Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam

12. Closing in on Kontum

12 Closing in on Kontum The poor display of will to fight by the 22nd Division at Tan Canh is discouraging and makes the defense of Kontum City difficult to foretell. . . . In light of this there is no basis for confidence that Hue or Kontum will be held. —General Creighton W. Abrams to Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird After Tan Canh and the outposts fell, John Paul Vann thought his reputation and his career were on the line. He had to win in Kontum or be sacked. That sort of pressure might have crushed a lesser man, but Vann rose to the challenge. It brought out his strengths as a commander, and he used his energy, drive, and personal involvement to ensure that Kontum would not fall. During daylight, when an Arc Light struck north of Kontum, the rising smoke and dust could be seen, the deep rumbling of the explosions could be heard, and the vibrations could be felt in the city. The bombs dropped by US and VNAF fighter-bombers were less spectacular, but when the F-4s came streaking in to drop napalm, the surging fireballs and black smoke were impressive to watch. In Kontum City, a few of the remaining Honda owners rode out to the northern perimeter, and some advisers and reporters gathered on a veranda to watch the show while enjoying a cold beer. They were wise to enjoy it while they could.1 M-72 LAWs were issued to the 23rd Division’s units. Then several old tank hulls were set up as targets in open areas so they could practice firing the M-72 and see the results on a tank’s armor. Pictures from An Loc and Quang Tri showing ARVN soldiers beside the T-54 tanks they had knocked out with M-72s were used to con- CLOSING IN ON KONTUM • 145 vince our troops that a single ARVN soldier really could destroy one of the dreaded monsters.2 Colonel Ba also showed his troops some captured NV A soldiers to prove they were not supermen but just frightened teenagers.3 On 29 April, a high-level “troika” of American advisers was formed in Pleiku. They included John Paul Vann, the corps senior adviser; Brigadier General John G. Hill, Vann’s deputy; and Colonel John A. Todd, the deputy commander of the 1st Aviation Brigade. Todd’s inclusion acknowledged the important roll anticipated for US Army air assets. This group, in conjunction with the corps commander, Lieutenant General Ngo Dzu, would make the major decisions about defending the II Corps area.4 This arrangement allowed Vann to spend more of his own time overseeing the use of Arc Lights and conferring with the ARVN officers. Under the headline “Red Tanks, Troops Near Kontum,” Stars and Stripes reported from Kontum, “This city is in danger of extinction . North Vietnamese tanks and troops are drawing closer from the north and south. Many of the city’s 30,000 residents are packing to leave . . . as soon as the highway to Pleiku is opened.”5 Air reconnaissance in early May discovered new NV A supply dumps and pioneer roads north of Kontum in the vicinity of Vo Dinh.6 On the eve of the assault on Kontum, ARVN reported that the enemy forces closing in on Kontum consisted of the B-3 Front Headquarters with the 2nd and 320th Infantry Division headquarters commanding a total of 8 infantry regiments with a total of 29 infantry battalions, all supported by 2 tank battalions and an artillery regiment with 13 artillery battalions—a total of 19,900 men.7 President Thieu sent a letter to the ARVN Corps commanders directing them to hold Quang Tri, Hue, and Kontum at all cost and to clear the enemy from An Loc and Highway 13 by 2 May.8 Summarizing the situation for Secretary Laird, General Abrams said, In MR2, the poor display of will to fight by the 22nd Division at Tan Canh is discouraging and makes the defense of Kontum City difficult to foretell. . . . I must report that as the pressure has mounted and the battle has become brutal , the senior military leadership has begun to bend and in some cases to break. In adversity it is losing its will and cannot be depended on to take the measures necessary to stand 146 • KONTUM and fight. The known exceptions to this...