Battleplan 13. Urban Warfare (7 of 20)

Battleplan

He wishes to terrorise those who support the South.
His assault troops will therefore be followed in by assassination squads who will murder teachers, government officials and anyone else viewed as a danger to the Communist takeover.
But the third objective is the most important of all.
In the United States, anti-war demonstrators are already marching on the streets, and the North Vietnamese are becoming aware of it.
Giap hopes his plan will deal enough of a defeat to the Americans to put pressure on President Lyndon Johnson to end the war or withdraw his troops.
Unlike Hitler at Stalingrad, therefore, Giap has a very clear objective, both short-term military and long-term political.

Now, a quarter century apart, it's time for German General von Paulus and North Vietnamese General Giap to unleash their attacks.
In mid-August, 1942, General Friedrich von Paulus prepares to let loose Hitler's assault on the Soviet city of Stalingrad.
The tanks of his 16th Panzer Division, the spearhead of his Sixth Army, cross the River Don to the west of Stalingrad, and punch a hole in the Soviet defences.
They are only 35 miles from the city.
In January, 1968, North Vietnam's General Vo Nguyen Giap prepares to unleash his Tet Offensive against South Vietnam's capital, Saigon, and key provincial towns and cities which so far, have not seen war.
He is well-prepared.
He has brought munitions over the border from Cambodia and stored them in secret tunnel complexes.
On the eve of Tet, his troops infiltrate the Saigon suburbs, and assemble in specially prepared safe houses.
Communist agents, often women and children, smuggle the troops' weapons through the checkpoints which ring the city.
Giap cannot bring in heavier weapons, like artillery pieces, so his troops will capture these from South Vietnamese positions and arsenals.
Finally everything is ready.
Now, both generals must launch their attacks and face the second requirement in the battleplan for urban warfare.
Speed and surprise.