Battle of South Saigon
1968 battle
The Battle of South Saigon (also known as the Battle of the Y Bridge) took place from 7–12 May 1968 during the Vietcong (VC) May Offensive of the Vietnam War. Four VC battalions attempted to advance over a series of bridges into south Saigon, but were blocked by US Army units and eventually forced to retreat with heavy losses.
Background
When the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 33rd and 38th Ranger Battalions left south Saigon on the morning of 6 May to block the VC thrust toward Chợ Lớn in west Saigon, II Field Force, Vietnam commander General John H. Hay arranged for US troops to fill the gap until ARVN units could be found to do the job. What was intended as a temporary expedient turned into one of the most vicious and sustained battles the Americans would experience in the Saigon area at any point in the war.
Under orders from Hay, the 9th Infantry Division sent Company C, 5th Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, up Highway 4 and then east along Route 232, a two-lane road that ran along the southern edge of the city. The road passed through the Eighth District, a Catholic working-class slum that in recent years had sprouted along the southern edge of the Doi Canal. The mechanized unit, commanded by Captain Edmund Scarborough, parked its M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) at two of the three bridges that spanned the Doi Canal. Scarborough set up his headquarters near the Tung Thien Vuong Bridge (10.741°N 106.656°E / 10.741; 106.656), situated approximately three kilometers due south of the Phú Thọ racetrack. It was also known as the 5A Bridge because Route 5A entered the city at that point. Four kilometers to the east was the Y Bridge (10.75°N 106.683°E / 10.75; 106.683), so named because it resembled that letter when viewed from above.
The public source identifies “Battle of South Saigon” as 1968 battle. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Battle, South and Saigon.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q85745930. Authority coordinates are 10.747, 106.680. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1968.
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This entry incorporates text from “Battle of South Saigon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.