HISTORY OF THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE MARINE CORPS

The National Flag Flying

Over the Old Citadel

Captain Tran Van Loan

In the last phase of the battle to recover the city of Quang Tri and the Old Citadel, Marine movements were as outlined below. 

1. Brigade 258 commanded by Colonel Ngo Van Dinh was composed of five battalions. The 1st, 2nd and 6th were charged with the mission of reoccupying the city of Quang Tri  and the southern face of the Old Citadel. The 5th and 9th Battalions served as reserves. 

* The 1st Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dang Hoa, advanced  along Tran Hung Dao Street towards the city of Quang Tri. Once there, they quickly reoccupied the Quang Tri military and civilian hospital, the Bo De High School, a primary school for girls, the area where the electricity generators were located, the Sang Tao book store, the civil engineering offices, the police station, and the Luong Giang book store before finally making contact with the 2nd Marine Battalion at the intersection of Tran Hung Dao Street and Quang Trung Street. 

* The 2nd Battalion, commanded by Major Tran Van Hop, set out from Long Hung T-junction and advanced to reoccupy targets along Ho Dac Hanh Street and Quang Trung Street. They reclaimed the Thach Han village, Phuoc Mon Girls' High School, Therese Primary School, Thach Han chapel, and the Thanh Tam High School. After this battalion met up with the 1st Battalion at the intersection of Tran Hung Dao Street and Quang Trung Street, the 2nd Battalion headed right along Tran Hung Dao Street to dislodge the enemy strong points spread out around the Quang Tri market, Quang Tuong mechanic, Nhuan Ky Restaurant, the youth institution, and Treasury House. Meanwhile, another group from the 2nd Battalion set out from the intersection where Quang Trung Street, Ho Dac Hanh Street, Le Huan Street and Duy Tan Street all converged. This group was reinforced by Squadron 2/20 of M48 tanks (commanded by Captain Le Ba Nam) and attacked the enemy posts positioned in the Dai Chung cinema. Completing that, the group then proceeded along Phan Thanh Gian Street and Le Thai To Street, before turning right on to Phan Dinh Phung Street to reoccupy USOM. It then changed direction to head up along Tran Hung Dao Street to reclaim the Mayor's Residence and the Town Hall. The last target for the 2nd Battalion (The Crazy Buffaloes) was to recover the primary school where NVA Regiment 48, a unit of the NVA Division 320) was positioned. 

* The 6th Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Do Huu Tung, departed from Nguyen Hoang High School and advanced to reoccupy the Nguyen Hoang Bus Station, the Information Resource Centre and MACV before traversing Duy Tan Street and Le Thai To Street. From there they charged at the south-west face of the Old Citadel, after American Aircrafts had dropped eight smart bombs on the Old Citadel as per the sudden orders of Colonel Ngo Van Dinh. The 6th Battalion (The Divine Hawks) routed the NVA and pursued them hotly in the north west direction, where the NVA survivors retreated across the Thach Han River. 

2. Brigade 147 was commanded by Colonel Nguyen Nang Bao, and composed of the 7th, 3rd and 8th Battalions. The 7th and 3rd Battalions were charged with recovering the borders of the city of Quang Tri, and to attack the northern face of the Old Citadel. The 8th Battalion served as a reserve. 

* The 7th Battalion, under the command of Major Nguyen Van Kim, attacked the enemy located in the city's pagoda and reclaimed it before reoccupying the 4th suburb along Le Van Duyet Street. 

* The 3rd Battalion, commanded by Major Nguyen Van Canh, proceeded to attack and reclaim the hamlet of Hanh Hoa, Tram Ly, the Catholic village and Tri Buu Chapel. From there, they crossed Duy Tan Street and Le Van Duyet Street to enter the north east side of the Old Citadel. At the city prison they engaged in hand to hand combat with the enemy. On the north east face of the Old Citadel the 3rd Battalion quickly wiped out the enemy's last stronghold. On 15 September 1972, the 3rd Battalion was proudly draping a small national flag on the Old Citadel.

* After the city of Quang Tri and the Old Citadel were successfully recovered President Nguyen Van Thieu came to visit the battleground. Colonel Ngo Van Dinh drove the jeep with the President to his right. In the back were Lieutenant General Ngo Quang Truong, Brigadier General Bui The Lan, and Colonel Duc. Lieutenant Colonel Do Huu Tung (commanding officer of the 6th Battalion) and Captain Lam (Chief of the Battalion's Section 3) were waiting at the 6th Battalion's command post to welcome the President. The command post was then located at Quang Tri Stadium on the side of Le Huan Street. After the visit, the President returned to the T-junction at Long Hung where the command post of the 2nd Marine Battalion was located in the brick kiln of Truong Ke. The jeep carrying the President then drove southwards along National Highway One to return to Brigade 147 Headquarters. 

The 2nd Battalion was then ordered to replace the 6th Battalion, which would then be transferred to Saigon to celebrate the victory and be feted by the capital. 

Captain Tran Van Loan