ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the whirlwind post-Tet Offensive operations of the US Ninth Division that pushed most big revolutionary units out of the province by 1969, and when these troops were poised to return in early 1970, the Cambodian invasion diverted them into other areas. The devastating operations of the US Ninth Division, which wreaked havoc on the people of the central Mekong Delta, were designed by the top command of this unit, and were not the product of panicked and vengeful low-level units in the heat of battle. The delta was also important for Communist Party strategists, first of all for the reverse of the reasons that Colby had stated and also because of the role that the delta played in their own plans. The Nixon administration argued that it was necessary to disrupt the communist base structure and supply lines in order to throw them off balance and buy time for Vietnamization to succeed.
