SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-547-10-7-6
• Release Decision: RIPLIM
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2012
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: June 23, 1972
• Content Type: MEMO

C'-1s-~-1k= 1 -k
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MEMORANDUM THE MSIDENT HAS SEEN
NAVY, DOS, NSA, OSD, DIA, USAF,
Army reviews completed.
T CRET E S IVE
COOT A INC CODEWO D
ON-FILE NSC RELEASE
INSTRUCTIONS APPLY
MEMORANDUM FOR: THE PRESIDENT
FROM: HENRY A. KISSINGER
SUBJECT: Situation in Vietnam
Communist forces continue to put heavy pressure against friendly forces in
northern Military Region 1. Yesterday, elements of the 9th Regiment, 304th
NVA Division and the 203rd NVA Tank Regiment launched a tank-infantry
attack in the area southwest of Fire Support Base Nancy. ARVN forces
repulsed the attack, destroying 18 tanks and killing 61 enemy soldiers.
Elsewhere, ARVN positions in the Airborne area of operation were hit by
enemy artillery fire. The enemy broke contact, but remains southeast of
the My Chanh River.
All 93 B-52 strikes that were flown on June 23 hit enemy staging areas near
Hue.
There are indications that the June 22-29 period is the first phase of activity
in enemy attack plans in the Hue area.
Combat activity in Military Region 2 remains at a low level.
In Military Region 3 the level of combat activity also continues to be low.
At An Loc, the insertion of two battalions of the ARVN 43rd Regiment was
completed yesterday. An additional two battalions are scheduled to arrive
today.
In Military Region 4, only scattered contacts are reported.
A total of 725 TacAir sorties were flown in Vietnam last night, 323 of which
hit targets in North Vietnam. No B-52 sorties were flown over North Vietnam.
All 93 sorties hit targets in the Hue area of Military Region 1.
Military Region 1
The enemy continues his heavy artillery and occasional ground probes against
the My Chanh defense line. The heaviest fighting is reported against ARVN
Airborne troops west of Route 1.
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-? Ninety-three B-52 strikes were flown against targets near Hue.
-- Substantial rocket and artillery fire is being directed against
Camp Evans, but thus far the enemy has been unable to penetrate to any degree
the airborne or marine defenses. However, during one artillery attack the
ammunition dump containing some 300 rounds of 175mm artillery ammunition
were destroyed.
-- Communication intelligence state that the "immediate mission" of
the attacking forces is to "prepare" to "liberate Thua Thien Province and
Hue. " Several messages suggest that the offensive will be in two phases --
the first running from June 22 to June 29. At least two regiments of the
NVA 304th Division have been committed to the new offensive.
- An intercepted June 18 message from a North Vietnamese anti-
aircraft battalion near Dong Ha stated that since June 1, 53 men in the battalion
had deserted and 41 others had been hospitalized. The normal strength of
these battalions is usually about 220 men.
-- Cumulative results from yesterday's fighting near Fire Support
Base Nancy now stand at 61 enemy soldiers killed and 18 tanks destroyed.
Friendly casualties were light. ARVN lost two light tanks and one was damaged.
Personnel casualties were light.
Military Region 2
Combat activity remains at a low level.
-- South Vietnamese Rangers hold the high ground overlooking the
Kontum Pass, but are encountering stiff resistance from enemy troops that
remain dug-in along one side of the Pass as well as south along Route 14.
The new by-pass is open but traffic is subject to sporadic harassment.
-- Fighting in the Phu My area has increased somewhat as elements
of the 3rd NVA Division are apparently attempting to expand their area of
control southward.
-- Friendly patrols operating outside of Kontum City have found the
bodies of 195 enemy soldiers presumably killed by B-52 strikes,
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Military Region 3
An Loc remains quiet and fresh ARVN reinforcements continue to be airlifted
into the city. However, elements of the 7th NVA Division continue to block
Route 13.
-- The Headquarters, ARVN 43rd Regiment along with two battalions
were inserted into An Lac yesterday. Two more battalions will be air lifted
in today and elements of the 15th Regiment. are being taken out. That regiment
will be returned to the delta for duty.
-- The government's key support base for the relief effort at Tan
Khai was shelled on June 21 with about a hundred 105mm rounds.
Military Region 4
In the Mekong Delta, no major. new fighting has been reported in Kien Tuong
and Dinh Tuong Provinces along the Cambodian border.
Government forces in south Laos are gradually regaining control over the
Khong Sedone area despite some determined enemy resistance. Friendly
forces occupied the main part of Khong Sedone on June 18 and other units
pushed the enemy from hilltop positions west of the town on June 21. Farther
south friendly forces are also making some progress in their efforts to
clear enemy forces from the western edge of the Bolovens Plateau.
Cambodia
No significant developments were reported.
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US Air and Naval Operations
The following air strikes were flown on June 23:
MR-1
MR-2
MR-3
MR-4
NVN
Total
TacAir US
203
77
84
38
323
725
TacAir VNAF
47
42
51
45
0
.185
B-52
93
0
0
0
0
93
All 93 B-52 strikes were against targets in the Hue area of Military Region 1.
Updated bomb damage assessment from air strikes over North Vietnam on
June 21; one span was dropped on a bridge at Huu Trung, north of Hanoi. In
addition armed reconnaissance missions accounted for four bridges, 13 trucks,
two trailers, 18 waterborne logistic craft, one SAM missile, two SAM trans-
porters, two radar vans, and eight structures damaged or destroyed. Also,
53 secondary fires and explosions were observed.
In South Vietnam on June 21 air strikes were responsible for damaging or
destroying 13 trucks, surface to air missile equipment, seven guns, seven
armored vehicles and 13 structures, with 22 enemy killed. Nine waterborne
logistic craft were damaged or destroyed in Cambodia.
Scheduled air strikes over North Vietnam last night included the Lang Bun
railroad bridges, the Lang Thip railroad bridge, and the Lang Kay railroad
bridge and by-pass all north of Hanoi. Also scheduled in the Hanoi area were
the Co Trai railroad /highway bridge and the Phu Ly thermal power plant.
In the Haiphong area the Mong Duong transshipment point and the Hon Gia POL
storage site and highway ferry were scheduled to be hit. No bomb damage
assessment is as yet available from these targets.
Strikes against the Van Dang railroad siding and the highway bridge,also near
Haiphong, were diverted to the Thanh Hoa POL site. At Thanh Hoa City south
of Hanoi, extensive damage is reported to the POL storage site. In addition,
30 railroad cars, five buildings, two bridges, three stacks of supplies, and
an 85mm AAA site were destroyed and ten railroad cars and four buildings
were damaged.
Two MIG-21 aircraft were engaged with negative results in the Thanh Hoa
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In naval gunfire operations, units continue strikes, surveillance and harass-
ment and interdiction missions along the coast of North Vietnam. Since
April, 55, 970 rounds of ammunition have been expended against targets
along the coast of North Vietnam. US ships supporting South Vietnamese
forces in the south have expended 189, 547 rounds.
Six ships in two units continued firing on targets in North Vietnam. Three
destroyers conducted harassment and interdiction missions in the vicinity of
Hon La Island while keeping a Chinese merchant ship under surveillance.- In
the strikes, the task unit shelled a barracks and warehouse area and three
coastal defense sites 34 miles south of Thanh Hoa, a supply storage area
seven miles north of Ha Tinh, and a cave storage area and two coastal
defense sites 32 miles south of Thanh Hoa. Strike damage results were not
observed.
Soviet Naval Activity
The last of the Soviet surface combatants has departed the South China Sea.
The three ships -- a cruiser and two destroyers -- transited the Luzon Strait
yesterday, presumably heading toward Vladivostock. During.the height of its
five-week deployment at the Macclesfield Bank anchorage, the flotilla had
consisted of a cruiser, and five destroyers. Of the four Soviet E-class
submarines that are believed to have also operated in the South China Sea
during this period, one may still be there.
Merchant Shipping
The number of foreign ships in North Vietnamese ports remains at 31. No
additional diversions have been noted and there has been no evidence of any
attempt to transit the minefields since their activatioxis. There has been
no evidence of minesweeping operations in North Vietnamese waters.
Political/ Diplomatic
New POW List Released
An American lawyer and personal friend of the Kennedy family turned over
to Ambassador Watson in Paris a list of 24 American Prisoners of War in
North Vietnam who have been taken since November 1, 1970. Those on the
list were actually captured between December 1971 and the end of May 1972.
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25X1
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The lawyer had been asked by Senator Kennedy to pick up the list from the
North Vietnamese Paris delegation. The North Vietnamese reportedly plan
to announce to the press that the list has been turned over, Defense has
notified the next of kin of the 24 POW's, and we expect to release their
names on June 23.
GVN Official Comments on Ceasefire
The Press and Information Director of the GVN Foreign Ministry told our
Embassy in Saigon that his government could agree to discuss a ceasefire
prior to the withdrawal of all NVA forces but would not accept a ceasefire which
leaves the enemy in permanent control of territories it now occupies. The
official was seeking to correct earlier news reports of a statement that.the
GVN would not accept a ceasefire in which each party would remain in occupation
of areas it now controls.
North Vietnamese Ambassador Unhappy with Events
The North Vietnamese Ambassador in Colombo reportedly is unhappy over
recent developments in Vietnam such as the mild Russian and Chinese reactions
to the mining and the travels of President Podgorny and Dr. Kissinger. Accordir
to the Yugoslav Ambassador, who told our Embassy, the official interprets
these actions as a letting down of North Vietnam by its allies. Hanoi's
Ambassador also reportedly asserted that the current offensive was a deliberate
effort to torpedo the Moscow summit.
Civilian Unrest Reported in Hanoi
The French Charge in Hanoi reportedly cabled Paris that there has been
civilian unrest in Hanoi, including a demonstration by, factory workers who
refused to work because they deemed it too dangerous. According to the
French Military Advisor to his country's NATO delegation, the Charge also
reported that the supply situation in Hanoi is becoming difficult and that
Soviet and Chinese supplies are piling up at the Sino-Vietnamese border.
President Podgorny Reportedly Urged Ceasefire to Hanoi
The Canadian ICC representative in Hanoi has reported that focal Eastern
European diplomats believe that Podgorny, during his recent Hanoi visit, urged
that North Vietnam accept a ceasefire and negotiate from there. The same
sources stated that Podgorny reportedly told the North Vietnamese that your
re-election is now certain, which the North Vietnamese are said to have
acknowledged. He assured Hanoi that Soviet aid would continue, but allegedly
asked the North Vietnamese to press the Chinese to offer more assistance
on transshipment of Soviet supplies. T1 bVietnamese, however, are said
to have refused. While Eastern European diplomats in Hanoi are not always
very reliable sources of information, it is interesting to note the lines they
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SOUTH VIETNAM
SECRET
No Foreign Dissem
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