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platoon of the 10th Sapper Battalion went into action inside of the city at 0200 hours in the morning and their premature action alerted the city's defense to the impending attack. The blunt of the attack fell upon the defending Army of the Republic of Vietnam forces in and around the city, the 1st Army of the Republic of Vietnam Regiment with two battalions oriented north and northwest of the city. The 9th Army of the Republic of Vietnam Airborne Battalion was located in the suburb of Tri Buu to the east. This battalion became the first troop decisively engaged. Pressure was very heavy on the defending Army of the Republic of Vietnam force and they were gradually forced to fall back into the city, contesting every foot of the ground as they withdrew. By noon on the 31st, the outcome of the battle remained very much in doubt.

Shortly after noon on the 31st, the provincial advisor, Mr. Robert Brewer, held a conference with Colonel Rattan, commander of the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, and the U.S. advisor to the 1st Army of the Republic of Vietnam Regiment. Mr. Brewer stated that the situation in the city was desperate and that the enemy had infiltrated at least a battalion inside the thin Army of the Republic of Vietnam lines. It appeared the enemy was reinforcing from the east and had established fire support positions on the eastern and southern fringes of the city. Recognizing the need for immediate action, Colonel Rattan, after a hasty call to division headquarters for authority, agreed to reorient his brigade and attack to the east of the city.

I had agreed with Colonel Rattan's assessment of the situation at Quang Tri and I trusted his judgment implicitly. His brigade had arrived in the Quang Tri area on 25 January having moved up from Hue-Phu Bai after initially deploying from Bong Son on 17 January. This move was part of the plan to orient the entire 1st Cavalry Division in the I Corps area. Our initial orientation toward the I Corps area had started with the YORK series of plans which gave us a good head start on base areas at Red Beach and Hue-Phu Bai. The 3d Brigade had been in the I Corps Tactical Zone for some time under the operational control of the Americal Division taking part in Operation WALLAWA between Chu Lai and Da Nang. The 2d Brigade of the 1st Cavalry had remained in the PERSHING area of operations and we were given the newly arrived 2d Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, under Colonel John H. Cushman.