 (est.) | ||
|
200 - Miscellaneous finds during 1969 (approximate) | ||
1,946 - Unaccounted for (as of late 1970) |
1,946 - Unaccounted for (as of late 1970) | ||
⚫ | In November 1974, when a ] film produced by South Vietnamese reporters about the Tet Offensive was shown to an American audience of more than 200 ] officers in ], almost |
||
Since ] ], the Vietnamese Communist government moved many families related to the victims out of Hue City. People in the city however, still commemorate them every year. Because the people are mingling the rites with ] celebrations, Communist local authorities have no reason to forbid them. | Since ] ], the Vietnamese Communist government moved many families related to the victims out of Hue City. People in the city however, still commemorate them every year. Because the people are mingling the rites with ] celebrations, Communist local authorities have no reason to forbid them. | ||
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* Tucker, Spencer, Vietnam. London: UCL Press, 1999 | * Tucker, Spencer, Vietnam. London: UCL Press, 1999 | ||
* Vietnam Order of Battle. New York: U.S. News and World Report, Inc., 1981. | * Vietnam Order of Battle. New York: U.S. News and World Report, Inc., 1981. | ||
* Young, Marilyn B., The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990 (New York: |
* Young, Marilyn B., The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperPerennial, 1991) | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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Revision as of 02:46, 22 July 2005
This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Massacre at Hue is the name given to describe the summary executions or mass killings that occurred during North Vietnam's capture and occupation of the city of Hue during the Tet Offensive, considered one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. The civilians killed during the battle fall into two broad categories: 1) those killed as a result of the battle itself and 2) those killed as a result of summary executions committed by communist cadres. The Massacre at Hue concerns only the latter category, though estimates vary greatly from a few hundred to two to three thousand. In addition to suspicions of propaganda from both sides (South vs. North), the military battle itself compounds the confusion. For example perhaps forty percent of the city was destroyed during 26 days of intense combat, and 116,000 of the Hue's 140,000 population were left homeless. The U.S. and South Vietnamese forces claimed over 5000 communist forces were killed within the city, and another 3000 in the immediately surrounding area. On March 2, 1968, the battle for Hue was officially declared over. During the months that followed, several mass graves were discovered in and around Hue containing the bodies of 3000 men, women and children. A number of US and South Vietnamese authorities took the discoveries, as proof that a large-scale communist atrocity had been carried out in and around Hue during its four-week occupation. However it was not simply the discoveries per se which added to evidence of mass executions, "many of the victims were bound with hands wired behind backs, rags stuffed in mouths, bodies contorted but without wounds (indicating burial alive). ... others bore wound marks but there was no way of determining whether they died by firing squad or incidental to the battle." (See Douglas Pike link below)
Background
In the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, during the Lunar New Year celebrations, the North Vietnamese Army and National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, troops simultaneously attacked 70% of the major cities and villages in South Vietnam, including Saigon and Hue. While the communist forces saw initial success, their assaults were quickly turned back in all areas except Hue.
The NLF set up provisional authorities shortly after capturing Hue, and was charged with destroying the existing government administration within the city and replacing it with a revolutionary administration. Working from lists of "cruel tyrants and reactionary elements" previously developed by VC intelligence officers, many people were to be rounded up following the initial hours of the attack. These included South Vietnamese soldiers, civil servants, political party members, American civilians and other foreigners. These individuals, according to VC documents captured during and after the seige, were to be taken to the jungles outside of the city and held and punished for their crimes against the Vietnamese people. The disposition of those who were previously in control of the city was carefully laid out, and the lists were detailed and extensive. Those in the Saigon-based government police apparatus at all levels were to be rounded up and held outside the city. High civilian and military officials were also removed from the city, both to await study of their individual cases. Ordinary civil servants working for "the Saigon enemy" out of necessity, but did not oppose the revolution, were destined for reeducation and later employment. Low-level civil servants who had at some point been involved in paramilitary activities were to be held for reeducation, but not employed. There are documented cases of individuals who were executed by the NLF when they tried to hide or otherwise resisted during the early stages of Hue's occupation.
During February 1968, the US Marine Corps and the South Vietnamese infantry counterattacked and recaptured the city after weeks of fierce fighting.
In late February 1968, acting on reports by Vietnamese Communists and POWs, local South Vietnamese authorities found several mass graves. In each site, hundreds of bodies of the missing were buried. There were reports that many of the victims were tied to each other by ropes, electrical wires or telephone wires and that they displayed signs of having been shot, beaten or stabbed to death. It was inferred that during the Marine and ARVN attack, North Vietnam's forces had rounded up those individuals whose names it had previously collected and had them executed or sent North for re-education.
It was established that a number of the victims were anti-communist Catholics, killed for providing sanctuary to civilian refugees in local churches. Others were claimed to have been marched off for political re-education but were shot when American or ARVN units came too close.
The mass graves within Hue itself were largely of those who had been picked up and executed for various "enemy of the people" offenses. There is some doubt that the NVA/VC had planned these executions beforehand but unquestionably it was the largest Communist purge of the war.
Aftermath
The massacre, in terms of the numbers executed by the communist cadres had been disputed. A first summary was published for the U.S. Mission in Vietnam by Douglas Pike, then working as an FSO for the U.S. Information Agency, in 1970, while he was also a widely recognized scholar, holding positions as the Univ. of California at Berkeley and Texas Tech, who "produced an extensive body of writings about Communist doctrine, strategies and tactics in Vietnam" (see link). Later authors often relied on his account. Other early sources include front-line reporters serving under a strict code of conduct imposed by U.S. forces and agencies. Later sources, contending with these earlier accounts, most prominently D. Gareth Porter's account, served to skew the account in the favor of the communist regime, again reflecting the contentions associated with this series of mass killings.
In November 1974, when a documentary film produced by South Vietnamese reporters about the Tet Offensive was shown to an American audience of more than 200 US Army officers in Fort Benning, Georgia, almost none of the audience had ever heard of the full details of the atrocity. Many afterwards said that had they known the savage slaughter at the time, they would have acted differently while serving in Vietnam.
Marilyn B. Young in The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990 contends, "In the early days of the occupation, there were indeed summary executions ... and as the occupation ended in the firestorm of artillery and aerial bombardment, retreating NLF troops executed many of those they held in custody (rather than either releasing them or keeping them prisoner), not in the numbers Saigon and Washington charged, but certainly enough to have posed troubling questions for the people of Hue who survived..." By contrast Douglas Pike's account, referencing the government of So. Vietnam's estimated civilian casualties summarizes with the following figures:
Battle related: 1,900 - Wounded (hospitalized or outpatients) with injures attributable to warfare 844 - Estimated civilian deaths due to accident of battle
Partly or wholly related to mass killings: 1,173 - First finds-bodies discovered immediately post battle, 1968 809 - Second finds, including Sand Dune finds, March-July, 1969 (est.) 428 - Third find, Da Mai Creek find (Nam Hoa district) September, 1969 300 - Fourth Finds-Phu Thu Salt Flat find, November, 1969 (est.) 200 - Miscellaneous finds during 1969 (approximate) 1,946 - Unaccounted for (as of late 1970)
Since April 1975, the Vietnamese Communist government moved many families related to the victims out of Hue City. People in the city however, still commemorate them every year. Because the people are mingling the rites with Tet celebrations, Communist local authorities have no reason to forbid them.
Further Reading
- Arnold, James R., Tet Offensive 1968: Turning Point in Vietnam, London: Osprey 1990
- Bullington, James R. "And Here, See Hue," Foreign Service Journal, November 1968.
- Christmas, G. R. "A Company Commander Reflects on Operation Hue City," Marine Corps Gazette, April 1971.
- Davidson, Phillip B. Vietnam at War: The History, 1946-1975. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1988.
- Hammel, Eric. Fire in the Streets: The Battle for Hue, Tet 1968. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1991.
- Harkanson, John, and Charles McMahon. "USMC & Tet ’68: There’s a Little Trouble in Hue …," Vietnam Combat, Winter 1985.
- Krohn, Charles A., The Lost Battalion: Controversy and Casualties in the Battle of Hue, Praeger Publishers, 1993
- Nolan, Keith William. Battle for Hue: Tet 1968. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1983.
- Oberdorfer, Don. Tet!: The Turning Point in the Vietnam War. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.
- Palmer, Dave Richard. Summons of the Trumpet: U.S.-Vietnam in Perspective. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1978.
- Phan Van Son. The Viet Cong Tet Offensive (1968). Saigon: Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, 1969.
- Pike, Douglas. PAVN: People’s Army of Vietnam. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1986.
- Secrets of the Vietnam War. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1990.
- Smith, Captain George W., USA. "The Battle of Hue," Infantry, July-August 1968.
- Stanton, Shelby L. Anatomy of a Division: 1st Cav in Vietnam. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1987.
- Tolson, Major General John J., 3rd. Airmobility: 1961-1971. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 1973.
- Truong Sinh. "The Fight to Liberate the City of Hue During Mau Than Tet (1969)," Hoc Tap, December 1974.
- Tucker, Spencer, Vietnam. London: UCL Press, 1999
- Vietnam Order of Battle. New York: U.S. News and World Report, Inc., 1981.
- Young, Marilyn B., The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperPerennial, 1991)
External links
- Complete text of Douglas Pike's "Vietcong Strategy of Terror" (pdf)
- Excerpts from Douglas Pike's "Viet Cong Strategy of Terror" with photos (html)
- The 1968 "Hue Massacre" by D. Gareth Porter, spinning Pike's account
- Sophal Ear discussion on D. Gareth Porter, et al.
- Liberation of Giai Phong Dan Toi from Communist Viet Cong by Army of the Republic of Vietnam: Photos
- The Battle for Hue, 1968 by James H. Willbanks
- Time Magazine, contemporary article
- Viet Quoc article
- Misreporting that Doomed Millions, Setting the Record Straight
- Scott Laderman, Hue and the shaping of history
- Topic on Lies and Disinformation