SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-547-10-12-0
• Release Decision: RIPLIM
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2012
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: July 1, 1972
• Content Type: MEMO

rNSA review 14
/ cornile\tie0 Objection to Declassification in Part 2013/11/20: LOC-HAK-54[71-0--11112(---01:
?,? --- , 11,1 ORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
1-YUP-5ECItES-1-SENSITIVE
CONTAINS CODEWORD
WASHINGTON
July is_ 91?-
15:t2 .vitt;SIDEINT HAS
MEMORANDUM FOR: THE PRESIDENT
FROM: HENRY A. KISSINGER1'1(.,
SUBJECT: Situation in Vietnam
Operation Lamson 72 continues on schedule in Quang Tri Province as
ARVN forces continue to make progress. Advancing elements of the
Airborne and Marine Divisions consolidated their positions and prepared
for further attacks toward Quang Tri City. Yesterday, 97 enemy were
killed by the Marines in two separate engagements while other scattered
contacts accounted for 62 enemy killed. Marine casualties were light.
Activity in the Airborne Division area has been somewhat reduced.
Yesterday over 6 tons of ammunition, including 100 rounds of 130 mm,
were destroyed along with 5 tanks reported knocked out by VNAF.
In the 1st Division area, the defenders of Fire Support Base Checkmate
were forced to withdraw following an enemy artillery and ground attack.
ARVN elements are attempting to retake Checkmate, but as of this
reporting time it is still in enemy bands. Moderate attacks continue in
the Hue area.
In Military Region 2, Kontum City is quiet. Yesterday afternoon a 30 truck
convoy succeeded in completing a move through the Konturn. Pass from
Pleiku to Kontum. City. This marks the first convoy through the Pass since
April 22. Light contacts have been reported in the Pass area, however,
Route 14 is reported cleared.
Sporadic enemy mortar and artillery fire is reported along Route 13 in
Military Region 3, while contacts south of An Loc resulted in 43 enemy
killed. Elements at Song Be report an early morning artillery and
ground attack but late reports indicate that the situation is easing.
U.S. aircraft flew 563 sorties in Vietnam on 1 July. Of these, 225 were
directed against targets over North Vietnam. In addition, 9 B-52 strikes
were flown over North Vietnam.
-715-P-S?PrCELEZZ?ENSITIVE
CONTAINS CODEWORD
ARMY, OSD, & DOS
Reviews Completed
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No Objection to Declassification in Part 2013/11/20: LOC-HAK-547-10-12-0
111,
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Military Region 1
2
The South Vietnamese counteroffensive, Operation Lamson 72, continues
to progress on schedule against moderate enemy resistance. The Marine
and Airborne units have advanced to a point approximately five miles
southeast of Quang Tri City.
? Attacking ARVN elements are maintainini continuous pressure on
enemy forces by employing a series of coordinated helicopter-borne
assaults which are designed to envelope enemy forces and 'pre-empt enemy
flanking maneuvers.
-- Regional Force elements following up behind the Marine units have
found and destroyed ten tons of munitions.
-- The Airborne Division operating to the west of Route 1 is encountering
moderate enemy resistance but reduced attacks by fire.
. Southwest of Hue, enemy forces attacked FSB Checkmate following
an artillery attack on the outpost. ARVN defenders sustained 15 killed
and 34 wounded and were forced to withdraw to FSB Bastogne. Two
companies of ARVN infantry are attempting to retake the outpost.
-- Intercepted enemy communications are revealing enemy concern
over the allied offensive. Instructions have been issued to relocate some
enemy units farther north and to destroy weapons in place to preclude
their being captured if they cannot be moved.
Militar Region 2
A low level of activity continues around Kontum City.
? To the south, a 30 vehicle convoy yesterday negotiated Route 14 and
the Kontum Pass between Pleiku and Kohturn City without incident. Route 14
is now considered clear.
-- Also, small truck convoys have been using the by-pass route to
get to FSB 41A and 42. In addition a 114 truck convoy arrived in Pleiku
from the coastal town of Qui Nhon via Route 19.
? ARVN elements operating in the Chu Pao mountain area found
109 enemy bodies killed by air strikes.
? ROK forces have assumed security responsibility for Route 19 from
An Khe Pass to Mang Yang Pass releasing an ARVN regiment for deployment
to Binh Dinh Province.
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No Objection to Declassification in Part 2013/11/20: LOC-HAK-547-10-12-0
No Objection to Declassification in Part 2013/11/20: LOC-HAK-547-10-12-0
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CONTAINS CODEWORD
Military Region 3
An Loc is quiet, but the ARVN 33rd Regiment operating south of An Lac
along Route 13 remained in contact with the enemy all day yesterday and
again-last night.
-- Fighting has increased in coastal Phouc Tuy Province with ARVN
forces engaging elements of the 274th VC Regiment near Dat Do, and
killing over 60 enemy while sustaining light casualties.
-- In Phuoc Long Province ARVN elements at Song Be reported enemy
shelling and a ground attack early this morning. The ammunition dump
was partially destroyed and enemy elements were reported near the airfield.
ARVN forces were counterattacking to drive off the enemy and the latest
reports indicate that the situation is easing.
Military Region 4
Enemy initiated activity, has been light, continuing the trend of the past week.
Most actions continue to consist of mortar fire.
? Friendly initiated actions continue to be centerea around the Kien
Phong/Kien Tuong Province area. The ARVN 7th Division's sweep operation
continues against light enemy resistance.
US Air and Naval Operations
The following strike sorties were flown on July 1:
MR-1
MR-2
MR-3
MR-4
NVN
Total
TacAir US
220
32
56
30
225
563
TacAir VNAF
53
41
. 54
51
0
199
ARC LIGHT
76
4
0
12
9
105*
*There were 4 strikes flown in Cambodia.
Yesterday in Linebacker Operations over North Vietnam, all but one
scheduled sortie were diverted to armed reconnaissance missions due to
bad weather over the target areas. The Gia Hoa POL and Vinh Wood
Products Plant were struck resulting in five secondary explosions at the
POL site while results were not observed at the Vinh plant.
TOP SECRET /SENSITIVE
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The following significant bomb damage assessments are reported as a
result of the armed reconnaissance strikes: 10 bridges, 24 buildings,
36 waterborne logistic craft, 10 trucks, 2 warehouses, a POL tank and
pumping station destroyed. Several pieces of SAM related equipment
were also destroyed including 2 vans, 5 cannisters, 1 transporter and
3 SAM sites.
17.S. TacAir strikes flown over South Vietnam iesulted in the destruction
of 110 structures, 2 tanks, 18 trucks and 3 bridges. In addition 78 secondary
fires and 225 secondary explosions were observed.
U.S. aircraft flew 225 strike sorties in North Vietnam. Bad weather
again hampered air operations and forced strikes on planned targets to be
diverted to secondary targets near Vinh, to armed reconnaissance missions,
or to be canceled. The Yen Dung petroleum storage area north of Vinh was
struck by six USN aircraft. Results were not observed due to smoke and
dust.
U.S. naval ships continue to maintain surveillance of the Chinese merchant-
man anchoied at Hon La Island. Waterborne logistic craft were interdicted
in the vicinity and harassment and interdiction fire continues to disrupt
North Vietnamese supply and unloading efforts in the area.
In South Vietnam over 4,000 rounds of naval fire were expended in area
preparation and harassment and interdiction fire in support of Operation
Lamson 72.
TOP SECRET /SENSITIVE
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No Objection to Declassification in Part 2013/11/20: LOC-HAK-547-10-12-0
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Political/Diplomatic
French Comments on U.S. War Effort in Vietnam
A French military officer at NATO has told us that reports from the
French representative in Hanoi in May indicated.,that the North Vietnamese
were succeeding in their offensive in the South.' In early June, however,
the emphasis shifted to the U.S. bombing ffort which is described as
having an increasing impact. He reported that civilian moral was deterio-
rating and that as far as the people were concerned, they would like to see
the war end now.
The officer remarked that in his conversations with French military
colleagues in Paris and elsewhere, the prevailing view is that the U.S.
war policy is correct and will succeed, if we persist and do not stop
prematurely. He expressed an understanding of the problem of domestic
opposition to the war in the U.S.,.remarking that the French faced that
same problem in the '50's.
July 4 Greetings from President Thieu
A letter is being forwarded to you from President Thieu extending
Independence Day congratulations and expressing the appreciation of the
Vietnamese people for the assistance of the American people in the
struggle against Communist aggression.
Reported Sino-Soviet Agreement on Supplying POL to Hanoi
The Canadian ICC delegate from Vietnam was recently told by his Polish
colleague that Peking and Moscow had agreed on a plan to keep POL supplies
flowing to North Vietnam. Under this plan, the Soviets would provide the
PRC with petroleum products, presumably in North China, and the Chinese
in turn would provide equivalent quantities to the DRV from their own stocks
in South China. (We cannot estimate whether such speculation is valid since
nearly all of China's own petroleum sources are in North China.)
Hanoi Comments on Your June 30 Press Conference
Hanoi's VNA service on June 30 labeled your announcement of our return
to the Paris Talks "bombastic" and charged that you immediately set the
condition for this new decision by saying that you "assumed" that North
Vietnam is ready to "negotiate in a constructive and serious way." VNA
went on to charge that despite the "disastrous military defeat" in Indochina
and "after making extensive and futile trips abroad" your stand still remains
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"intact," and you continue your attempt to "negotiate from strength."
VNA criticized you for ignoring Hanoi's "seven-point proposal" while
"talking big about the so-called progress towards ending the war and ending
U.S. involvement in Vietnam." With respect to the troop withdrawal
announcement, VNA said that withdrawal rate is now the smallest monthly
rate since March 1969. It stated that you "keptyrxum about the time limit
for the pullout of the 39,000 remaining troops alter September 1." VN.A,
claimed that the additional 10,000 men to be withdrawn will, "as was the
case of those withdrawn in previous months," not be brought home, but
sent to Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries "where they would be
re-introduced into Vietnam if necessary." VNA further castegated you for
allegedly keeping Thieu in power and for resorting to the "shop warn slander
of the DRV seeking to impose on South Vietnam a Communist regime."
VNA noted that at your press conference "many journalists put Nixon in a fix
when they questioned him about ordering the attacks on the DRV and the mining
of her ports and especially the bombing of the dikes."
Soviets Sy Hanoi's Negotiating Position Is Unchan ed.
A Soviet Foreign Ministry official on June 22 informed the French that the
North Vietnamese had told Podgorny they were willing to resume the Paris
Talks, but would maintain their former negotiating position. The official
commented that as you appeared almost certain to be re-elected, it was
hard to understand why the North Vietnamese refused to negotiate seriously
at this time.
French Representative in Hanoi Skeptical about Diplomats' Trip to View
Bombed Dikes
French representative in Hanoi, Susini, reported he had accompanied
various eastern European diplomats to view the dikes which had allegedly
been bombed by American aircraft. Acvording to Susini, the group was
taken by moonlight to two sites. One of the sites appeared to have been
bombed but an eastern European diplomat stated that an anti-aircraft unit
had recently been stationed there. The other dike had cracks but there
was no sign of bombing, and Susini stated that he had serious doubts
regarding the North Vietnamese allegations.
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DEMILITARIZED
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No Objection to Declassification in Part 2013/11/20: LOC-HAK-547-10-12-0