Bến Tre

Bến Tre City Thành phố Bến Tre
Provincial city
A view of Ben Tre city
Bến Tre City Location of in Vietnam
Coordinates: 10°14′N 106°23′E / 10.233°N 106.383°E / 10.233; 106.383
Country	Vietnam
Province	Bến Tre
Area
• Provincial city	71.11 km2 (27.46 sq mi)
Population (January 2016)
• Provincial city	231,904
• Density	3,261.2/km2 (8,446/sq mi)
• Urban	190,161

Bến Tre ( listen) is the capital city of Bến Tre Province, in the Mekong Delta area of southern Vietnam. The city covers an area of 65.75 km² and has a population of 143,639 as of 2009. Bến Tre is 85 kilometres (53 mi) south-east of Ho Chi Minh City and is connected to the surrounding provinces by the Rạch Miễu Bridge. Nearly destroyed by Allied bombing, it played a significant role in the Vietnam War. Reports of the assault and resulting civilian casualties called into question the war aims of the United States.

Bến Tre is located on Bảo Island, with the districts of Châu Thành, Giồng Trôm and Ba Tri. The city is oriented in a triangular layout and is bordered by the following districts:

The city of Bến Tre has 10 wards: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Phú Khương, Phú Tân and 7 communes of Bình Phú, Mỹ Thành, Mỹ Thạnh An, Nhơn Thạnh, Phú Hưng, Phú Nhuận and Sơn Đông.

The French occupied Bến Tre in 1867.

A famous quote from the Vietnam War was a statement attributed to an unnamed U.S. officer by AP correspondent Peter Arnett in his writing about Bến Tre city on 7 February 1968:

'It became necessary to destroy the town to save it', a United States major said today. He was talking about the decision by allied commanders to bomb and shell the town regardless of civilian casualties, to rout the Vietcong.