Communist forces launch rocket and mortar attacks on numerous cities, provincial capitals, and military installations. The heaviest shelling was on the U.S. airfield at Da Nang, the cities of Hue and Quang Tri. North Vietnamese forces numbering between 1200 and 1500 troops attacked the U.S. Special Forces camp at Duc Lap, 130 miles northeast of Saigon near the Cambodian border. The camp fell but was retaken by an allied relief column led by U.S. Special Forces on August 25. A reported 643 North Vietnamese troops were killed in the battle.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
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- American Revolution
- State of Franklin declares independence, 1784
- Automotive
- Patent for tire chain issued, 1904
- Civil War
- Rose Greenhow is arrested, 1861
- Cold War
- Aleksandr Godunov defects to United States, 1979
- Crime
- Austrian teen escapes after eight years in captivity, 2006
- Disaster
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- General Interest
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- Hollywood
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- Lou Reed plays his last show with the Velvet Underground, 1970
- Old West
- Texas Rangers arrest John Wesley Hardin, 1877
- Presidential
- Dolley Madison saves portrait from British, 1814
- Sports
- Pete Rose gets booted from baseball, 1989
- Vietnam War
- U.S. cargo ship strikes a mine near Saigon, 1966
- Communist forces renew offensive, 1968
- World War I
- Battle of Mons, 1914
- World War II
- The Hitler-Stalin Pact, 1939
Aug 23, 1968:
Communist forces renew offensive
Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
This Week in History, Aug 23 - Aug 29
- Aug 23, 1966
- U.S. cargo ship strikes a mine near Saigon
- Aug 23, 1968
- Communist forces renew offensive
- Aug 24, 1963
- Washington changes policy on support for President Diem
- Aug 24, 1969
- U.S. unit refuses commander's order
- Aug 24, 1970
- B-52s conduct heavy raids along the DMZ
- Aug 25, 1967
- McNamara concedes that bombing is less than effective
- Aug 25, 1971
- 173rd Airborne Brigade departs Vietnam
- Aug 26, 1964
- Johnson receives Democratic nomination for president
- Aug 26, 1967
- Major George E. Day shot down over North Vietnam
- Aug 26, 1968
- Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago
- Aug 27, 1970
- Agnew meets with President Thieu in Saigon
- Aug 27, 1972
- U.S. aircraft conduct heavy raids on Hanoi and Haiphong
- Aug 28, 1966
- North Vietnamese pilots being trained in Soviet Union
- Aug 28, 1967
- More voices raised against the war
- Aug 28, 1968
- DNC endorses Johnson administration platform on the war in Vietnam
- Aug 28, 1972
- U.S. Air Force gets its first ace since Korean War
- Aug 29, 1964
- Khanh steps down
- Aug 29, 1971
- President Nguyen Van Thieu retains control of National Assembly
- Aug 29, 1972
- Nixon announces another troop reduction
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