THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00472A002200010006-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 6, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: September 8, 1965
• Content Type: MEMO

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8 September 1965
HIGHLIGHTS
A Viet Cong battalion yesterday fought its
way out of a government trap, south of Da Nang,
inflicting heavy casualties on a South Vietnamese
Ranger battalion. The large-scale operation 20
miles south of Chu Lai by five battalions of USMC
and South Vietnamese troops has encountered scat-
tered resistance; according to preliminary re-
ports 48 Viet Cong were killed, against marine
losses of one wounded and South Vietnamese losses
of 3 killed and 31 wounded. On the political
front, Buddhist leader Tri Quang expects antigov-
ernment and anti-American gitation by students in
Hue to continue. In North Vietnam, surface-to-air
firings have recently increased; on 4 September,
a drone aircraft was narrowly missed by a missile
fired from a site in the vicinity of sites 6, 7, and 8.
I. The Military Situation. in South Vietnam:
An estimated Viet Cong battalion employing mortars,
recoilless rifles, and automatic weapons, yesterday
fought its way out of a government trap 20 miles
south of Da Nang, inflicting heavy casualties on
a South Vietnamese Ranger battalion (Paras. 1-2).
The multibattalion USMC/ARVN sweep-and-destroy
operation launched yesterday 20 miles'south of Chu
Lai in northeast Quang Ngai Province is proceding
according to plan; ao.far, ARVN forces have encoun-
tered the most determined enemy resistance, and
have reported 48 Viet Cong killed to date (Para. 3).
USAF B-52 strategic bombers last night conducted
a saturation bombing attack against a suspected
Viet Cong concentration 15-,-nautical miles north of
Saigon (Para. 4). Heavy airstrikes yesterday dis-
rupted an attack by two Viet Cong companies against
a Regional Forces outpost in the Mekong Delta prov-
ince of Chuong Thien (Para. 5). Additional enemy
attacks were reported yesterday in Binh Dinh Prov-
ince, while to the south, Viet Cong terrorists
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were again active near Saigon (Para. 6). Several
important changes in Viet Cong tactics in the
southern IV Corps area of South Vietnam have been
observed by MACV (Paras. 7-8). According to MACV's
Weekly Military Report for 28 August - 4 September,
the Viet Cong col-If-M-6d to maintain a cautious of-
fensive posture avoiding major contact whenever pos-
sible with strong ARVN/US formations, and concentra-
ting their principal effort on intensified small-
scale harassment of isolated, lightly defended popu-
lation centers, New Life hamlets, and strategic
military outposts (Paras. 10-13). The weekly report
Summarizes rail and road interdictions and casualty
statistics (Paras. 14-17).
II. Political Developments in South Vietnam:
Buddhist leader Tri Quang has told the US consul
in Hue that he expects unrest in the northern
provinces to continue festering, and implied that
the tempo may again increase if the war and the
tenure of the present Saigongovernment are pro-
longed (Paras. 1-3).
III, Military Developments in North Vietnam:
Since 4 September probably four missiles have been
launched against US aircraft. A drone aircraft was
norrowly missed by a missile on 4 September, and on
5 September two USN aircraft were fired at over ?the
Gulf of Tonkin.
IV. Other Communist Military Developments:
Nothing significant to report. -
V. Communist Political Developments: Nothing
significant to: report.
8 -September 1965
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I. MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. An estimated Viet Cong battalion, employ-
ing mortars, recoilless rifles, and automatic
weapons, yesterday fought its way out of a gov-
ernment trap 20 miles south of Da Nang, inflict-
ing heavy casualties on a South_ Vietnamese Ranger
battalion. Government losses were placed at 22
killed and 62 wounded, as against confirmed enemy
losses of four killed and 13 captured. US air
strikes on the Communist positions are believed
to have saved the Ranger unit from possible an-
nihilation.
2. The action occurred as the result of a
multibattalion ARVN search-and-destroy operation
initiated near the town of An Nang in Quang Nam
Province on 5 September. Only the Ranger bat-
talion established significant contact with the
Viet Cong; casualties to other participating op-
erational elements were termed "light."
3. The multibattalion USMC/ARVN sweep-and-
destroy-operation launched yesterday 20 miles south
of Chu Lai in northeast Quang Ngai Province Is
proceeding according to plan. US forces have
secured their tactical positions, with light
sniper fire the only reported opposition. Three
guerrillas have been killed and six captured thus
far in this phase of the operation, against marine
losses of one wounded. The ARVN sweep being con-
ducted in the southern sector of the target zone
has encountered more determined Viet Cong rettst-
ance, and Your ARVN battalions are now in the area.
Reports of this pase of "Operation PIRANHA" are
incomplete, but as of late yesterday afternoon
48 Viet Cong were reported killed, seven captured,
and 4 suspects detained, in contrast to ARVN
losses of three killed and 31 wounded.
8 September 1965
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4. Fifteen Guam-based USAF B-52 strategic bomb-
ers last night attacked a suspected Viet Cong supply,
storage, training, and assembly area 15 nautical miles
north of Saigon. All of the aircraft successfully
released their bombs over the target area. No fol-
low-up ground exploitation was planned.
5. In the Mekong Delta province of Chuong Thien,
an estimated force of two Viet Cong companies yester-
day besieged a small Regional Forces outpost with
mortar and small-arms fire. Heavy airStrikes flown
in support of the post reportedly killed 70 Viet
Cong, and ultimately forced their withdrawal. Gov-
ernment casualties were officially placed at ten
killed and 25 wounded. Unconfirmed press reports
allege that an additional 50 Vietnamese civilians
were wounded by the airStrikes and later evacuated
by US Army helicopters.
6. A Viet Cong attack was also reported early
today against the bivouac position of a reinforced
Vietnamese company in Binh Dinh Province. Friendly
casualties were believed heavy. Meanwhile, to the
south, Viet Cong terrorists were again active in the
Saigon area. One policeman was killed and seven
wounded by a grenade thrown into a police station
at Gia Dinh,
7. MACV has reported the following recent
changes in Viet Cong tactics in the southern IV Corps
area: instructions have been issued not to fire on
low-flying aircraft unless the Viet Cong have been
detected; field fortifications have been improved;
the depth of overhead cover has been increased; and
the Viet Cong are beginning to maintain close con-
tact with ARVN as a protective measure against air
attack. In one instance last week, the Viet Cong
allowed an ARVN battalion to advance to within 50
meters of their position and then pinned the unit
down with automatic fire. This made air attack
against enemy emplacements virtually impossible.
8. Despite the heavy losses believed to have
been sustained by the Viet Cong in recent weeks,
8 September 1965
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MACV finds no indication of a flagging will to fight.
Enemy units still devote considerable effort to re-
moving their dead from the battlefield. In recent
actions in the IV Corps, each Viet Cong soldier
entered combat with a rope wound around his body and
tied to his neck, to facilitate dragging away those
killed or wounded.
9. MACV's military report for 6 September shows
104 Communist-initiated incidents, five of them oc-
curing during the 24-hour reporting period. The
most significant enemy action occurred in northern
coastal Quang Ngai Province, where a Regional Forces
platoon escorting dependents to fetch water was
ambushed by an unknown number of Viet Cong, losing
11 killed, 13 wounded, 2 missing, and 7 weapons
captured.
10. According to MACV's Weekly Military Report
for the period 28 August - 4 SiiiTiiber, the Viet
Cong continued to maintain a cautious offensive
posture, avoiding major contact with strong ARVN/US
formations whenever possible, and concentrating
their principal effort on intensified small-scale
harassment of isolated, lightly, defended population
centers, New Life hamlets, and strategic military
outposts. When forced to fight by government forces,
the Viet Cong usually conducted tenacious defensive
operations until nightfall, when they broke contact.
On only one occasion did a Communist unit break and
run during an operation. This occurred in the south-
ern IV Corps when napalm was employed against the
Viet Cong.
11. Statistically, while the over-all level of
incidents initiated by the Viet Cong increased from
534 to 568, only one large-scale action was con-
firmed: a battalion-sized attack against i Regional
Forces outpost at An Hoa in northeast Quang Ngai
Province on 31 August. The post was retaken by
ARVN reaction forces after approximately 12-hours
of enemy occupation.
8 September 1965
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12. A numerical comparison of last week's guer-
rilla activity with that of the previous week fol-
lows:
Time
At-
Terror-
Sabo-'
Propa-
Total In-
Period
tacks
ism
tage
ganda
AA.
cidents
21-28 August
12
329
73
41
79
534
28 Aug-4 Sept
9
366
57
50
86
568
13. On the government side, large-scale search-
and-destroy operations by ARVN and US forces contin-
ued to maintain pressure on the Viet Cong, thus forc-
ing the enemy to operate mainly in small-unit forma-
tions. A three-battalion reaction by the 9th ARVN
Division to Viet Cong harassment in Vinh Binh Prov-
ince trapped an estimated enemy battalion along the
banks of the Mekong River on 3 September. Sixty-two
Viet Cong were killed and 22 captured, against
friendly losses of 18 killed and 45 wounded. Road
clearing operations by ARVN forces along Route 21
between Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa Province) and Ban Me
Thout (Darlac Province), and by elements of the US
101st Airborne Brigade along strategic lateral Route
19 in Binh Dinh Province between Qui Nhon and An
Khe, proceeded according to plan without opposition
from Viet Cong units.
14. National Route 1 remains closed in Quang
Ngai, Binh Thuan, and Binh Tuy provinces; Route 19
is closed west of Pleiku city but passable to the
east; Route 9 is closed in Quang Tri Province;
Route 7 is closed in Phu Yen and Phu Bon provinces;
Routes 40 and 17, in Phong Dinh and Kien Giang
provinces respectively, are closed; and interpro-
vincial Routes 1 and 5 are closed. The coastal
railway is operational from Saigon to Xuan Loc (Long
Khanh Province); from Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan Prov-
ince) to Ninh Hoa (Khanh Hoa Province); from the
mountain resort of Dalat (Tuyen Duc Province) to
Phan Rang (Ninh Thuan Province); and from Da Nang
to Dong Ha (Quang Tri Province),
8 September 1965
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15. ARVN casualties during the period 28 August
4 September totaled 689 (179 KIA, 410 WIA, and 100
MIA/captured), a slight decline from the previous
week's casualty total of 710 (180 KIA, 499 WIA, and
31 MIA/captured). ARVN weapons losses increased
to 380 from the 106 reported lost in the preceding
week.
16. During 28 August - 4 September, the Viet
Cong sustained 531 known casualties (422 KIA and 109
captured), a decrease in comparison with the previous
week's total of 699 casualties (579 KIA and 120
captured). Government forces captured 170 weapons
(three crew-served); in the preceding week 176 weap-
ons (none crew-served)had been seized.
17. US battle casualties during the 28 August -
4 September MACV reporting period totaled 73 (26
KIA, 44 WIA, and :3 MIA/captured), a sharp de-
cline from the loreceding, week's corrected casualty
total of 119 (9 KIA, 103 WIA, 7 MIA/captured). Ameri-
can nonbattle casualties numbered 12 (8 deaths and
4 injuries); the previous week's total in this cate-
gory was 77 (60 deaths and 17 injuries). There were
no US civilian casualties reported.
8 September. 1965
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II. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. At the conclusion of his brief visit to Hue,
Buddhist monk Tri Wang told the American consul last
week end that he expLcted trouble in ue to continue
to fester unless there is an early solution to the
country's problems. Quang claimed that the people in
the area want a legally elected civilian government,
and that the solution would be to convene a national
assembly--either by selecting delegates from the re-
cently elected provincial councils or by holding new
elections--to choose a civilian prime minister and
chief of state.
2. Quang exhibited little interest in details
of the recent student "struggle movement" in Hue,
characterizing the students as not against Americans,
but as tired of war and resentful of the large Ameri-
can presence. He implied that antigovernment activ-
ity would continue in a "light vein," but that the
tempo might increase, depending on developments.
3. \
Tri Quang is in fact
quite seriously concerned about anti-American senti-
ment in Hue. Tri Quang made a hurried
trip to Hue, despite ill health, because he feared
the situation was at "powder-keg tension" and th t
students and intellectuals in Hue might attempt to
precipitate violent antigovernment or anti-American
agitation in connection with the conference of intel-
lectuals on 29-31 August.
Quang, in contrast to the tone of his re-
marks to the consul at the end of his trip, has
stated that anti-Americanism was becoming serious
in the Hue area, and that he wished to discuss the
matter with Ambassador Lodge.
8 September 1965
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III. MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH VIETNAM
1. Surface-to-air missile firings in North Viet-
nam have recently increased. Since 4 September,
three, and possibly four, SAM sites have launched
missiles against US aircraft.
2. Preliminary scan of 4 September drone
photography reveals a probable missile being launched
at the drone from an unknown SAM site in the vicinity
of sites-6, 7, and 8. The photography revealed ,a
contrail originating from under a cloud, passing
near the drone and continuing upward before detona-
tion for a near-miss on the drone. There was no
physical damage noted on the drone upon recovery.
3. Two SAM incidents occurred on 5 September,
when two USN aircraft over the Gulf-of Tonkin re-
ported near misses.'
8 September 1905
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