The fighting in the Bến Củi rubber plantation is sometimes referred to as the Third Offensive, in reference to the third wave of massed North Vietnamese troops after the Tet Offensive. The Tet and subsequent offensives marked a major shift from the small hit-and-run sniper and ambush that dominated during the Vietnam War to a more massive display of force and higher numbers of casualties.
Some of the veterans of the combat in the Bến Củi and other segments of the Michelin rubber plantation believe that heavier U.S. casualties were sustained because the U.S. Army had an informal agreement with the French Government to not use artillery or air strikes in the rubber plantations, to avoid costly damage to the rubber trees. However, the Combat After Action Reports from the Bến Củi engagement of 21 August 1968 indicate that both artillery and air support were used.
