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Fire in the Streets: The Battle for Hue, Tet 1968
Fire in the Streets is the highly detailed combat history of U.S. Marine Corps units in urban combat in Hue City during the 1968 Communist Tet Offensive. The focus of the story is on small units and individual fighting men as they grapple with advancing through the unfamiliar terrain across an urban battlefield. Fire in the Streets spent many years on official U.S. Marine Corps professional reading lists as the best example of modern military operations in urban terrain.
371 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1991
About the author
Eric Hammel
99 books50 followersEric Hammel was born in 1946, in Salem, Massachusetts, and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Central High School of Philadelphia in January 1964 and earned a degree in Journalism from Temple University in 1972. His road to writing military history began at age twelve, when he was stuck in bed for a week with a childhood illness. Eric's father bought him the first paperback book he ever owned, Walter Lord's Day of Infamy. As he devoured the book, Eric realized that he wanted to write books exactly like it, what we now call popular narrative history. Lord had pieced together the book from official records illuminated with the recollections of people who were there. Eric began to write his first military history book when he was fifteen. The book eventually turned out to be Guadalcanal: Starvation Island. Eric completed the first draft before he graduated from high school. During his first year of college, Eric wrote the first draft of Munda Trail, and got started on 76 Hours when he was a college junior. Then Eric got married and went to work, which left him no time to pursue his writing except as a journalism student.
Eric quit school at the end of his junior year and went to work in advertising in 1970. Eric completed his journalism degree in 1972, moved to California in 1975, and finally got back to writing while he operated his own one-man ad agency and started on a family. 76 Hours was published in 1980, and Chosin followed in 1982. At the end of 1983 Eric was offered enough of an advance to write The Root: The Marines in Beirut to take up writing books full time. The rest, as they say, is history.
Eric eventually published under his own imprint, Pacifica Press, which morphed into Pacifica Military History and IPS Books. At some point in the late 1990s, Eric realized he had not written in five years, so he pretty much closed down the publishing operation and pieced together a string of pictorial combat histories for Zenith Press. Eric nominally retired in 2008 and took up writing as a full-time hobby writing two novels, 'Til The Last Bugle Call and Love and Grace. Fast forward to 2018 and Eric was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and on August 25th 2020, Eric passed from this life to the next at the age of 74.
Eric quit school at the end of his junior year and went to work in advertising in 1970. Eric completed his journalism degree in 1972, moved to California in 1975, and finally got back to writing while he operated his own one-man ad agency and started on a family. 76 Hours was published in 1980, and Chosin followed in 1982. At the end of 1983 Eric was offered enough of an advance to write The Root: The Marines in Beirut to take up writing books full time. The rest, as they say, is history.
Eric eventually published under his own imprint, Pacifica Press, which morphed into Pacifica Military History and IPS Books. At some point in the late 1990s, Eric realized he had not written in five years, so he pretty much closed down the publishing operation and pieced together a string of pictorial combat histories for Zenith Press. Eric nominally retired in 2008 and took up writing as a full-time hobby writing two novels, 'Til The Last Bugle Call and Love and Grace. Fast forward to 2018 and Eric was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and on August 25th 2020, Eric passed from this life to the next at the age of 74.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 23, 2022
In his book, Eric Hammel tells the story of the battle for Hue from the perspective of the forces that clashed there.
The battle for Hue began with American and South Vietnamese forces in possession of the city, but the initial Communist attack captured most of it. The Communists comprised both North Vietnamese Army regulars and Viet Cong guerrillas. The American forces in Vietnam had mainly relied on advances in air strike, air mobility, and aerial resupply capabilities since the Korean conflict, which fostered a greater dependency on aircraft by the ground forces. According to Hammel, that dependency caused difficulties when the weather at Hue seriously hindered American air operations. However, Hue was unlike other urban battles because American forces could use their control of the sea to lend extensive naval gunfire and logistical support, which helped them considerably.
Hue was a city of substantial historical importance. It had been a center of political power in Vietnam for centuries, even before it served as the capital from the early-1800s until 1945. As such, the city was of great psychological importance to the people of South Vietnam, which was no small matter in a long conflict for the loyalty of the population that Hanoi and Saigon waged.
As the author explains, in attacking Hue, Hanoi sought to unbalance a conflict that was looking increasing like a stalemate. The war in the countryside was driving 500,000 rural South Vietnamese per year into the cities and away from the Communist sphere of influence, denying the Communists access to a great source of manpower. Hanoi hoped that a Communist drive into the urban areas would prove to the population that the South Vietnamese government could not protect them there, ignite uprisings in support of the Communists in the cities across the country, and strike at the Johnson administration when it was most sensitive – in the election year of 1968. The Communist leadership ordered the offensive in July 1967. The plan was to attack Saigon, thirty-nine of the forty-four provincial capitals, and many other urban areas.
Hammel argues that the Communist offensive was expected by some American and South Vietnamese commanders, although many other commanders still looked at incoming intelligence on Communist preparations skeptically. It was the urban focus of Tet that surprised American and South Vietnamese forces. American forces had identified two North Vietnamese regiments within a day's march from Hue, but the combined Communist strength and intentions were less clear. Those American and South Vietnamese perceptions, together with the desire in both Washington and Saigon to Vietnamize the war so that their allies would not accuse them of imperialism, resulted in a minimal American troop presence in South Vietnamese cities. In Hue there was only a compound of the MACV, which housed Army officers, Marines, and some Australian trainers.
As the author narrates, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, and the ceasefire agreed to by both sides, an important breakdown occurred in the Communists’ command and control that had significant effect on Hue. Some Communist units, which were positioned further south, mistakenly used an outdated calendar to time their attacks. The result was a string of premature attacks in the far south one day early, on the night of January 30, 1968. This gave South Vietnamese and American forces an early warning of what was coming.
According to Hammel, Hue's geography favored the attackers. For the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong forces, dispersed infiltration was the common strategy for movement to a battle. Hue's location, just eighty kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone, made it easier for Hanoi to muster its troops near the city. Hue was divided into northern and southern sections by the Perfume River, which made movement within the city difficult, but offered an alternative way for the Communists to enter it. However, the city was also near the coast, some twelve kilometers to the east, which allowed the Americans to benefit from naval gunfire support.
The initial Communist assault into the city achieved considerable success, but it was not decisive. The combination of Viet Cong units already inside the city and North Vietnamese battalions barging in from the south and southwest succeeded in taking most of both southern and northern Hue by the afternoon of 31 January. Communist mistakes in coordination gave the defenders of both the 1st South Vietnamese Division headquarters and MACV compounds time to organize their defenses, though. The two compounds managed to hold out against several attacks. The Communist offensive phase was mostly over in the first twenty-four hours, and from then on it became easier for the defenders to undermind the Communist plan for capturing the city. The threat to the Communists units now came from both inside and outside the city, as the Marines advanced and helicopters were sent for support.
However, as the author points out, several days passed before American commanders realized how different the attack on Hue was from the usual Communist tactics of hit and run. Both the size of the enemy force in Hue and their willingness to stand and fight instead of hiding from the Americans far exceeded initial American expectations. In those first few days, American commanders outside the city ordered several ill-advised Marine attacks over the objections of commanders inside city. Those attacks led to the heavy losses that are associated with Hue. According to Hammel, the American and South Vietnamese forces inside the city acted more prudently, largely focusing on reinforcement, resupply, and assessing the nature of the fight before throwing themselves into battle. Their commanders were competent and should not bear the blame for the large number of casualties on the American side.
FIRE IN THE STREETS is a well-written and informative study of the American performance in the battle for Hue. Hammel has researched meticulously and analyzed insightfully. This book will not disappoint anyone interested in the bloodiest battle of the Tet Offensive. I highly recommend it.
The battle for Hue began with American and South Vietnamese forces in possession of the city, but the initial Communist attack captured most of it. The Communists comprised both North Vietnamese Army regulars and Viet Cong guerrillas. The American forces in Vietnam had mainly relied on advances in air strike, air mobility, and aerial resupply capabilities since the Korean conflict, which fostered a greater dependency on aircraft by the ground forces. According to Hammel, that dependency caused difficulties when the weather at Hue seriously hindered American air operations. However, Hue was unlike other urban battles because American forces could use their control of the sea to lend extensive naval gunfire and logistical support, which helped them considerably.
Hue was a city of substantial historical importance. It had been a center of political power in Vietnam for centuries, even before it served as the capital from the early-1800s until 1945. As such, the city was of great psychological importance to the people of South Vietnam, which was no small matter in a long conflict for the loyalty of the population that Hanoi and Saigon waged.
As the author explains, in attacking Hue, Hanoi sought to unbalance a conflict that was looking increasing like a stalemate. The war in the countryside was driving 500,000 rural South Vietnamese per year into the cities and away from the Communist sphere of influence, denying the Communists access to a great source of manpower. Hanoi hoped that a Communist drive into the urban areas would prove to the population that the South Vietnamese government could not protect them there, ignite uprisings in support of the Communists in the cities across the country, and strike at the Johnson administration when it was most sensitive – in the election year of 1968. The Communist leadership ordered the offensive in July 1967. The plan was to attack Saigon, thirty-nine of the forty-four provincial capitals, and many other urban areas.
Hammel argues that the Communist offensive was expected by some American and South Vietnamese commanders, although many other commanders still looked at incoming intelligence on Communist preparations skeptically. It was the urban focus of Tet that surprised American and South Vietnamese forces. American forces had identified two North Vietnamese regiments within a day's march from Hue, but the combined Communist strength and intentions were less clear. Those American and South Vietnamese perceptions, together with the desire in both Washington and Saigon to Vietnamize the war so that their allies would not accuse them of imperialism, resulted in a minimal American troop presence in South Vietnamese cities. In Hue there was only a compound of the MACV, which housed Army officers, Marines, and some Australian trainers.
As the author narrates, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, and the ceasefire agreed to by both sides, an important breakdown occurred in the Communists’ command and control that had significant effect on Hue. Some Communist units, which were positioned further south, mistakenly used an outdated calendar to time their attacks. The result was a string of premature attacks in the far south one day early, on the night of January 30, 1968. This gave South Vietnamese and American forces an early warning of what was coming.
According to Hammel, Hue's geography favored the attackers. For the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong forces, dispersed infiltration was the common strategy for movement to a battle. Hue's location, just eighty kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone, made it easier for Hanoi to muster its troops near the city. Hue was divided into northern and southern sections by the Perfume River, which made movement within the city difficult, but offered an alternative way for the Communists to enter it. However, the city was also near the coast, some twelve kilometers to the east, which allowed the Americans to benefit from naval gunfire support.
The initial Communist assault into the city achieved considerable success, but it was not decisive. The combination of Viet Cong units already inside the city and North Vietnamese battalions barging in from the south and southwest succeeded in taking most of both southern and northern Hue by the afternoon of 31 January. Communist mistakes in coordination gave the defenders of both the 1st South Vietnamese Division headquarters and MACV compounds time to organize their defenses, though. The two compounds managed to hold out against several attacks. The Communist offensive phase was mostly over in the first twenty-four hours, and from then on it became easier for the defenders to undermind the Communist plan for capturing the city. The threat to the Communists units now came from both inside and outside the city, as the Marines advanced and helicopters were sent for support.
However, as the author points out, several days passed before American commanders realized how different the attack on Hue was from the usual Communist tactics of hit and run. Both the size of the enemy force in Hue and their willingness to stand and fight instead of hiding from the Americans far exceeded initial American expectations. In those first few days, American commanders outside the city ordered several ill-advised Marine attacks over the objections of commanders inside city. Those attacks led to the heavy losses that are associated with Hue. According to Hammel, the American and South Vietnamese forces inside the city acted more prudently, largely focusing on reinforcement, resupply, and assessing the nature of the fight before throwing themselves into battle. Their commanders were competent and should not bear the blame for the large number of casualties on the American side.
FIRE IN THE STREETS is a well-written and informative study of the American performance in the battle for Hue. Hammel has researched meticulously and analyzed insightfully. This book will not disappoint anyone interested in the bloodiest battle of the Tet Offensive. I highly recommend it.
January 2, 2018
A very thorough, albeit at times, tedious account of the Battle of Hue. Hammel describes action taken in this conflict by U.S. Marine rifle companies Alpha 1/1, Bravo 1/1, Delta 1/1, Alpha 1/5, Bravo 1/5, Charlie 1/5, Delta 1/5, Echo 2/5, Fox 2/5, Golf 2/5, Hotel 2/5, and Lima 3/5, and seemingly by each and every other U.S., ARVN, NVA and Viet Cong unit that fought in this battle. An epilogue of just two pages was far too brief for this narrative. Other than estimating that there were many hundreds of deaths of Hue citizens and that there were nearly 2000 documented cases of mass murder and execution of Hue government workers, doctors, intellectuals, theologians, and teachers by the communists what was the actual cost in lives and casualties in this epic battle? How many U.S servicemen were killed? How many injured? What was the ARVN losses? What were the NVA and Viet Cong losses?
August 13, 2008
you can probably guess why i read this. what was especially exciting is that the author interviewed my dad and included a few of my dad's experiences and stuff in the book.
May 17, 2022
An impressive read about the Battle for Hue city - I have always wanted to read more on this subject having see Don McCullin’s photographic record of the battle.
These men were brave and many Marines not trained in House to House clearance but like all Marines they learnt quickly. It is also amazing to think that many of the senior officers were mud solders in WW2.
These men were brave and many Marines not trained in House to House clearance but like all Marines they learnt quickly. It is also amazing to think that many of the senior officers were mud solders in WW2.
April 17, 2023
I appreciate the thoroughness but this book is a straight military report of the battle.
It’s interesting but WOW is it dense, it needs more visual aids when it comes to describing the military movements.
It’s interesting but WOW is it dense, it needs more visual aids when it comes to describing the military movements.
February 10, 2018
Wonderful reprint of this classic. Gritty and detailed narrative of US Marines and their South Vietnamese allies clearing the city in bitter urban combat.
July 11, 2018
Get in Hue
The author used personal memories of USMC, USvRmy and FUN bioterrorism the story of the battle for Hue. He did an excellent job.
The author used personal memories of USMC, USvRmy and FUN bioterrorism the story of the battle for Hue. He did an excellent job.
May 26, 2015
gives a very good descriptive overview of the vietnam war.
January 29, 2023
Second time (3rd?) Around and still a good read
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews