Battle For Hue: Tet 1968

by Keith William Nolan

Though the jungle fighting of the Vietnam War has been closely examined, the in-city, house-to-house combat characterized by the Battle for Hue during Tet 1968 had never been covered extensively before the publication of this debut by now-well-known Vietnam War chronicler Keith William Nolan. It was an agonizing struggle to wrest the entrenched and well-supplied enemy from the Imperial City. Block by block, house by house, United States Marines achieved that difficult objective, exhibiting the courage, daring, and camaraderie for which they are renowned. It was a brutal month-long fight, epitomizing the difficulties the "grunts" endured throughout the war. Nolan dismissed the negative stories and disparaging charges made against Vietnam veterans in general - drugs, desertion, unnecessary and wholesale slaughter - and set about interviewing veterans of the fighting at Hue, studying the available literature and researching the archives in order to present an accurate picture of "what the American grunt went through in Vietnam."

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Military History, Nonfiction, War

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1983

About the author

Keith William Nolan was an American military historian, focusing on the various campaigns of the Vietnam War. Nolan obtained a history degree from Webster University. Nolan pioneered and excelled at his own special brand of military history: the excellent combining of in-depth interviews with those who took part in the fighting and deep research into the official records. That, along with a fluid writing style, added up to ten (eleven, counting one he co-authored) of the best books on Vietnam War military history. Keith Nolan died of lung cancer in February 2009 at the age of forty-five.

Reviews

[Jeff Budds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written 15 years after the epic fight, The Battle for Hue: TET 1968 was one of the first books about the Battle of Hue City. Keith William Nolan does a remarkable job by interviewing roughly three-dozen combat veterans, most of which provide eyewitness accounts. However, despite the deep value of these first-hand observations, this book has a number of significant drawbacks.

First and foremost is that the book lacks objectivity. It seems to be written for a 20-year old Marine lance corporal and as a rebuttal to some residual perception of Vietnam veterans as “baby-killers, junkies, and suckers” in Mr. Nolan’s words. In his defense, the book was published in 1983, when ill will toward Vietnam veterans was becoming less popular and Americans were discovering a new respect for the veteran, aided by movies like Rambo. As a military history, this story needs to be told, but with more an open mind. For example, Nolan compares the massacre of Hue City civilians, perpetrated by the communists, with the My Lai massacre. In doing so, he seems to understate this heinous American war crime.

There is no doubt that those Marines who served at Hue were brave and patriotic and that they suffered immensely. However, the lack of objectivity is not just directed toward war crimes and who committed them, Nolan consistently speaks of the U.S. Army in a disparaging tone and almost completely leaves out the Army’s contribution to the Battle of Hue. There is almost no discussion of the four Army battalions that fought in the area of operations and that supported the USMC. Having been a U.S. Marine for well over two decades and having been a student of military history for over four decades, I understand Mr. Nolan’s commitment to the Marine Corps. However, I also understand that, although the Marine Corps carried the brunt of this battle, the story is incomplete without including the U.S. Army. Likewise, Mr. Nolan attempts to appear objective when describing the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) units, but contradicts himself, sometimes within the same page, in his reproachful remarks.

The book would have been better presented as an oral history, similar to the works of Eric Hammel. That way, Mr. Nolan could have relayed these important first-hand accounts without appearing to be so biased.

To his credit, K. W. Nolan includes a decent bibliography, which is well worth reviewing. I offer one other observation – it appears that this book was published when Mr. Nolan was 19 years old. That’s impressive and perhaps helps explain the flaws in the book. Unless the reader is digging deeply into the Battle of Hue City, there are much better options, specifically: Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden; Phase Line Green by Nicholas Warr; and Fire in the Streets, by Eric Hammel.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is by the author who wrote "Black Hawk Down," and has a similar powerful impact.
Hue (pronounced "Whey") was the ancient capital and most beautiful medieval city in Vietnam.
American and South Vietnamese forces were caught off guard when thousands of Viet Cong and N Vietnamese regular troops stormed and occupied Hue on the Tet New Year.
The American high command insisted that the enemy could not be more than a few hundred troops so ordered the nearby Marine companies to take back the city. That was the beginning of one big military F--k up by the Generals. GI's faced dug-in machine guns and snipers. The Brass thought it would take a month to root out the enemy. It took weeks of killing.
Bottom line; the images and news stories that came out of the Hue struggle helped change the US's public opinion of Vietnam war. The battle demoted Generals and finally made President Johnson realize the war was unwinnable.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...I can assure you, the Marines and only the Marines won the battle of Hue. Although many South Vietnamese were killed and others fought extremely well, beyond day four of the offensive, their casualties were low and their tempo of operations can be characterized as 'remain in place, don't take more casualties.' " (page 139)

"The individual North Vietnamese soldier fought bravely, but his leadership was lacking, and the Battle of Hue City proved another military defeat for the Communists in their militarily disasterous Tet Offensive." (page 216)

[Chet Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely do I give five stars but this was, I think, a very accurate description of a terrible battle fought by the US Marines during the Vietnam Conflict. It brings the war realistically to the reader as well as giving accurate factual information. A must read for any historian as well as history buff.

[John Hardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keith Nolan was the best non-fiction writer on the Vietnam War. I believe this was his first book, and it set the tone for his subsequent works.
A top-notch account of the Battle for Hue during the Tet Offensive in 1968. Nolan did his homework and spoke with many participants of the battle.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite Nolan’s forthright purpose of using this book in an attempt at reversing the national image of the US soldier in Vietnam as a heartless war criminal, this collection of accounts works.

Nolan’s obvious goals don’t take away from the amazing personal accounts of US Marines, from the lowliest grunts up to commanders, and their stories of this significant battle. Still, Nolan’s heavy hand about virtuous Americans (looting by US soldiers is often minimized in this) and the evil Communists does wear thin after a while. The accounts of the men who fought in Hue shine through his agenda, and they would’ve been better-served by an author who relayed them as is and left the moral justifications for the reader to describe. All-in-all, this book totally comes off a s a product of the early Reagan years.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good account of what it must have been like at the battle for Hue during Tet in 1968. Well researched, good use of personal stories, good follow-up on the men later. A good read.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second of Nolan’s Vietnam books, the first being Ripcord which I rank very highly. This was another excellent book. I’m looking forward to reading all of them.

[Harold Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love the 5th Marine Regt, you will love this book. I served with them.

[David Engel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning more detail of the Tet offensive in 1968 and was surprized to know the part Dale Dye played in the Hue campaign.

[Rod Leger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keith Nolan is without a doubt, my favorite author of Vietnam War Books. This book is one of my favorites, as is another book of his "Battle for Saigon: Tet 1968." Nolan has mastered a writing style includes both negative and positive aspects of the subject matter. Yes, it is easier (being a Monday morning quarterback) with the passage of time, with newer, after the action information readily available these days for referencing regarding Tet. Back in the day, when this book was written, not all the information readily available today was available at that time. However Nolan did the topic justice when he wrote it. Same is true for "Battle for Saigon: Tet 1968."

Nolan has the ability to put the reader there, in the field, with boots on the ground. Not many authors are adept at doing this. While there are no 'new' incites into Tet of 1968, in all fairness, this book was written several years ago. I would still recommend this book along with the "Battle for Saigon: Tet 1968", to anyone interested in the major events leading up to and during the 1968 Tet offensive.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written. very good diary

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT BOOK - you are there - with the Marines - street to street