February 26 - Discovery of Hue's Mass Graves

This Day in History: 26 February 2020

 

26 February 1968

 

52 years ago, today, the first mass graves were discovered in Hue by allied troops who had recaptured the city from the North Vietnamese during the Tet Offensive, in the midst of the Vietnam War. In this war, communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong went against South Vietnam and the United States, and ended in 1973, when the US withdrew, causing Vietnam to unify under communist control later. Communist troops, who had held the city for 25 days, had massacred around 2,800 civilians, that they had identified as sympathisers with the government in Saigon, with one authority estimating that the communists might have killed as many as 5,700 people in Hue.

 

The Tet Offensive had begun on the first day of the Tet holiday truce, on January 30, when the Viet Cong forces initiated their largest and best organised offensive of the war, while also having the support from the North Vietnamese troops. During the attack, they drove into the centre of South Vietnam's seven largest cities and attacked the 30 capitals. Within the first four days, cities taken ranged from Hue,Dalat, Kontum, and Quang Tri. In the north of the country, all five capitals were overrun, and at the same time, enemy forces shelled many allied airfields and bases. By February 10, this offensive was largely crushed, but did result in heavy and unfortunate casualties on both sides.

 

Want to find out more about the Vietnam War and the Tet Offensive? Click here for more details on the Vietnam War, and here for the Tet Offensive. Click here for a simple video explaining the Tet Offensive.