Following the initial communist capture of the city, 3 Marine battalions (1/1, 1/5. and 2/5) along with 4 US Army battalions (1^st Cavalry Division) and 11 battalions of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) fought an intense month-long house-to-house battle to clear the city of VC-PAVN forces.  Marines were in continuous small unit combined-arms combat employing tank-infantry teams, recoilless rifles, mortars, grenades as well as tear gas and obscuration smoke to move from building to building and often from room to room. Allied air and artillery support were restricted by the poor weather, supply difficulties and initially by restrictions intended to limit damage to the city’s historic structures.  Throughout the entire battle the U.S. command consistently underestimated the size of the PAVN-VC forces.  For the majority of the battle, ARVN, Marine and US Army units each fought separate, largely uncoordinated engagements without a unified command structure, no overall strategy and competing demands for logistics, air and artillery support. Delaying the allied counterattack until a clear plan was developed and the necessary forces assembled might have reduced casualties and shortened the battle.