1968 Vietnamese Manuscript Map of My Tho, Vietnam, during the Tet Offensive

An outstanding discovery, this is a 1968 Vietnamese Vietnam War field tactics manuscript map of My Tho, South Vietnam, detailing a Viet Cong attack during the Tet Offensive.

A Closer Look

Red arrows follow the incursion routes of the 261st, 263rd, and 514th Viet Cong battalions, highlighting their targets. The 261st Battalion is labeled at top above the black line. Both the 261st and 514th are noted on the left side of the Bảo Định Canal, which appears here as an unlabeled vertical waterway. ARVN installations are marked surrounded by barbed wire, with the large installation near the bottom identified as an artillery base and munitions storage.

The Tet Offensive Viet Cong Attack on My Tho

On January 31, 1968, approximately 1200 Viet Cong fighters from the 261st, 263rd, and 514th battalions attacked Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces in My Tho, a city in the Mekong Delta. Mortar rounds began falling on the city shortly after 4 a.m., and three days of brutal urban combat followed. Two battalions of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division's Riverine Force responded to the assault the following morning and helped the Vietnamese retake My Tho.

The Tet Offensive

January 30, 1968 marked the beginning of the Tet Offensive (January 30, 1968 - September 23, 1968), one of the largest North Vietnamese / Vietcong offensives of the Vietnam War. The Tet Offensive comprised of coordinated surprise attacks targeting both military and civilians. All told, the North Vietnamese struck more than 100 towns and cities, including Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, and 36 of 44 provincial capitals. U.S. forces were caught unprepared and by the second week of February had suffered over 9000 casualties.

Provenance: Major General Ira A. Hunt

This map is from the archive of Major General Ira Augustus Hunt Jr. (1924 - 2022), an American Army officer, historian, and author. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Hunt entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1945, at which point he became a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. He was sent overseas, where he served in several post-war engineer assignments in Europe. A distinguished military and academic career followed, including multiple prestigious degrees, as well as service in Korea. Pertinent to the current map, during the Vietnam War (1955 - 1975), he served as Chief of Staff of the 9th Infantry Division and as Commanding Officer of its 1st Brigade. After Vietnam, he was made Assistant Commandant of the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, then Deputy Chief of Staff for Training and Schools at Headquarters TRADOC, Fort Monroe, Virginia. He retired in 1978, after which he wrote three books: The 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam: Unparalleled and Unequaled, Losing Vietnam: How America Abandoned Southeast Asia, and My Lai Cover-Up: Deceit and Incompetence.